After
The President Is Missing
Bill Clinton2018
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from, nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Deception Point
Dan Brown2001
An intelligence analyst is sent to the Arctic to verify a NASA discovery. She finds evidence of a hoax that threatens the presidential election.
Same propulsive register, still ticking clock
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
No second chance
Harlan Coben2003
A doctor survives a shooting to find his wife dead and his daughter kidnapped. He must navigate a botched ransom and a police investigation.
Same propulsive register, still ticking clock
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Ghost Ship
Clive Cussler2014
Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Oath of Loyalty
Kyle Mills2022
CIA assassin Mitch Rapp goes off the grid to protect his partner while navigating a political conspiracy in Washington.
Same propulsive register, still political thriller
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
Amberes
Roberto Bolaño2002
A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
The Doves Necklace
Raja Alem2014
A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+3
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+3bleak+2
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+3bleak+2
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Never
Ken Follett2021
Global leaders and intelligence officers struggle to prevent a series of small international incidents from escalating into a nuclear world war.
propulsive → tense, still political thriller
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
Libra
Don DeLillo1988
A fictionalized biography of Lee Harvey Oswald. It follows his life and the CIA conspiracy that leads to the assassination of JFK.
propulsive → eerie, still political thriller
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Red April
Santiago Roncagliolo2009
A prosecutor in 2000s Peru investigates a series of gruesome murders during Holy Week. He uncovers a conspiracy involving the military and rebels.
propulsive → bleak, still political thriller
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+2bleak+3
Moneyland
Oliver Bullough2018
This nonfiction work tracks how global elites use offshore accounts and shell companies to hide wealth. It follows the history of money laundering.
propulsive → tense, still political thriller
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+3bleak+3
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis1991
A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+3