After
The Drive-In
Joe R. Lansdale1988
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dominion
Bentley Little2007
A man inherits a Napa Valley estate and discovers his ancestors were involved with an ancient, bloodthirsty deity.
Same sardonic register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Black Sheep
Rachel Harrison2023
Vesper returns to the religious cult she fled to attend a family wedding. She discovers the dark supernatural truth behind her family's beliefs.
Same sardonic register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Last Days of Jack Sparks
Jason Arnopp2016
A cynical journalist mocks an exorcism and becomes the target of supernatural activity. The story is told through his recovered notes and files.
Same sardonic register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Dead Inside
Chandler Morrison2015
A hospital guard and a doctor bond over their shared compulsion to consume human remains. It is a graphic work of transgressive horror.
Same sardonic register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Burnt Offerings
Laurell K. Hamilton1988
Vampire hunter Anita Blake investigates a series of supernatural arsons while navigating a conflict between rival vampire factions.
Same sardonic register, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
sardonic → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
sardonic → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-2
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.
sardonic → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
Same sardonic register, still horror
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron
Julia Quinn2022
A graphic novel adaptation of a fictional melodrama where an orphan flees a cruel aunt and encounters a man in a remote castle.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
sardonic → warm
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
Same sardonic register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Mind's Eye
Douglas E. Richards2014
A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Atlantis Gene
A.G. Riddle2013
A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia2007
An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Moonwise
Greer Gilman1991
Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Pet Sematary
Stephen King1983
A family moves to Maine and discovers a burial ground that can return the dead to life. They use it, and the consequences are absolute.
sardonic → tense, still horror
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Song of Kali
Dan Simmons1985
An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.
sardonic → bleak, still horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Damnation Game
Clive Barker1985
An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.
sardonic → bleak, still horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Last Days
Brian Evenson2009
A detective is kidnapped by a cult that practices ritual amputation and forced to investigate a murder within their ranks.
sardonic → clinical, still horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Exquisite Corpse
Poppy Z. Brite1996
Two serial killers meet in New Orleans and collaborate on the abduction and murder of a young man. The prose details extreme physical violence.
sardonic → bleak, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
