After
The President's Vampire
Christopher Farnsworth2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
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Gemini Cell
Myke Cole2015
A dead Navy SEAL is resurrected as a magical supersoldier and struggles to regain his autonomy.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Blood Oath
Christopher Farnsworth2010
A young White House staffer is partnered with a 140-year-old vampire. They investigate a government conspiracy involving biological weapons.
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- pace-1prose0bleak0
Bitten
Kelley Armstrong2001
The only female werewolf in the world tries to live a normal life in Toronto. She is pulled back into her pack's violent world to help fight rebels.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Pleasure Unbound
Larissa Ione2008
A demon-slayer is treated at a hospital run by her enemies. She must choose between her loyalty to her peers and her attraction to the lead surgeon.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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14
Peter Clines2012
Residents of a strange Los Angeles apartment building investigate padlocked doors and glowing lights. They discover a cosmic secret in the walls.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
propulsive → dark
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Ghost Stories
Henry James2001
A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Domes of Fire
David Eddings1992
The knight Sparhawk travels to a distant empire to investigate a series of supernatural threats. He is accompanied by a group of diverse warriors.
propulsive → playful
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
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- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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
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- pace-3prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
propulsive → elegiac
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Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
The Light at the End
John Skipp2000
A group of New Yorkers hunts a punk-rock vampire who is killing people in the subway system during the 1980s.
propulsive → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
Frankenstein
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818
Victor Frankenstein assembles a living being from scavenged parts. The narrative follows the creature's rejection and its violent revenge.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
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.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
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The Terror
Dan Simmons2007
Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.
propulsive → bleak
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
