After
The Suicide Exhibition
Justin Richards2013
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Relentless Moon
Mary Robinette Kowal2020
In 1963, an astronaut on a lunar base investigates sabotage and political conspiracy while a meteor-induced climate crisis threatens Earth.
Same tense register, still alternate history
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Waiting
Frank M. Robinson1999
A man discovers a secret race of long-lived humans who have manipulated history and are now preparing to replace humanity.
Same tense register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Philosopher's War
Tom Miller2019
The first male member of an elite female flying corps serves as a medic on the front lines of World War I.
tense → earnest, still alternate history
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Wool Omnibus
Hugh Howey2012
The last remnants of humanity live in a giant underground silo with strict rules. When the sheriff asks to go outside, the social order fractures.
Same tense register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
SS-GB
Len Deighton1978
A Scotland Yard detective investigates a murder in 1941 London under Nazi occupation. He is caught between the SS and the British resistance.
Same tense register, still alternate history
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike, still alternate history
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Radiance
Catherynne M. Valente2015
A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
All Those Vanished Engines
Paul Park2014
Three linked stories follow the Park family through an alternate history where the American Civil War ended in a two-nation settlement.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+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.
tense → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
tense → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Mackenzie's Pleasure
Linda Howard1996
A Navy SEAL rescues an ambassador's daughter from a terrorist group. They must evade capture in the mountains while developing a physical bond.
Same tense register
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Throne of Jade
Naomi Novik2006
A British captain and his dragon travel to China to resolve a diplomatic crisis. Much of the book takes place aboard a ship during the long voyage.
tense → warm, still alternate history
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
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.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Warbound
Larry Correia2013
In an alternate 1930s, people with magical abilities fight a war against a trans-dimensional threat. It is the final book in a trilogy.
tense → propulsive, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
tense → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
tense → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
tense → meditative, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Elvissey
Jack Womack1993
Travelers from a corporate dystopia visit an alternate 1954 to kidnap Elvis Presley. They find a version of him that is dangerous and unstable.
tense → bleak, still alternate history
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
tense → cold
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell1996
A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.
tense → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
