LitQueuelitqueue

After

Solo

William Boyd2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Bourne supremacy

    Robert Ludlum1987

    An amnesiac assassin is forced out of hiding when his wife is kidnapped. He must stop an impostor from triggering a war in Asia.

    Same tense register, still espionage

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

tense → playful

3 more ↓

  • Royally Screwed

    Emma Chase2016

    A crown prince visiting Manhattan pursues a bakery worker who threw a pie at him. The story follows their class-clash courtship.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Unidentified Redhead

    Alice Clayton2013

    A 33-year-old actress returns to LA and begins a secret relationship with a younger, famous leading man. It follows their career and dating hurdles.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Princess

    Lori Wick2006

    In the fictional land of Pendaran, a prince enters an arranged marriage with a commoner who must learn the ways of the royal court.

    tense → warm

    pace-1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still espionage

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • Warriors

    Ted Bell2014

    Spy Alex Hawke attempts to rescue a kidnapped scientist while the United States and China move toward nuclear war.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • One Rough Man

    Brad Taylor2011

    A former covert operator discovers a terrorist plot involving a powerful weapon. He works outside the law to stop the attack.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Transcription

    Kate Atkinson2018

    A woman's quiet life at the BBC is interrupted by figures from her past work transcribing bugged conversations for MI5.

    tense → wry, still espionage

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The English Patient

    Michael Ondaatje1992

    Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.

    tense → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Affinity

    Sarah Waters1999

    A grieving socialite visits a medium in a Victorian women's prison. Their relationship develops through diary entries and clandestine meetings.

    tense → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Libra

    Don DeLillo1988

    A fictionalized biography of Lee Harvey Oswald. It follows his life and the CIA conspiracy that leads to the assassination of JFK.

    tense → eerie, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2