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After

Morsels

Abe Moss

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  • The Library at Mount Char

    Scott Hawkins2015

    Library students with god-like powers compete to replace their missing mentor. It involves ancient rituals, extreme violence, and modern settings.

    gory → dark, still supernatural horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

gory → dreamlike

3 more
  • 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.

    gory → dark

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    gory → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

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

    gory → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more
  • Fifty Shades of Grey

    E.L. James2000

    A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.

    gory → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    gory → wry

    pace+1·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.

    gory → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

    gory → tense

    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.

    gory → 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.

    gory → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

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.

    gory → 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.

    gory → 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.

    gory → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

gory → tense, still supernatural horror

3 more
  • House of Bone and Rain

    Gabino Iglesias2024

    Five friends in Puerto Rico seek revenge for a mother's murder during a hurricane. Their quest involves both gangsters and spirits.

    gory → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Seed

    Ania Ahlborn2011

    A man who survived a childhood encounter with a demon sees the same entity targeting his daughter. It is a story of inescapable family curses.

    gory → bleak, still supernatural horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Last Days

    Adam L.G. Nevill

    A documentary filmmaker investigates the history of a 1970s cult. As he visits their former sites, he realizes he is being followed.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1