LitQueuelitqueue

After

Ash Wednesday

Chet Williamson1987

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Don't Look Now

    Daphne du Maurier

    A grieving couple in Venice encounters two sisters who claim to have psychic visions of their dead daughter. The city's atmosphere is central.

    Same elegiac register

    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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Golden

    Lucius Shepard1993

    A vampire detective investigates the murder of a woman bred for her blood. The story takes place within a sprawling castle during a summit.

    elegiac → decadent

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • To Sir Phillip, With Love

    Julia Quinn2003

    Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • All Rhodes Lead Here

    Mariana Zapata2021

    A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Hannah's List

    Debbie Macomber2010

    A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

elegiac → tense, still supernatural horror

3 more ↓

  • Suffer the Children

    Craig DiLouie2014

    A disease kills every child on Earth, but they return to life if fed human blood. Parents must decide who to kill to keep their children alive.

    elegiac → bleak, still apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Border

    Robert McCammon2015

    Humanity hides in a fortified town while two warring alien factions destroy Earth. An amnesiac boy arrives as survivors begin to mutate.

    elegiac → bleak, still apocalyptic

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • House of Bone and Rain

    Gabino Iglesias2024

    Five friends in Puerto Rico seek revenge for a mother's murder during a hurricane. Their quest involves both gangsters and spirits.

    elegiac → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1