After
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
Cormac McCarthy
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Son
Philipp Meyer2013
A multi-generational saga follows a Texas family from an 1849 Comanche kidnapping to the 20th-century oil industry.
Same cold register, still western
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Dark Eidolon
Clark Ashton Smith2009
A sorcerer seeks revenge against a king in a dying world under a dim sun. The story uses dense, archaic prose to describe necromancy and demons.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
cold → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Collector
John Fowles1963
A lonely clerk kidnaps a student and locks her in his cellar. The narrative shifts between his perspective and hers as he waits for her love.
Same cold register
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
cold → warm, still western
- pace0prose-3bleak-3
Montana
Debbie Macomber1997
A single mother moves to her grandfather's Montana ranch and falls for a mysterious farmhand while investigating his past.
pace0·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace0prose-3bleak-3
Montana Creeds
Linda Lael Miller2009
A professional bull rider returns to his family ranch to raise the young daughter he barely knows. He must transition from athlete to father.
pace0·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Spun Out
Lorelei James2019
A woman enters a polyamorous relationship with two male friends in a small-town setting. The story focuses on their shared history and dynamic.
cold → earnest, still western
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Going Cowboy Crazy
Katie Lane2011
A woman travels to a small Texas town to find her secret twin sister and is mistaken for her by the local residents and her sister's ex-flame.
cold → playful, still western
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Creepers
David Morrell2005
Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
The Rising
Brian Keene2003
A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.
cold → bleak
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Shattered
Dean Koontz1973
A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Executioner
Chris Carter2010
A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
cold → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje1992
Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-3
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.
cold → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-3
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
