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After

The Hunt for Red October

Tom Clancy1984

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still techno-thriller

1 more ↓

  • And Now She's Gone

    Rachel Howzell Hall2020

    A private investigator searches for a woman who disappeared from her suburban life. The case reveals both women are hiding pasts of domestic abuse.

    Same tense register, still cat and mouse

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Doves Necklace

    Raja Alem2014

    A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • American Psycho

    Bret Easton Ellis1991

    A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.

    tense → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • A Galaxy Unknown

    Thomas DePrima2010

    An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.

    tense → earnest, still military sci-fi

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Dark Lover

    J. R. Ward2005

    A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.

    tense → propulsive

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Assistant to the Villain

    Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023

    A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

tense → propulsive, still techno-thriller

3 more ↓

  • Runner

    Patrick Lee2014

    A retired special forces operative protects a young girl with no memory from armed government agents. The plot is a high-speed chase.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Deception Point

    Dan Brown2001

    An intelligence analyst is sent to the Arctic to verify a NASA discovery. She finds evidence of a hoax that threatens the presidential election.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Protect and Defend

    Vince Flynn2007

    CIA operative Mitch Rapp travels to the Middle East to prevent Iranian retaliation after an Israeli strike. He works to stop a terrorist plot.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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-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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • A maça no escuro

    Clarice Lispector1961

    A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Sharp Objects

    Gillian Flynn2006

    A reporter returns to her hometown to cover the murders of two girls while grappling with her own history of self-harm.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • In Cold Blood

    Truman Capote1965

    A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.

    tense → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Lord of the Flies

    William Golding1954

    Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2