After
The unnoticeables
Robert Brockway2015
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Empty Ones
Robert Brockway2016
A group of survivors hunts a cult that transforms humans into hollowed-out monsters. It is the second book in a cosmic horror trilogy.
Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
sardonic → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Labyrinth Index
Charles Stross2018
An elder god serves as the British Prime Minister. Mhari Murphy leads a team of agents to the United States to investigate a missing person case.
Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Doubletake
Rob Thurman2012
Cal Leandros deals with his brother's estranged father and a dangerous lottery held by the Puck race. A figure from Cal's past returns to hunt him.
Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Circus of the damned
Laurell K. Hamilton2004
Necromancer Anita Blake investigates a series of vampire murders in St. Louis while caught between two rival supernatural leaders.
Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
The night land
William Hope Hodgson1972
Millions of years after the sun dies, a man leaves an underground fortress to rescue a woman. The prose uses archaic, repetitive syntax.
sardonic → dreamlike, still cosmic horror
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
sardonic → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Histoires Extraordinaires (Balloon-Hoax / Descent into the Maelstrom / Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar / Gold-Bug / Ligeia / Mesmeric Revelation / Metzengerstein / Morella / MS. Found in a Bottle / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Purloined Letter / Tale of the Ragged Mountains / Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall)
Edgar Allan Poe1857
A collection of stories featuring early detective work, gothic obsession, and scientific hoaxes. The prose is dense and the outlook is grim.
sardonic → tense, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
To recover
sardonic → playful, still urban fantasy
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
Kerrelyn Sparks2005
A vampire who broke a fang kidnaps a dentist who is afraid of blood. She is hiding from the mafia while he needs his smile repaired.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Undead and Unwed
MaryJanice Davidson2004
After dying in a car crash, a fashion-obsessed woman wakes up as a vampire. She resists the local undead community's claim that she is their queen.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Flip This Zombie
Jesse Petersen2011
A married couple runs a zombie extermination and 'flipping' business. They treat the apocalypse as a series of domestic and financial hurdles.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Bitten & Smitten
Michelle Rowen2006
Sarah is accidentally turned into a vampire and must rely on a grumpy, centuries-old vampire to teach her how to survive.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors
Molly Harper2012
A librarian prepares for her wedding while managing a newly turned teenage vampire she is legally responsible for. Her fiancé becomes jealous.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Monster Hunter Nemesis
Larry Correia2014
A Frankenstein-like government agent is hunted by his creators while trying to stop a magically enhanced serial killer.
sardonic → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Creepers
David Morrell2005
Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.
sardonic → tense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
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+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
The night land
William Hope Hodgson1972
Millions of years after the sun dies, a man leaves an underground fortress to rescue a woman. The prose uses archaic, repetitive syntax.
sardonic → dreamlike, still cosmic horror
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
Thomas Ligotti2010
A series of philosophical essays arguing that human consciousness is a tragic evolutionary accident. It posits that non-existence is preferable.
sardonic → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose-1bleak0
Lady Audley's Secret
Mary Elizabeth Braddon1862
A man returns from Australia to find his friend's wife is a governess with a hidden past. He investigates her identity after his friend disappears.
sardonic → mysterious
pace-2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+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.
sardonic → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Hellbound Heart
Clive Barker1991
A man opens a puzzle box that summons demonic beings to harvest his soul through sensory extremes. His brother's wife attempts to bring him back.
sardonic → cold, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+2
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Brian Keene2010
A small Virginia town is surrounded by a wall of absolute blackness. The residents struggle to survive as the darkness begins to change them.
sardonic → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
The Croning
Laird Barron2012
An elderly geologist discovers his wife and her social circle belong to an ancient cult. The narrative shifts between his past and present.
sardonic → tense, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
This Thing Between Us
Gus Moreno2021
A widower moves to a remote cabin after his wife's death, pursued by a malevolent force linked to a smart speaker. The horror is surreal.
sardonic → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
