LitQueuelitqueue

After

Cycle of the Werewolf

Stephen King1983

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Kills (Alexandra Cooper Mysteries)

    Linda Fairstein2007

    Prosecutor Alexandra Cooper investigates a series of crimes in New York City. The story follows legal and police procedures.

    Same tense register, still whodunit

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

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

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

tense → playful

3 more ↓

  • Mistletoe Murder

    Leslie Meier1998

    A mother of four in a small Maine town investigates a murder at the local hardware store during the Christmas season.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Secondhand Spirits

    Juliet Blackwell2009

    A vintage shop owner who can feel the history of clothes uses her magic to solve a murder. She must find a killer while hiding her identity.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Kaiju Preservation Society

    John Scalzi2022

    A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still creature feature

3 more ↓

  • Stinger

    Robert R. McCammon1988

    An alien bounty hunter and its prey arrive in a small Texas town. The residents must survive a night of escalating biological horror.

    Same tense register, still creature feature

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Rolling in the Deep

    Mira Grant2015

    A mock-documentary crew sails to the Mariana Trench to film a hoax about mermaids and finds real, predatory creatures. Everyone is in danger.

    Same tense register, still creature feature

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Creepers

    David Morrell2005

    Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.

    Same tense register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

Same tense register, still creature feature

3 more ↓

  • The Conqueror Worms

    Brian Keene2006

    A relentless rainstorm brings giant, man-eating worms out of the earth to consume a small town. Survivors huddle in a farmhouse as the world ends.

    tense → bleak, still creature feature

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2