After
Cujo
Stephen King1981
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Pet Sematary
Stephen King1983
A family moves to Maine and discovers a burial ground that can return the dead to life. They use it, and the consequences are absolute.
Same tense register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Malorie
Josh Malerman2020
Twelve years after the world went blind, Malorie and her children leave their refuge. They search for other survivors in a monster-filled landscape.
Same tense register, still psychological horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Keep
F. Paul Wilson1981
German soldiers in 1941 occupy a Romanian castle and accidentally release an ancient entity. A Jewish professor is brought in to help them.
Same tense register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Girl and the Stars
Mark Lawrence2020
On a frozen world, children who fail a trial are thrown into a pit. A girl survives the fall and discovers a hidden society beneath the ice.
Same tense register, still survival
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
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A House in the Sky
Amanda Lindhout2013
A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.
Same tense register, still survival
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Tours of the Black Clock
Steve Erickson1989
A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-2
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+2bleak-3
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-3
To recover
tense → playful
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Sorceress of Darshiva
David Eddings1989
A group of companions travels across a continent to stop an ancient evil. The story relies on banter and established high-fantasy archetypes.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
A Veiled Deception
Annette Blair2009
A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
It Starts with Us
Colleen Hoover2022
A single mother navigates a new relationship with her first love while managing a jealous ex-husband. The story alternates perspectives.
tense → earnest
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Assistant to the Villain
Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023
A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
The Marriage Bargain
Jennifer Probst2012
A bookstore owner enters a one-year contract marriage with a billionaire to save her family's land. They must follow a set of rules to stay platonic.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
tense → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
tense → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Mind's Eye
Douglas E. Richards2014
A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia2007
An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Moonwise
Greer Gilman1991
Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
