After
Harrow County Omnibus, Volume 2
Cullen Bunn2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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The Toll
Cherie Priest2019
A man disappears while driving across a bridge in the Georgia swamp. His wife returns to the area to uncover the local folklore and history.
Same tense register, still southern gothic
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Middle of the Night
Riley Sager2024
Thirty years after his friend was abducted from a backyard tent, Ethan returns home and finds evidence the kidnapper may still be active nearby.
Same tense register, still small town secrets
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The Book of Accidents
Chuck Wendig2021
A family moves back to a rural Pennsylvania town where the parents' childhood traumas and their son's abilities awaken a dark force.
Same tense register, still small town secrets
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The Bright Lands
John Fram2020
A man returns to his Texas hometown to find his missing brother. The story involves high school football, queer identity, and the supernatural.
Same tense register, still southern gothic
pace0·prose0·bleak+1

1 more ↓ ↑
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Carmilla
Amy Chu2023
In 1990s Chinatown, a social worker investigates the murders of homeless LGBTQ+ women. She follows clues to a mysterious nightclub and its owner.
Same tense register, still graphic novel
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Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
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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-1·prose+2·bleak+1

3 more ↓ ↑
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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
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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
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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
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Ayesha at Last
Uzma Jalaluddin2019
A modern Muslim retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Toronto. A poet and a conservative man clash over their differing values.
tense → playful
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A Spell for Chameleon
Piers Anthony1977
In a land where everyone has a unique magical talent, a man with no apparent power goes on a quest to avoid exile.
tense → playful, still chosen one
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3 more ↓ ↑
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My Roommate Is a Vampire
Jenna Levine2023
An artist moves in with a man who sleeps all day and speaks in an archaic style. She eventually discovers he is a vampire from the 1800s.
tense → playful
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It Happened One Summer
Tessa Bailey2021
A socialite is sent to a small fishing town to run a dive bar. She enters a relationship with a local sea captain who doubts her competence.
tense → playful
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Truly, Madly
Heather Webber2010
A woman with the psychic ability to find lost objects takes over her family's matchmaking business. She teams up with a cynical private investigator.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster
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Complete 30 Days Of Night Trilogy
Steve Niles2007
Vampires descend on an Alaskan town during a month of total darkness. The survivors attempt to hide and fight back in a graphic novel format.
tense → bleak, still graphic novel
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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
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Patient Zero
Jonathan Maberry2009
A detective joins a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group using a bio-weapon that reanimates the dead. It is an action thriller.
tense → propulsive
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The Rising
Brian Keene2003
A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.
tense → bleak
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Shattered
Dean Koontz1973
A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.
Same tense register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower
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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, still southern gothic
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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.
tense → dreamlike
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
tense → playful
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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
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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
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Heavier
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Geek Love
Katherine Dunn1989
Carnival owners breed their own children into 'human oddities' using chemicals. The story follows the siblings' rivalries and a cult of followers.
tense → sardonic, still southern gothic
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Devil’s Creek
Todd Keisling2020
In a small Kentucky town, the survivors of a 1983 cult massacre return to face a rising cosmic entity. The horror is graphic and nihilistic.
tense → bleak, still folk horror
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
tense → bleak, still southern gothic
pace0·prose0·bleak+2

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The Walking Dead, Book Two
Robert Kirkman2007
Rick Grimes leads survivors to a prison for safety. They fortify the walls, but internal conflict and outside threats jeopardize the sanctuary.
tense → bleak, still graphic novel
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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.
Same tense register, still folk horror
pace0·prose0·bleak+2