LitQueuelitqueue

After

Bathing the Lion

Jonathan Carroll2014

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Thistlefoot

    GennaRose Nethercott2022

    Two siblings inherit a house on chicken legs and travel across America while being hunted by a figure from their past.

    Same dreamlike register, still magical realism

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Soldier of Sidon

    Gene Wolfe2006

    A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.

    dreamlike → meditative, still amnesia

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Ink

    Hal Duncan2007

    Gods and mortals clash in a shifting city where reality is written on skin. The story follows a cycle of mythic archetypes across time.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Tours of the Black Clock

    Steve Erickson1989

    A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.

    Same dreamlike register, still magical realism

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Mane Event

    Shelly Laurenston2007

    A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Larque on the Wing

    Nancy Springer1994

    A middle-aged woman creates a physical manifestation of her ten-year-old self, who helps her transform into a young man.

    dreamlike → playful, still magical realism

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Mile High

    Liz Tomforde2023

    A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

    dreamlike → playful

    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.

    dreamlike → 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.

    dreamlike → 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Tam Lin

    Pamela Dean1991

    A college student in the 1970s joins a group of classics majors and discovers their theater troupe is tied to a faerie blood sacrifice.

    dreamlike → meditative, still contemporary fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-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.

    dreamlike → 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.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    dreamlike → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+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.

    dreamlike → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant

    Seth Dickinson2015

    An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

    dreamlike → cold

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1