House of Hunger

Carrion Comfort

Dan Simmons1989

Humans with the ability to mentally control others hunt one another for sport. A survivor of the Holocaust attempts to stop them.

Same tense register, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Ghost Stories

Henry James2001

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

tense → meditative, still gothic horror

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → bleak, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose+2·bleak+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.

tense → bleak, still gothic horror

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

Same tense register

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline2008

A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

tense → wry

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

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

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

tense → bleak

pace+1·prose-1·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·bleak-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.

tense → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Mr. Hands

Gary A. Braunbeck2007

A grieving mother uses a supernatural entity to take revenge on those who harm children. The story follows the consequences of her vigilante pact.

tense → bleak, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

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.

tense → cold, still dark fantasy

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

tense → bleak, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1