After
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from, nothing denser
More like it
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Well of Lost Plots
Jasper Fforde2003
A literary detective hides inside an unfinished novel to escape her enemies. She navigates the bureaucracy of the fictional world.
Same playful register, still metafiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Stone Giant
James Blaylock1989
A man journeys across a landscape of strange machines and eccentric characters to find a giant. The story follows the logic of a fairy tale.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Crock of Gold
James Stephens1912
Two philosophers encounter Irish deities and leprechauns in a series of satirical dialogues and adventures.
Same playful register, still satire
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
Witches Abroad
Terry Pratchett1991
Three witches travel across a continent to stop a wedding. They encounter various fairy tale tropes and subvert them through common sense.
Same playful register, still satire
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Nights at the Circus
Angela Carter1984
A journalist follows a traveling circus to interview a winged aerialist. The story moves from London to Siberia through a series of vignettes.
Same playful register
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
Faster
- pace+2prose-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.
playful → sardonic
pace+2·prose-3·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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.
Same playful register
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-1prose-2bleak+1
Among Others
Jo Walton2011
A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.
playful → tender
pace-1·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak+1
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin1990
A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Little, Big
John Crowley1981
A man marries into a family living in a massive house where the borders of the natural world blur. It follows several generations over a century.
playful → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
A Slow Regard of Silent Things
Patrick Rothfuss2013
A young woman lives alone in the tunnels beneath a university, finding meaning in discarded objects and daily rituals.
playful → tender
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
Heavier
playful → sardonic, still satire
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
Doctor Rat
William Kotzwinkle1976
A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace0prose-1bleak+3
The Vengeance of Rome
Michael Moorcock2006
Pyat, an unreliable narrator and Nazi sympathizer, travels through the 1930s. He observes the rise of fascism while remaining self-deluded.
pace0·prose-1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft
Thomas M. Disch1999
A substitute teacher discovers she has the power of witchcraft. She uses her abilities to manipulate her small town as her sanity deteriorates.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose-2bleak+3
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.
playful → tense
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+3
