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After

American Vampire, Vol. 1

Scott Snyder

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Feed

    Mira Grant

    Two bloggers follow a presidential campaign twenty years after a zombie outbreak. They uncover a conspiracy while reporting on the trail.

    Same propulsive register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Unholy Consult

    R. Scott Bakker2017

    A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.

    propulsive → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Bride of Lammermoor

    Walter Scott1800

    In 1703 Scotland, two lovers from feuding families attempt to stay together despite political instability and a family curse.

    propulsive → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    propulsive → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Better Off Dead

    Lee Child2021

    Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.

    Same propulsive register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    propulsive → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Plum Lucky

    Janet Evanovich2007

    Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum chases a man who stole a horse and a bag of money. Her grandmother and a mysterious ally join the pursuit.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Creepers

    David Morrell2005

    Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.

    propulsive → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Patient Zero

    Jonathan Maberry2009

    A detective joins a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group using a bio-weapon that reanimates the dead. It is an action thriller.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

propulsive → elegiac, still historical fiction

3 more ↓

  • 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-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West

    Cormac McCarthy

    A teenager rides with a scalp-hunting gang across the 1850s border. The violence is the subject, not the obstacle.

    propulsive → cold, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Unholy Consult

    R. Scott Bakker2017

    A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.

    propulsive → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Mr. Hands

    Gary A. Braunbeck2007

    A grieving mother uses a supernatural entity to take revenge on those who harm children. The story follows the consequences of her vigilante pact.

    propulsive → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1