LitQueuelitqueue

After

Conjure Wife

Fritz Leiber1953

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Lullaby

    Chuck Palahniuk2002

    A reporter discovers a nursery rhyme that kills anyone who hears it. He travels across the country to destroy every copy of the book.

    Same sardonic register, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

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.

    sardonic → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+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.

    sardonic → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    sardonic → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

sardonic → playful

3 more ↓

  • Shopaholic & Baby

    Sophie Kinsella2007

    A woman with a shopping addiction navigates pregnancy while discovering her celebrity obstetrician is her husband's ex-girlfriend.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • An English Bride in Scotland

    Lynsay Sands2013

    A woman leaves a convent to marry a Scottish laird in her sister's place. She learns to manage a highland estate while avoiding an enemy's plot.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank

    Erma Bombeck1976

    A collection of essays observing the daily frustrations and domestic absurdities of suburban family life in the 1970s.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Creepers

    David Morrell2005

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

    sardonic → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

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

    sardonic → bleak

    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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

sardonic → bleak, still dark fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Dark Eidolon

    Clark Ashton Smith2009

    A sorcerer seeks revenge against a king in a dying world under a dim sun. The story uses dense, archaic prose to describe necromancy and demons.

    sardonic → cold, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Unblemished

    Conrad Williams2006

    A mother protects her daughter from a lineage of flesh-eating monsters. The story follows a serial killer and a man holding ancient secrets.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Frankenstein

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818

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

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2