After
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
H.P. Lovecraft2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Call of Cthulhu
H.P. Lovecraft2016
A man pieces together his late uncle's notes regarding a global cult. The story is told through journals, news clippings, and testimonies.
Same cold register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Coming of the White Worm
Clark Ashton Smith2009
A warlock observes frozen omens in a prehistoric land before a sentient glacier arrives. It is a cosmic horror story told in ornate prose.
Same cold register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Song for the Unraveling of the World
Brian Evenson2019
A collection of short stories where characters experience physical and psychological distortions. The reality of each narrator is unreliable.
Same cold register, still cosmic horror
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Croning
Laird Barron2012
An elderly geologist discovers his wife and her social circle belong to an ancient cult. The narrative shifts between his past and present.
cold → tense, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Fisherman
John Langan2016
Two widowers go fishing at a mysterious creek and discover a local legend involving a dark pact and a gateway to another world.
cold → elegiac, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak-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.
cold → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Coming of the White Worm
Clark Ashton Smith2009
A warlock observes frozen omens in a prehistoric land before a sentient glacier arrives. It is a cosmic horror story told in ornate prose.
Same cold register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft
H.P. Lovecraft2003
A collection of stories following characters who travel into a shared dream world. It focuses on strange geography and cosmic entities.
cold → dreamlike, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-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.
cold → dreamlike, still weird fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Histoires Extraordinaires (Balloon-Hoax / Descent into the Maelstrom / Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar / Gold-Bug / Ligeia / Mesmeric Revelation / Metzengerstein / Morella / MS. Found in a Bottle / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Purloined Letter / Tale of the Ragged Mountains / Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall)
Edgar Allan Poe1857
A collection of stories featuring early detective work, gothic obsession, and scientific hoaxes. The prose is dense and the outlook is grim.
cold → tense, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Neil deGrasse Tyson2017
A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.
cold → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Master of the Five Magics
Lyndon Hardy1980
A man attempts to master five distinct disciplines of magic by following their strict logical laws to save a kingdom.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Creepers
David Morrell2005
Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Patient Zero
Jonathan Maberry2009
A detective joins a secret government task force to stop a terrorist group using a bio-weapon that reanimates the dead. It is an action thriller.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
The Rising
Brian Keene2003
A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.
cold → bleak
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Shattered
Dean Koontz1973
A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Executioner
Chris Carter2010
A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The night land
William Hope Hodgson1972
Millions of years after the sun dies, a man leaves an underground fortress to rescue a woman. The prose uses archaic, repetitive syntax.
cold → dreamlike, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
Thomas Ligotti2010
A series of philosophical essays arguing that human consciousness is a tragic evolutionary accident. It posits that non-existence is preferable.
cold → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-2bleak-2
Lady Audley's Secret
Mary Elizabeth Braddon1862
A man returns from Australia to find his friend's wife is a governess with a hidden past. He investigates her identity after his friend disappears.
cold → mysterious
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-3
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.
cold → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3
