After
Assassin's Code
Jonathan Maberry2012
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The King of Plagues
Jonathan Maberry2011
Joe Ledger and the DMS race to stop a secret society from releasing ten plagues upon the world. It is a high-speed military technothriller.
Same propulsive register, still technothriller
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Fear Nothing
Dean Koontz1998
A man with a light-sensitivity disorder witnesses a murder in his town. He uncovers a conspiracy involving a local military base and mutations.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The President's Vampire
Christopher Farnsworth2011
A vampire working as a secret agent for the U.S. President tracks an ancient biological threat alongside a human partner.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Anomaly
Michael Rutger2018
A disgraced archaeologist filming a web series discovers a hidden cavern in the Grand Canyon that defies the laws of physics.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dark Matter
Blake Crouch2016
A physics professor is kidnapped and wakes up in an alternate reality where he chose career over family. He must navigate the multiverse to return.
Same propulsive register, still technothriller
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
propulsive → decadent
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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-2·prose+2·bleak+2
To recover
- pace0prose-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.
propulsive → sardonic
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Starter Villain
John Scalzi2023
A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.
propulsive → wry, still technothriller
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-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.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
The Sentinel
Lee Child2020
A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.
Same propulsive register
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- 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
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Intercepts
T.J. Payne2020
A worker at a government facility monitors human test subjects driven insane by sensory deprivation. The experiment enters his private life.
propulsive → tense, still technothriller
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
Frankenstein
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818
Victor Frankenstein assembles a living being from scavenged parts. The narrative follows the creature's rejection and its violent revenge.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
Flowers in the Attic
V.C. Andrews1979
Four children are hidden in an attic for years by their mother and grandmother to secure an inheritance. They face gradual poisoning and abuse.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Hamlet
William Shakespeare
A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
The Terror
Dan Simmons2007
Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.
propulsive → bleak
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
