LitQueuelitqueue

After

Deadly Games

Lindsay Buroker2011

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Bands of Mourning

    Brandon Sanderson2016

    A lawman and his partners search for a mythical artifact that grants the powers of a god in a world of guns and magic.

    propulsive → playful, still steampunk

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

    A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Sergei

    Roxie Rivera2013

    A Russian mob enforcer protects a woman from his own world while trying to keep his romantic interest in her a secret.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • The Grimoire of the Lamb

    Kevin Hearne

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • The Ace of Skulls

    Chris Wooding2013

    The crew of the airship Ketty Jay navigates a civil war they helped start. They must choose a side while the captain pursues a personal rescue.

    Same propulsive register, still steampunk

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    propulsive → meditative, still fantasy

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2