After
Titus Groan
Mervyn Peake1973
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Ilario: The Stone Golem
Mary Gentle2007
An intersex painter flees court betrayal in an alternate 15th century, traveling from Iberia to Venice and Constantinople.
Same sardonic register, still court intrigue
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Somnambulist
Jonathan Barnes2007
A Victorian conjurer and his silent, giant companion investigate a conspiracy involving a secret society in London.
Same sardonic register, still gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie1981
Saleem Sinai is born at the moment of India's independence and possesses a telepathic link to others born that night. His life mirrors the nation.
Same sardonic register
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
River of Stars
Guy Gavriel Kay2013
Two people navigate the court and battlefields of a fictionalized 12th-century China. One is an outlaw soldier, the other a scholar's daughter.
sardonic → elegiac, still court intrigue
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Gloriana
Michael Moorcock1978
Queen Gloriana rules a golden age in an alternative Elizabethan England while her spymaster commits atrocities to maintain the peace.
sardonic → cold, still court intrigue
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
sardonic → playful
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood2021
A biology PhD candidate enters a fake relationship with a young professor to satisfy a friend. They navigate academic politics and attraction.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Beautiful Bastard
Christina Lauren2013
An MBA intern and her demanding media executive boss engage in a series of sexual encounters while competing at work. It is an erotic romance.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Hating Game
Sally Thorne2016
Two executive assistants at a publishing house compete for a single promotion through a series of psychological games and mutual sabotage.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Score
Elle Kennedy2016
A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
The Spanish Love Deception
Elena Armas2021
A woman convinces a colleague she dislikes to fly to Spain and pose as her boyfriend for a wedding. They have four weeks to prepare the ruse.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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+3·prose-3·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Blood of Roses
Tanith Lee1990
A forest spirit and a girl navigate a landscape of vampires and werewolves. The prose is dense and the logic follows dream-like patterns.
sardonic → dreamlike, still gothic
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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.
sardonic → bleak, still gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
sardonic → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+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
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
sardonic → bleak
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
