LitQueuelitqueue

After

Damnable

Hank Schwaeble2009

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Hidden Pictures

    Jason Rekulak2022

    A nanny in recovery looks after a boy whose drawings become increasingly violent and realistic. She investigates a cold case in the woods.

    Same tense register, still horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Android Karenina

    Лев Толстой2010

    The text of Tolstoy's classic is modified to include robots, cyborgs, and space travel in a 19th-century Russian setting.

    tense → elegiac, still horror

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Racconti [55 stories]

    Edgar Allan Poe2011

    A collection of 55 stories featuring unreliable narrators and gothic settings. Themes include obsession, premature burial, and the macabre.

    tense → dreamlike, still horror

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Night Pleasures

    Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

    An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Perfection

    R.L. Mathewson2011

    A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Walking Disaster

    Jamie McGuire2013

    This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.

    tense → propulsive

    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.

    Same tense register, still thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

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

    Same tense register, still horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same tense register, still thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Lottery

    Shirley Jackson1983

    Villagers gather for an annual ritual in a small town. The story follows the procedural steps of a lottery that ends in a public execution.

    tense → cold, still horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    tense → bleak, still horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Let the Right One In

    John Ajvide Lindqvist2004

    A bullied boy befriends a vampire who appears to be a young girl. The story depicts their relationship alongside a series of gruesome murders.

    tense → bleak, still horror

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2