After
Intercepts
T.J. Payne2020
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Something is Killing the Children, Book One
James Tynion IV2021
A monster hunter arrives in a town where children are being eaten by invisible creatures. It is a graphic novel about systemic violence.
Same tense register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Walking Dead, Vol. 5: The Best Defense
Robert Kirkman
Survivors at a fortified prison encounter a sadistic leader from a nearby settlement. The focus is on the threat posed by other living humans.
Same tense register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-2
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, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Deeper
James Moore2009
Divers off the New England coast recover a strange creature that survives on land and begins hunting humans.
Same tense register, still horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Temperature
Adam Santo2010
After dying in a car crash, Sally is resurrected by a stranger and led through a world of the undead.
Same tense register, still horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
tense → 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+3bleak0
Android Karenina
Лев Толстой2010
The text of Tolstoy's classic is modified to include robots, cyborgs, and space travel in a 19th-century Russian setting.
tense → elegiac, still horror
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
Racconti [55 stories]
Edgar Allan Poe2011
A collection of 55 stories featuring unreliable narrators and gothic settings. Themes include obsession, premature burial, and the macabre.
tense → dreamlike, still horror
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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-2·prose+3·bleak0
To recover
- pace-1prose0bleak-3
Starter Villain
John Scalzi2023
A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.
tense → wry, still technothriller
pace-1·prose0·bleak-3
- pace-1prose0bleak-3
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
tense → earnest
pace-1·prose0·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-3
Until You
Judith McNaught1994
A teacher is mistaken for an heiress by an Earl after a dockside accident causes her to lose her memory. She lives as his guest in Regency England.
tense → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose0bleak-3
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-3
- pace-1prose+1bleak-3
Things We Hide from the Light
Lucy Score2023
A small-town police chief suffers from PTSD after a shooting. He forms a connection with a new neighbor while investigating a local mystery.
tense → warm
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-3prose0bleak-2
Lady Audley's Secret
Mary Elizabeth Braddon1862
A man returns from Australia to find his friend's wife is a governess with a hidden past. He investigates her identity after his friend disappears.
tense → mysterious, still horror
pace-3·prose0·bleak-2
- 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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak-3
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
pace-3·prose+3·bleak-3
- pace-3prose+3bleak-2
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-3·prose+3·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
