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After

The Hollow Ones

Guillermo del Toro2020

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still horror

1 more ↓

  • The Strain

    Guillermo del Toro2009

    A biological virus turns New York citizens into vampires. A CDC doctor and a pawnbroker try to stop the spread before it goes global.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → dreamlike

3 more ↓

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Renegade Hunter

    Lynsay Sands2009

    A former vampire hunter living as a rogue rescues a woman from an attack. He discovers she is his life mate while protecting her from his kind.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Eleventh Grave in Moonlight

    Darynda Jones2017

    A private investigator who is also the Grim Reaper deals with gods and demons while raising a daughter destined to save the world.

    tense → playful, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Festive in Death

    J.D. Robb2014

    Detective Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a personal trainer in a futuristic New York during the Christmas season.

    tense → propulsive, still police procedural

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    Same tense register, still horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Executioner

    Chris Carter2010

    A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.

    Same tense register, still police procedural

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Intercepts

    T.J. Payne2020

    A worker at a government facility monitors human test subjects driven insane by sensory deprivation. The experiment enters his private life.

    Same tense register, still horror

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Lottery

    Shirley Jackson1983

    Villagers gather for an annual ritual in a small town. The story follows the procedural steps of a lottery that ends in a public execution.

    tense → cold, still horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → bleak, still horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Let the Right One In

    John Ajvide Lindqvist2004

    A bullied boy befriends a vampire who appears to be a young girl. The story depicts their relationship alongside a series of gruesome murders.

    tense → bleak, still horror

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1