After
The Running Man
Richard Bachman
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Logan's run
William F. Nolan1967
In a future where everyone is executed at age 21, an enforcer becomes a fugitive. He attempts to reach a rumored sanctuary.
propulsive → tense, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Test
Sylvain Neuvel2019
An immigrant takes a British citizenship test that turns into a high-stakes psychological simulation. It is a short, dialogue-heavy novella.
propulsive → tense, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Dayworld
Philip José Farmer1985
To solve overpopulation, citizens are conscious only one day a week. An outlaw maintains seven different identities to live every day.
Same propulsive register, still dystopian
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Red Rising
Pierce Brown2014
A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.
Same propulsive register, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Philip K. Dick1965
Colonists on Mars use drugs to escape their bleak reality. A businessman returns from deep space with a new substance that alters perceptions.
propulsive → dreamlike, still dystopian
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Too Like the Lightning
Ada Palmer2016
In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.
propulsive → sardonic, still science fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
Beelzebub's tales to his grandson
Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950
An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.
propulsive → meditative, still science fiction
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace1996
A sprawling narrative centered on a tennis academy, a halfway house, and a lethal film. The text includes hundreds of pages of detailed endnotes.
propulsive → sardonic, still dystopian
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.
propulsive → sardonic, still dystopian
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
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.
propulsive → playful, still science fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Artemis
Andy Weir2017
A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-2prose-1bleak-3
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
propulsive → warm
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
An Offer From a Gentleman
Julia Quinn2001
The illegitimate daughter of an earl works as a servant for her stepmother. She sneaks into a masquerade ball and meets Benedict Bridgerton.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
Beelzebub's tales to his grandson
Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950
An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.
propulsive → meditative, still science fiction
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino1972
Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
propulsive → bleak, still dystopian
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak-3
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-3
