LitQueuelitqueue

After

Symphony of Secrets

Brendan Slocumb2023

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Odessa File

    Frederick Forsyth1842

    A German journalist infiltrates a secret organization of former SS members to track down a war criminal. It is a procedural hunt for a killer.

    Same propulsive register, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • City of Saints and Madmen

    Jeff Vandermeer2001

    A collection of stories, histories, and pamphlets about the city of Ambergris. It uses found documents to build a surreal urban history.

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Against the Day

    Thomas Pynchon2006

    A massive ensemble cast navigates the globe between the 1893 World's Fair and WWI. The plot spans airships, math, and secret societies.

    propulsive → playful, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Too Like the Lightning

    Ada Palmer2016

    In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.

    propulsive → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Better Off Dead

    Lee Child2021

    Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.

    Same propulsive register, still thriller

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    propulsive → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Big Magic

    Elizabeth Gilbert2015

    The author shares her philosophy on the creative process through personal anecdotes. It focuses on overcoming fear and pursuing curiosity.

    propulsive → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

Same propulsive register, still mystery

3 more ↓

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    propulsive → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Beelzebub's tales to his grandson

    Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950

    An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Kolyma tales

    Varlam SHALAMOV1980

    Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.

    propulsive → clinical, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Doomsday Book

    Joel Levy2006

    This nonfiction guide analyzes various global catastrophe scenarios, from nuclear war to pandemics, and calculates the probability of each.

    propulsive → tense, still mystery

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Resurrection

    Ken McClure2000

    A doctor investigates a lethal outbreak in a Scottish hospital that appears to be a deliberate act of biological warfare.

    propulsive → tense, still thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Handmaid's Tale

    Margaret Atwood1985

    In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2