After
Night Land
William Hope Hodgson2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The night land
William Hope Hodgson1972
Millions of years after the sun dies, a man leaves an underground fortress to rescue a woman. The prose uses archaic, repetitive syntax.
Same dreamlike register, still dying earth
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
Same dreamlike register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Acceptance
Jeff VanderMeer2014
The final expedition enters Area X as the narrative shifts between the past and present to explain the zone's origin.
Same dreamlike register, still cosmic horror
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Radix
A. A. Attanasio1981
A social outcast undergoes a series of physical and mental transformations on a future Earth mutated by cosmic radiation.
Same dreamlike register, still dying earth
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft2003
A collection of stories following characters who travel into a shared dream world. It focuses on strange geography and cosmic entities.
Same dreamlike register, still cosmic horror
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Love Bites
Lynsay Sands2004
A vampire turns a coroner into an immortal to save her life after an accident. They navigate their new bond while being pursued by others.
dreamlike → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
This Girl
Colleen Hoover2013
A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.
dreamlike → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
dreamlike → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
dreamlike → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
dreamlike → wry
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
dreamlike → wry
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
dreamlike → propulsive, still quest
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
All Systems Red
Martha Wells2017
A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.
dreamlike → wry
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
Skin Game
Jim Butcher2014
Wizard Harry Dresden joins a team of villains to rob a vault in the Underworld. It is a fast-paced heist set in a modern fantasy Chicago.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
dreamlike → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
Heavier
dreamlike → bleak, still cosmic horror
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
The Deep
Nick Cutter2015
A veterinarian travels to a research station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to help his brother find a cure for a global plague.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Echopraxia
Peter Watts2014
A biologist is caught on a mission toward the sun alongside a pilot and a group of transhuman monks. It explores consciousness and evolution.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Beyond the Aquila Rift
Alastair Reynolds2001
A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Negative Space
B.R. Yeager2020
Four teenagers in a decaying New Hampshire town use a drug made from local parasites. They navigate hallucinations and a string of suicides.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
The Jaunt
Stephen King2009
A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.
dreamlike → tense, still cosmic horror
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
