After
The Red Tree
Caitlín R. Kiernan2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Doll Who Ate His Mother
Ramsey Campbell1976
After a car crash, a woman discovers her brother's arm has been stolen. She joins three strangers to track a person with a history of cannibalism.
dreamlike → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Drowning Girl
Caitlín R. Kiernan2012
A woman with schizophrenia writes a memoir to process her encounters with a mysterious girl. She questions if the events were real or delusions.
Same dreamlike register, still psychological horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy
Jeff VanderMeer2014
Expeditions enter a coastal zone where nature is being rewritten. The narrative follows a biologist as she observes the shifting environment.
Same dreamlike register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Grip of It
Jac Jemc2017
A couple moves into a new home that begins to physically and mentally warp. The narrative shifts between their two increasingly unreliable voices.
Same dreamlike register, still psychological horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
A Winter Haunting
Dan Simmons2002
A disgraced professor retreats to a farmhouse in his childhood hometown. He experiences hallucinations and visits from his past as he unravels.
dreamlike → elegiac, still psychological horror
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Tours of the Black Clock
Steve Erickson1989
A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.
Same dreamlike register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
Same dreamlike register
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
Same dreamlike register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
dreamlike → meditative, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak-3
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.
dreamlike → playful
pace0·prose+1·bleak-3
To recover
dreamlike → propulsive
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
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.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
dreamlike → tense
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
dreamlike → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Mist
Stephen King1980
A group of townspeople is trapped in a grocery store by a thick mist containing lethal monsters while social order collapses inside.
dreamlike → tense, still cosmic horror
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
dreamlike → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
dreamlike → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
Mind's Eye
Douglas E. Richards2014
A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
dreamlike → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
dreamlike → elegiac, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
Same dreamlike register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Among Others
Jo Walton2011
A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.
dreamlike → tender
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin1990
A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.
dreamlike → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
