After
Straight
Chuck Tingle2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Hungry 4
Steven W. Booth2013
A sheriff and an outlaw travel to Los Angeles during a zombie outbreak. They encounter a suspicious rehabilitation facility in Malibu.
Same propulsive register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Omega days
Campbell, John L. (Investigator)2014
A priest, a college student, and a pilot struggle to survive as a virus turns the population into zombies. The story follows multiple perspectives.
Same propulsive register, still zombie apocalypse
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak0
After Midnight
Richard Laymon1997
A woman uses a saber to defend herself against a home intruder, leading to a night of continuous pursuit. The pace is rapid and the violence is blunt.
Same propulsive register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The King of Plagues
Jonathan Maberry2011
Joe Ledger and the DMS race to stop a secret society from releasing ten plagues upon the world. It is a high-speed military technothriller.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The President's Vampire
Christopher Farnsworth2011
A vampire working as a secret agent for the U.S. President tracks an ancient biological threat alongside a human partner.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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+2·bleak+1
To recover
propulsive → playful
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron
Julia Quinn2022
A graphic novel adaptation of a fictional melodrama where an orphan flees a cruel aunt and encounters a man in a remote castle.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose-1bleak-1
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
propulsive → warm
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak+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+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-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+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak+2
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+2·bleak+2
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
propulsive → bleak, still splatterpunk
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
And By God's Hand You Shall Die
David Sodergren2023
A woman working in a brothel built on a ruined church experiences visions of an apocalypse. Violence and gore ensue as a priest's warnings come true.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Exquisite Corpse
Poppy Z. Brite1996
Two serial killers meet in New Orleans and collaborate on the abduction and murder of a young man. The prose details extreme physical violence.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
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·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
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-1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
The Light at the End
John Skipp2000
A group of New Yorkers hunts a punk-rock vampire who is killing people in the subway system during the 1980s.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
