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After

The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye

Robert Kirkman

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Creepers

    David Morrell2005

    Five urban explorers break into a long-abandoned hotel in New Jersey and find themselves trapped with a killer.

    Same tense register, still survival horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → bleak

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → dark

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → cold

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

To recover

tense → playful

3 more ↓

  • Mansfield Park

    Jane Austen1814

    Fanny Price lives as a poor relation in her wealthy uncle's estate. She observes the moral failings of her cousins while nursing a secret love.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Margo's Got Money Troubles

    Rufi Thorpe2024

    A young mother starts an OnlyFans to avoid eviction. She uses her father's professional wrestling advice to build a persona and manage her life.

    tense → wry, still found family

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Ten Things I Love About You

    Julia Quinn2010

    To save her family from poverty, Annabel Winslow must choose between a wealthy, elderly earl and his charming, penniless nephew.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    tense → meditative

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Ruins

    Scott Smith2005

    Four tourists are trapped on a hill in Mexico by locals and a predatory vine. The plant mimics sounds and grows inside their skin.

    Same tense register, still survival horror

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Autumn

    David Moody2011

    A viral outbreak kills billions, and the corpses begin to move. Two groups of survivors with different philosophies are forced to work together.

    tense → bleak, still post-apocalyptic

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → bleak, still survival horror

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1