LitQueuelitqueue

After

Come with Me

Ronald Malfi2021

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • In the Dark of the Night

    John Saul2006

    A family discovers a collection of surgical tools in their summer home, unaware they are being watched by a local killer.

    elegiac → tense, still supernatural horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

elegiac → dreamlike

3 more
  • Racconti [55 stories]

    Edgar Allan Poe2011

    A collection of 55 stories featuring unreliable narrators and gothic settings. Themes include obsession, premature burial, and the macabre.

    pace-1·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

    pace-1·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, still mystery

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more
  • This Girl

    Colleen Hoover2013

    A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    elegiac → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Walking Disaster

    Jamie McGuire2013

    This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more
  • 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+1·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+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more
  • 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.

    elegiac → 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-2·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-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

elegiac → tense, still supernatural horror

3 more
  • 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

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Seed

    Ania Ahlborn2011

    A man who survived a childhood encounter with a demon sees the same entity targeting his daughter. It is a story of inescapable family curses.

    elegiac → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Last Days

    Adam L.G. Nevill

    A documentary filmmaker investigates the history of a 1970s cult. As he visits their former sites, he realizes he is being followed.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1