After
À rebours
Joris-Karl Huysmans1884
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
Same meditative register
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Solitudes
John Crowley1987
An out-of-work teacher moves to the country and begins to suspect that the laws of the world change over time. The focus is on ideas and atmosphere.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Sword of the Lictor
Gene Wolfe1982
An exiled torturer travels through a distant-future wilderness with a magical gem. He encounters monsters and ancient technology.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Dragon and the Unicorn
A. A. Attanasio1994
A celestial being takes human form to engineer the birth of King Arthur. The narrative spans centuries and involves gods, demons, and atoms.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Titus Groan
Mervyn Peake1973
The birth of an heir triggers power struggles in a decaying, ritual-bound castle. The prose is dense and focuses on the grotesque architecture.
meditative → sardonic
pace0·prose0·bleak0
To recover
meditative → propulsive
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
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.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
meditative → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Real Murders
Charlaine Harris1990
A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.
meditative → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
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.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin2015
A mother searches for her daughter across a continent undergoing a tectonic apocalypse. Some chapters address the reader in the second person.
meditative → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
Pet Sematary
Stephen King1983
A family moves to Maine and discovers a burial ground that can return the dead to life. They use it, and the consequences are absolute.
meditative → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
meditative → bleak
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
meditative → cold
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
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.
meditative → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
