LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Mime Order

Samantha Shannon2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • White Horse

    Erika T. Wurth2022

    A woman finds an old bracelet that triggers visions of her mother’s ghost. She travels across Denver to uncover her family's history.

    Same tense register, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Big bad beast

    Shelly Laurenston2011

    A wolf-shifter Marine investigates a hybrid fighting ring while dealing with her persistent boss. It is a paranormal romance set in an urban world.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Playing with Fire

    Gena Showalter2006

    A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Wicked Appetite

    Janet Evanovich2010

    A Salem pastry chef discovers she is a 'finder' and must help a mysterious man locate ancient stones representing the seven deadly sins.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

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

    Same tense register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Blindness

    José Saramago1999

    An epidemic of sudden blindness strikes a city, leading to the collapse of social order. A small group struggles to survive in a filthy asylum.

    tense → bleak, still dystopian

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Flowers in the Attic

    V.C. Andrews1979

    Four children are hidden in an attic for years by their mother and grandmother to secure an inheritance. They face gradual poisoning and abuse.

    tense → elegiac

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1