LitQueuelitqueue

After

Taltos

Anne Rice1994

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Florence Giles

    John Harding2010

    A young girl in a remote 1890s mansion invents her own language to process her isolation. She becomes convinced a ghost is threatening her brother.

    meditative → tense, still gothic horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Love Comes Softly

    Janette Oke1979

    A widow on the 19th-century frontier enters a marriage of convenience with a widower to survive the winter and care for his daughter.

    meditative → tender

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The perfect Christmas

    Debbie Macomber2009

    A woman hires a grumpy matchmaker to find a husband. He assigns her three tasks to complete before he will introduce her to his chosen candidate.

    meditative → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Danger in the Shadows

    Dee Henderson2002

    A woman in witness protection hides from a kidnapper while a FBI agent works to keep her safe. The story incorporates elements of Christian faith.

    meditative → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

    meditative → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    meditative → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    meditative → bleak

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2

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.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    meditative → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    meditative → cold, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    meditative → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2