After
14
Peter Clines2012
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The unnoticeables
Robert Brockway2015
A 1977 punk and a modern-day stuntwoman fight cosmic entities that 'simplify' humans. The story alternates between New York and Los Angeles.
propulsive → sardonic, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Queen of the Damned
Anne Rice1988
The first vampire awakens and begins a global slaughter. Various vampires across the world converge to stop her or join her new world order.
propulsive → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Crota
Owl Goingback1996
A sheriff and a medicine man hunt an ancient, subterranean creature responsible for a series of mutilations in rural Missouri.
Same propulsive register, still ancient evil
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- 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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- 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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Edgar Allen Poe (Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Fall of the House of Usher / Gold Bug / Metzengerstein / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Narrative of Arthur Gordn Pym / Never Bet the Devil Your Head / Pit and the Pendulum / Purloined Letter / Tell-Tale Heart)
Edgar Allan Poe2005
A collection of gothic stories and a novel. Narrators deal with psychological collapse, premature burial, and macabre crimes.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak+2
To recover
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
- 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
Electric Idol
Katee Robert2022
In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Sugar Cookie Murder
Joanne Fluke2003
During a community Christmas buffet in Minnesota, a man's ex-wife is found stabbed to death. A bakery owner investigates while sharing recipes.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Secondhand Spirits
Juliet Blackwell2009
A vintage shop owner who can feel the history of clothes uses her magic to solve a murder. She must find a killer while hiding her identity.
propulsive → playful
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.
Same propulsive register, 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.
propulsive → 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.
Same propulsive register
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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → dreamlike, still cosmic horror
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- 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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
propulsive → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- 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.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
