LitQueuelitqueue

After

Ghoul

Brian Keene2007

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Exquisite Corpse

    Poppy Z. Brite1996

    Two serial killers meet in New Orleans and collaborate on the abduction and murder of a young man. The prose details extreme physical violence.

    Same bleak register, still horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ambergris

    Jeff VanderMeer2020

    This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.

    bleak → dreamlike

    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.

    bleak → 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.

    bleak → decadent

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    bleak → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • All Rhodes Lead Here

    Mariana Zapata2021

    A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

    bleak → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Hannah's List

    Debbie Macomber2010

    A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

    bleak → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Friday Night in Beast House

    Richard Laymon2010

    Two teenagers sneak into a notorious house after hours to explore its violent history. They quickly find they are not alone.

    bleak → tense, still splatterpunk

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Grunge

    Larry Correia2016

    A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.

    bleak → sardonic, still horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Intercepts

    T.J. Payne2020

    A worker at a government facility monitors human test subjects driven insane by sensory deprivation. The experiment enters his private life.

    bleak → tense, still horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

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.

    bleak → 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.

    bleak → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

    bleak → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

Same bleak register, still horror

3 more ↓

  • Desperation

    Stephen King1996

    A demonic entity possesses a small-town sheriff and begins slaughtering travelers. A young boy who hears God leads the survivors.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Burning Side

    Sarah Damoff

    bleak → tense, still horror

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • And By God's Hand You Shall Die

    David Sodergren2023

    A woman working in a brothel built on a ruined church experiences visions of an apocalypse. Violence and gore ensue as a priest's warnings come true.

    Same bleak register, still splatterpunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1