LitQueuelitqueue

After

The picture of Dorian Gray, and selected stories

Oscar Wilde1962

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Murdstone trilogy

    Mal Peet2014

    A failing novelist makes a deal with a supernatural creature to write a bestselling fantasy epic he doesn't believe in.

    wry → sardonic, still deal with the devil

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Endless Things

    John Crowley2007

    A scholar travels to Europe to find a secret history of magic hidden within real-world myths. This is the conclusion of a four-book cycle.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Big Magic

    Elizabeth Gilbert2015

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

    wry → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Rooster Bar

    John Grisham2017

    Three law students realize their school is a scam and drop out to pose as lawyers. They steal identities to survive and pay off their debts.

    wry → sardonic

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Quiche of Death

    M.C. Beaton

    A retired PR professional moves to a Cotswolds village and enters a baking contest. When a judge dies from her quiche, she must find the killer.

    Same wry register

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

    A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Nuestra parte de noche

    Mariana Enríquez2019

    A father and son travel across Argentina during the military junta. They are fleeing a secret society that uses mediums for horrific rituals.

    wry → bleak, still gothic

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Fifth Season

    N. K. Jemisin2015

    A mother searches for her daughter across a continent undergoing a tectonic apocalypse. Some chapters address the reader in the second person.

    wry → bleak

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

    wry → tense, still deal with the devil

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1