LitQueuelitqueue

After

Low Men in Yellow Coats

Stephen King1999

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Don't Look Now

    Daphne du Maurier

    A grieving couple in Venice encounters two sisters who claim to have psychic visions of their dead daughter. The city's atmosphere is central.

    Same elegiac register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

elegiac → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → dark

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → cold

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Another fine myth

    Robert Asprin1978

    A magician's apprentice accidentally summons a demon from another dimension. The two form a partnership to navigate a series of mishaps.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • All Systems Red

    Martha Wells2017

    A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

    elegiac → wry

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Legends & Lattes

    Travis Baldree2022

    An orc barbarian retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop in a city that has never heard of the drink.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

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

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Executioner

    Chris Carter2010

    A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·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.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

elegiac → tense, still supernatural horror

3 more ↓

  • House of Bone and Rain

    Gabino Iglesias2024

    Five friends in Puerto Rico seek revenge for a mother's murder during a hurricane. Their quest involves both gangsters and spirits.

    elegiac → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1