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The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce. Volume III. Can such things be? [42 stories]

Ambrose Bierce1910

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  • I Wish I Was Like You

    S. P. Miskowski2017

    A failed actress returns to her hometown after a friend's death, navigating her own bitter memories and a local mystery.

    Same sardonic register, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

To recover

sardonic → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • This Man

    Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

    An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

    sardonic → tense

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

    sardonic → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    sardonic → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    sardonic → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Darkness on the Edge of Town

    Brian Keene2010

    A small Virginia town is surrounded by a wall of absolute blackness. The residents struggle to survive as the darkness begins to change them.

    sardonic → bleak, still cosmic horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    sardonic → tense, still cosmic horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • This Thing Between Us

    Gus Moreno2021

    A widower moves to a remote cabin after his wife's death, pursued by a malevolent force linked to a smart speaker. The horror is surreal.

    sardonic → bleak, still cosmic horror

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1