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After

The Walking Dead, Book Six

Robert Kirkman2010

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Infected

    Bobby Adair

    A slow-acting virus turns the population into aggressive predators. The story follows a survivor navigating the initial societal collapse.

    bleak → propulsive, still zombie apocalypse

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ambergris

    Jeff VanderMeer2020

    This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.

    bleak → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    bleak → dark

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    bleak → cold

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead (Zen of Zombie Series)

    Scott Kenemore

    A satirical self-help guide that uses the behavior of zombies as a model for achieving mindfulness and reducing stress.

    bleak → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

  • The Colour of Magic

    Terry Pratchett1983

    A failed wizard and a naive tourist travel across a flat world carried by a turtle. The story parodies fantasy tropes and clichés.

    bleak → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000

    L. Ron Hubbard2000

    A human survivor leads a rebellion against the Psychlos, an alien race that has strip-mined Earth for a thousand years.

    bleak → propulsive, still post-apocalyptic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    bleak → playful

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    bleak → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    bleak → meditative

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Walking Dead Vol. 7: Calm before

    Robert Kirkman

    Survivors attempt to maintain a stable community within a prison. Tensions rise as they prepare for an inevitable attack from a rival leader.

    bleak → tense, still post-apocalyptic

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Night of the Living Dead

    John A. Russo

    A group of strangers barricades themselves in a farmhouse to survive a night against reanimated corpses.

    bleak → tense, still zombie apocalypse

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • One

    Conrad Williams2009

    A man walks across a scorched, post-apocalyptic Britain to find his son. He encounters red rain, ruins, and cannibalism.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1