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The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower

Stephen King2004

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • NOS4A2

    Joe Hill2013

    A woman with the ability to find lost objects hunts a supernatural kidnapper who takes children to a nightmare world in his 1938 Rolls-Royce.

    elegiac → tense, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Macbeth

    William Shakespeare

    A Scottish general kills his king to take the throne after hearing a prophecy. His guilt and paranoia lead to a series of additional murders.

    elegiac → tense

    pace0·prose+2·bleak0

  • Ambergris

    Jeff VanderMeer2020

    This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.

    elegiac → dreamlike, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Ligeia

    Edgar Allan Poe2004

    A narrator mourns his first wife, Ligeia, then marries another who falls ill. He watches as the second wife's body appears to transform.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

elegiac → 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.

    elegiac → tense

    pace0·prose-1·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.

    elegiac → propulsive, still quest

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    elegiac → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Creepers

    David Morrell2005

    Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

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

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    elegiac → tender

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

  • Tehanu

    Ursula K. Le Guin1990

    A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

elegiac → bleak, still dark fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Dark Eidolon

    Clark Ashton Smith2009

    A sorcerer seeks revenge against a king in a dying world under a dim sun. The story uses dense, archaic prose to describe necromancy and demons.

    elegiac → cold, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Unblemished

    Conrad Williams2006

    A mother protects her daughter from a lineage of flesh-eating monsters. The story follows a serial killer and a man holding ancient secrets.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Frankenstein

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818

    Victor Frankenstein assembles a living being from scavenged parts. The narrative follows the creature's rejection and its violent revenge.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1