LitQueuelitqueue

After

Live Girls

Ray Garton1987

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same bleak register, still splatterpunk

1 more ↓

  • Blood Crazy

    Simon Clark1995

    Every adult on Earth suddenly turns into a mindless killer who targets anyone under eighteen. A group of teenagers fights to survive.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

bleak → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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

  • The Unholy Consult

    R. Scott Bakker2017

    A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.

    Same bleak register

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

bleak → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • This Man

    Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

    An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

    bleak → tense

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Ready Player One

    Ernest Cline2008

    A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Sentinel

    Lee Child2020

    A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.

    pace0·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

  • Johnny Gruesome

    Greg Lamberson2008

    A murdered teenager returns from the grave to kill the classmates who betrayed him. It is a fast-paced slasher story with high gore.

    bleak → sardonic, still splatterpunk

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Clickers

    J. F. Gonzalez2000

    Giant carnivorous crabs emerge from the ocean to attack a small Maine town. A group of survivors attempts to escape the escalating gore.

    bleak → propulsive, still splatterpunk

    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 splatterpunk

3 more ↓

  • The Girl Next Door

    Jack Ketchum1989

    A group of children in the 1950s witness and participate in the prolonged torture of two sisters held captive in a basement.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Light at the End

    John Skipp2000

    A group of New Yorkers hunts a punk-rock vampire who is killing people in the subway system during the 1980s.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1