After
Last Days
Brian Evenson2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Song of Kali
Dan Simmons1985
An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.
clinical → bleak, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The City & the City
China Miéville2009
An inspector investigates a murder involving two cities that occupy the same physical space but remain legally separate.
Same clinical register, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Finch
Jeff VanderMeer2009
A detective in a city occupied by fungal creatures must solve a double murder while navigating the demands of the rebels and the occupiers.
clinical → tense, still weird fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Damnation Game
Clive Barker1985
An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.
clinical → bleak, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The Vampire Tapestry
Suzy McKee Charnas1980
A biological vampire living as an anthropology professor views humans as prey. The story follows his interactions with a series of victims.
Same clinical register, still horror
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Vellum
Hal Duncan2005
Humans transformed into angels and demons fight across a multiverse for a book that controls reality. The narrative jumps through time and myth.
clinical → dreamlike, still weird fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
clinical → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Soldier of Sidon
Gene Wolfe2006
A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.
clinical → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
clinical → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-3
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.
clinical → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3
To recover
clinical → playful
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
The Mane Event
Shelly Laurenston2007
A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Mile High
Liz Tomforde2023
A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Behind the Net
Stephanie Archer2024
A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
She Went All the Way
Meg Cabot2002
A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
clinical → sardonic
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
clinical → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Mind's Eye
Douglas E. Richards2014
A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.
clinical → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
clinical → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia2007
An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.
clinical → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
clinical → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
clinical → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
clinical → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
clinical → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
Moonwise
Greer Gilman1991
Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.
clinical → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
