After
One Rough Man
Brad Taylor2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Use of force
Brad Thor2017
Navy SEAL Scot Harvath is hired to track a missing terrorist after a body washes up in Italy. He works outside the law to stop a summer attack.
Same propulsive register, still military thriller
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Tier One
Brian Andrews2016
After his SEAL team is destroyed in a terrorist attack, Jack Kemper fakes his death to join a covert black-ops unit and hunt the perpetrators.
Same propulsive register, still military thriller
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
Daniel Silva2022
Retired spy Gabriel Allon investigates a massive fraud in the high-stakes art world. He attempts to find the source of high-quality forgeries.
Same propulsive register, still espionage
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Hell's Corner
David Baldacci2010
An assassin and an MI5 agent investigate a bombing near the White House. They uncover a conspiracy involving multiple government agencies.
Same propulsive register, still reluctant hero
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Days of rage
Brad Taylor2014
A black ops team tracks a weapon of mass destruction from Russia to a Nigerian extremist group. The plot moves quickly across global locations.
Same propulsive register, still military thriller
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Amberes
Roberto Bolaño2002
A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
The Doves Necklace
Raja Alem2014
A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
To recover
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Leather & Lark
Brynne Weaver2024
A contract killer and a singer enter a marriage of convenience to solve their respective problems. They must work together despite hating each other.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Velvet Angel
Jude Deveraux1983
During a medieval family feud, a woman is kidnapped and given to her enemy as a gift. They live in close quarters while their families are at war.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
Same propulsive register
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
And One Last Thing...
Molly Harper2010
After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.
propulsive → wry
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Beyond Scandal and Desire
Lorraine Heath2018
The illegitimate son of a duke plots to ruin his father by seducing the fiancée of the duke's heir. He is a self-made businessman seeking revenge.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- 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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak-1
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+3·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
A maça no escuro
Clarice Lispector1961
A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn2006
A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote1965
A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.
propulsive → clinical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Lord of the Flies
William Golding1954
Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
