After
Extinction Machine
Jonathan Maberry2013
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Code Zero
Jonathan Maberry2014
Joe Ledger and his military team hunt terrorists who stole bioweapons from a secure vault. They must stop a zombie plague from spreading.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
When the Wind Blows
James Patterson1847
A veterinarian and an FBI agent discover winged children created in a secret laboratory. They go on the run to protect the girl from her creators.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Ghost Ship
Clive Cussler2014
Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Runner
Patrick Lee2014
A retired special forces operative protects a young girl with no memory from armed government agents. The plot is a high-speed chase.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Ghost Stories
Henry James2001
A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
To recover
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
A Fall of Moondust
Arthur C. Clarke1961
A lunar tourist cruiser sinks beneath a sea of fine dust, trapping the passengers. Engineers on the surface race to locate and rescue them.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Odessa Sea
Clive Cussler2016
Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.
Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Uplift War
David Brin1987
A gorilla-like alien race invades the planet Garth. A small group of humans and uplifted chimpanzees lead a guerrilla resistance in the mountains.
propulsive → earnest, still military sci-fi
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Planet Explorer
Murray Leinster2007
A colonial officer travels to various alien planets to solve environmental and biological crises using scientific principles.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
The Book of Hope
Jane Goodall2021
A dialogue-based book where Jane Goodall discusses her life's work and her reasons for remaining optimistic about the environment.
propulsive → earnest
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+3bleak-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+3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+2
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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+3·bleak0
Heavier
propulsive → elegiac
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson1983
Villagers gather for an annual ritual in a small town. The story follows the procedural steps of a lottery that ends in a public execution.
propulsive → cold
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
