After
Xom-B
Jeremy Mark Robinson2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Deathstalker Destiny
Simon R. Green1999
Owen Deathstalker attempts to rescue his partner from genetic experimenters while protecting a leper colony on the planet Lachrymae Christi.
Same propulsive register, still rebellion
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dark Matter
Blake Crouch2016
A physics professor is kidnapped and wakes up in an alternate reality where he chose career over family. He must navigate the multiverse to return.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dead Beat
Jim Butcher2006
A wizard detective races to stop necromancers from completing a ritual in Chicago. He has three days to find a book of power before a deadline.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Origin
Dan Brown2013
Professor Robert Langdon follows a trail of cryptic clues in Spain after a futurist is murdered. He searches for a secret about human origins.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Lost World
Michael Crichton1995
Scientists travel to a second island of genetically engineered dinosaurs to study their behavior. It is a chase story focused on biology.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Niccolò Rising
Dorothy Dunnett1986
A dyer’s apprentice in 15th-century Bruges uses his intellect to navigate the world of international trade. He builds a mercantile empire.
propulsive → wry
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Split Infinity
Piers Anthony1980
A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose-1bleak-1
The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz1997
A guide to personal conduct based on four principles derived from Toltec traditions. It focuses on changing internal dialogue to reduce suffering.
propulsive → warm
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Untamed
Glennon Doyle2020
A woman recounts leaving her marriage and rebuilding her life after falling in love with another woman. It is a series of personal manifestos.
propulsive → earnest
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Searching for Beautiful
Jennifer Probst2015
After fleeing her wedding through a window, a surgeon hides out in a cabin with her long-time male best friend.
propulsive → warm
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- 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
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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
- 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
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn2006
A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote1965
A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.
propulsive → clinical
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Lord of the Flies
William Golding1954
Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
