After
A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore2006
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Kitty takes a holiday
Carrie Vaughn2007
A celebrity werewolf retreats to a remote cabin to write her memoirs but is interrupted by a monster hunter and a supernatural predator.
dark → wry, still paranormal
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Livesuit
James S.A. Corey
A pilot is physically integrated into a massive combat suit to fight an interstellar war. The process erases his human identity over time.
Same dark register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Worst Ship in the Fleet
Skyler Ramirez2023
Same dark register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Sufficiently Advanced Magic
Andrew Rowe2017
A student enters a magical tower to find his missing brother. He analyzes the mechanics of magic to survive various trials.
Same dark register
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
dark → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
dark → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-3
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.
dark → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
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.
dark → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
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.
dark → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
dark → playful, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
dark → playful, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
Kerrelyn Sparks2005
A vampire who broke a fang kidnaps a dentist who is afraid of blood. She is hiding from the mafia while he needs his smile repaired.
dark → playful, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Undead and Unwed
MaryJanice Davidson2004
After dying in a car crash, a fashion-obsessed woman wakes up as a vampire. She resists the local undead community's claim that she is their queen.
dark → playful, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
dark → propulsive, still urban fantasy
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
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.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Touch the dark
Karen Chance2006
A clairvoyant woman is forced to work for a vampire senator to escape a mob boss. She navigates a supernatural underworld with high-speed action.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Battle Ground
Jim Butcher2020
A wizard leads the supernatural defense of Chicago against an invading army led by a Titan. The book is a single, continuous battle.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Blood Engines
Tim Pratt2007
A sorceress who uses blood magic to power her spells defends her city from a rival. She makes ruthless choices to maintain her power.
dark → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.
dark → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
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.
dark → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
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.
dark → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
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.
dark → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
dark → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+1bleak-2
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.
dark → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
