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After

Black Wolves

Kate Elliott2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same elegiac register, still epic fantasy

1 more ↓

  • The Mark of Ran

    Paul Kearney2005

    A young man from a remote fishing village discovers he carries the blood of an ancient race and joins a crew of outcasts on a sea voyage.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

elegiac → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • The Unholy Consult

    R. Scott Bakker2017

    A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.

    elegiac → bleak, still epic fantasy

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Ligeia

    Edgar Allan Poe2004

    A narrator mourns his first wife, Ligeia, then marries another who falls ill. He watches as the second wife's body appears to transform.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Macbeth

    William Shakespeare

    A Scottish general kills his king to take the throne after hearing a prophecy. His guilt and paranoia lead to a series of additional murders.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

elegiac → playful

3 more ↓

  • Castle of Wizardry

    David Eddings1984

    A young sorcerer and his companions travel across a continent to return a powerful artifact to its rightful throne.

    elegiac → playful, still epic fantasy

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Play Dead

    David Rosenfelt2007

    A defense attorney tries to prove a man's innocence by using a golden retriever as a witness to a five-year-old murder.

    elegiac → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Ghost Ship

    Clive Cussler2014

    Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Executioner

    Chris Carter2010

    A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Frankenstein

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818

    Victor Frankenstein assembles a living being from scavenged parts. The narrative follows the creature's rejection and its violent revenge.

    Same elegiac register

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Flowers in the Attic

    V.C. Andrews1979

    Four children are hidden in an attic for years by their mother and grandmother to secure an inheritance. They face gradual poisoning and abuse.

    Same elegiac register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Hamlet

    William Shakespeare

    A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1