LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Devil You Know

Mike Carey2006

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Urban Renewal

    Andrew Vachss2014

    A professional hitman navigates the criminal underworld on a mission of vengeance. The story is told in a sparse, cynical noir style.

    Same sardonic register, still noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Trainspotting

    Irvine Welsh1993

    A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.

    Same sardonic register, still noir

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • My Name Is Red

    Orhan Pamuk

    In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Walking Disaster

    Jamie McGuire2013

    This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • And One Last Thing...

    Molly Harper2010

    After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.

    sardonic → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Dark Lover

    J. R. Ward2005

    A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.

    sardonic → propulsive, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Magic Bites

    Ilona Andrews2007

    In a future Atlanta where magic and technology fluctuate, mercenary Kate Daniels investigates her guardian's murder. It is an urban fantasy.

    Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Sandman Slim

    Richard Kadrey2009

    A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.

    Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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-2·prose+2·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-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • A maça no escuro

    Clarice Lispector1961

    A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Killer Inside Me

    Jim Thompson1952

    A small-town Texas deputy maintains a boring public persona to hide his identity as a serial killer. He describes his crimes in a flat, cold voice.

    sardonic → cold, still noir

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    sardonic → tense, still noir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Every Dead Thing

    John Connolly1999

    A former detective haunted by his family's murder tracks a serial killer known as the Traveling Man. The story includes supernatural elements.

    sardonic → bleak, still noir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1