LitQueuelitqueue

After

After Midnight

Richard Laymon1997

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Final Girl Support Group

    Grady Hendrix2021

    Six women who survived real-life slasher massacres meet for therapy. When one is murdered, they must find the killer before they are all dead.

    Same propulsive register, still slasher

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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-2·prose+3·bleak+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-2·prose+3·bleak+2

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead (Zen of Zombie Series)

    Scott Kenemore

    A satirical self-help guide that uses the behavior of zombies as a model for achieving mindfulness and reducing stress.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Colour of Magic

    Terry Pratchett1983

    A failed wizard and a naive tourist travel across a flat world carried by a turtle. The story parodies fantasy tropes and clichés.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Rowan

    Anne McCaffrey1990

    A powerful telepath living in isolation connects with a distant mind to defend against an alien invasion. It follows their psychic courtship.

    propulsive → earnest

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

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

    propulsive → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-3·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

propulsive → bleak, still splatterpunk

3 more ↓

  • Exquisite Corpse

    Poppy Z. Brite1996

    Two serial killers meet in New Orleans and collaborate on the abduction and murder of a young man. The prose details extreme physical violence.

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Girl Next Door

    Jack Ketchum1989

    A group of children in the 1950s witness and participate in the prolonged torture of two sisters held captive in a basement.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2