LitQueuelitqueue

After

Manhunt

Gretchen Felker-Martin2022

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Rats

    James Herbert1974

    Giant, man-eating rats overrun London, attacking citizens in homes and subways. The story follows the escalating biological disaster.

    Same propulsive register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → dark

    pace-2·prose+1·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.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Smokin' Seventeen

    Janet Evanovich2011

    A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    propulsive → wry

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-3·prose+1·bleak-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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-3·prose+1·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.

    propulsive → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

propulsive → bleak, still splatterpunk

3 more ↓

  • The Troop

    Nick Cutter2014

    A scoutmaster and five boys are stranded on an island with a man carrying a parasitic infection. The organism spreads through the group.

    propulsive → bleak, still body horror

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    pace-1·prose-1·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.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak+1