After
Dead of night
Jonathan Maberry2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Feed
Mira Grant
Two bloggers follow a presidential campaign twenty years after a zombie outbreak. They uncover a conspiracy while reporting on the trail.
Same propulsive register, still zombie horror
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Battle Royale
Koushun Takami1999
A class of junior high students is trapped on an island and forced to kill each other until one remains. It follows several students' perspectives.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Rats
James Herbert1974
Giant, man-eating rats overrun London, attacking citizens in homes and subways. The story follows the escalating biological disaster.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Infected
Scott Sigler2008
Alien parasites burrow into human skin, causing paranoia and violent outbursts while a CDC doctor and CIA agent track the spread.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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Dark Harvest
Norman Partridge2006
Every Halloween in a 1960s Midwestern town, teenage boys hunt a pumpkin-headed monster. The winner earns a chance to leave the cursed town.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
propulsive → dark
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
To recover
propulsive → playful
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose-1bleak-2
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
propulsive → warm
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Odessa Sea
Clive Cussler2016
Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
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-3·prose+2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak-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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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+2·bleak-1
Heavier
propulsive → bleak, still zombie horror
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
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·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose0bleak+1
Autumn
David Moody2011
A viral outbreak kills billions, and the corpses begin to move. Two groups of survivors with different philosophies are forced to work together.
pace-2·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
Frankenstein
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley1818
Victor Frankenstein assembles a living being from scavenged parts. The narrative follows the creature's rejection and its violent revenge.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1