LitQueuelitqueue

After

I Am Pilgrim

Terry Hayes2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Bourne supremacy

    Robert Ludlum1987

    An amnesiac assassin is forced out of hiding when his wife is kidnapped. He must stop an impostor from triggering a war in Asia.

    propulsive → tense, still espionage

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • The Doves Necklace

    Raja Alem2014

    A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Niccolò Rising

    Dorothy Dunnett1986

    A dyer’s apprentice in 15th-century Bruges uses his intellect to navigate the world of international trade. He builds a mercantile empire.

    propulsive → wry

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

    Meg Cabot

    A former pop star working at a college dormitory investigates the murder of a cheerleader. She balances the case with her own personal life.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Vampires Are Forever

    Lynsay Sands2008

    A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Mane Event

    Shelly Laurenston2007

    A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

Same propulsive register, still espionage

3 more ↓

  • When the Wind Blows

    James Patterson1847

    A veterinarian and an FBI agent discover winged children created in a secret laboratory. They go on the run to protect the girl from her creators.

    Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Runner

    Patrick Lee2014

    A retired special forces operative protects a young girl with no memory from armed government agents. The plot is a high-speed chase.

    Same propulsive register, still techno-thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Deception Point

    Dan Brown2001

    An intelligence analyst is sent to the Arctic to verify a NASA discovery. She finds evidence of a hoax that threatens the presidential election.

    Same propulsive register, still techno-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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • A maça no escuro

    Clarice Lispector1961

    A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Sharp Objects

    Gillian Flynn2006

    A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • In Cold Blood

    Truman Capote1965

    A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.

    propulsive → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Lord of the Flies

    William Golding1954

    Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1