After
No Rest for the Wicked
Kresley Cole2006
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night
Kresley Cole2007
A werewolf competes in a scavenger hunt to win a prize that can resurrect his dead mate, but he finds himself drawn to a competitor.
Same propulsive register, still paranormal romance
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Shadow and Ice
Gena Showalter2018
Ancient warriors frozen in ice awaken to resume a deadly tournament in the modern day. A human woman becomes an accidental participant.
Same propulsive register, still paranormal romance
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Devil May Cry
Sherrilyn Kenyon2007
A stripped Sumerian god must team up with a female warrior to stop ancient demons from destroying humanity. They are historical enemies.
Same propulsive register, still paranormal romance
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Born to Bite
Lynsay Sands2001
A vampire enforcer investigates a man whose three previous wives died mysteriously. She must determine if he is a murderer while resisting him.
propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Playing With Fire
Katie MacAlister2008
A dragon shifter pursues a woman who can hide in shadows. She must navigate a blackmail plot and a demon lord while resisting their fated bond.
propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Middlemarch
George Eliot1800
Interconnected families in a 1830s English town navigate marriage, debt, and political change. The focus is on social realism and internal life.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
A middle-aged professor documents his obsession with his twelve-year-old stepdaughter. He uses complex prose to justify his crimes.
propulsive → tense
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert1856
A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.
propulsive → tense
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Raven
Sylvain Reynard2015
An art restorer in Florence is rescued from an attack by a supernatural being and becomes entangled in an ancient underworld.
propulsive → tense, still paranormal romance
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
Paradise Logic
Sophie Kemp2025
A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.
propulsive → epic
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
Faster
Same propulsive register, still paranormal romance
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Burn for Me
Ilona Andrews2014
A private investigator with the ability to tell truth from lies is hired to find a fire-user. She is forced to work with a dangerous billionaire.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Ill Wind
Rachel Caine2003
A weather warden on the run from the law uses her ability to control storms to protect people from rogue elemental forces.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Warlord Wants Forever
Kresley Cole2011
A vampire general hunts a valkyrie who stole his heart centuries ago. They are forced together during a magical competition.
propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Wicked All Night
Jeaniene Frost2021
A vampire and a siren enter a marriage of convenience to protect her from a supernatural threat. They hunt a dark god across the globe.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Quantum Radio
A.G. Riddle2023
A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.
Same propulsive register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+3
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-2·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë1846
Two families on the Yorkshire moors deal with the arrival and subsequent revenge of an adopted orphan. The story is told through nested narrators.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose0bleak+3
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway1929
An American ambulance driver and a British nurse conduct a love affair during the Italian campaign of World War I.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Thomas Hardy
A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Brokeback Mountain
Annie Proulx1997
Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
Bright Side
Kim Holden2014
An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.
propulsive → tender
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
