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After

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde1890

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More like it

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  • The M.D.: A Horror Story

    Thomas M. Disch1991

    A boy receives a caduceus from a supernatural entity that allows him to heal or inflict disease. He grows up using it to manipulate the world.

    Same sardonic register, still deal with the devil

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

sardonic → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

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

    sardonic → meditative, still gothic horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Golden

    Lucius Shepard1993

    A vampire detective investigates the murder of a woman bred for her blood. The story takes place within a sprawling castle during a summit.

    sardonic → decadent

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Unholy Consult

    R. Scott Bakker2017

    A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Quiche of Death

    M.C. Beaton

    A retired PR professional moves to a Cotswolds village and enters a baking contest. When a judge dies from her quiche, she must find the killer.

    sardonic → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Thraxas

    Martin Millar

    An overweight, beer-drinking private investigator with minor magical abilities solves crimes in a corrupt fantasy city.

    sardonic → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Craven Manor

    Darcy Coates2018

    A man takes a job as a groundskeeper at a decaying estate. He finds a crypt, a strange employer, and evidence that the house is not empty.

    sardonic → tense, still gothic horror

    pace+1·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

sardonic → meditative, still philosophical fiction

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

    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 ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Hamlet

    William Shakespeare

    A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Terror

    Dan Simmons2007

    Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1