After

Endless Things

John Crowley2007

pace
prose
structure
bleakness

4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower

More like it

pace0prose0bleak0
The Solitudes
John Crowley1987
An out-of-work teacher moves to the country and begins to suspect that the laws of the world change over time. The focus is on ideas and atmosphere.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
pace+1prose-1bleak0
Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon
Lisa Goldstein1993
In Elizabethan London, a bookseller discovers her son is a changeling while Christopher Marlowe becomes entangled in faerie politics.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Winged Histories
Sofia Samatar2016
Four women—a soldier, a scholar, a socialite, and a singer—navigate a civil war. The story is told through their distinct, lyrical perspectives.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0

1 more ↓

pace0prose0bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
Same meditative register
pace0·prose0·bleak0

To recover

pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
pace+1prose-3bleak-1
Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom1994
A journalist reconnects with his dying college professor for weekly lessons on life. They discuss aging, regret, and love as the professor declines.
meditative → tender
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1

3 more ↓

pace+3prose-3bleak-1
Steal Like an Artist
Austin Kleon2012
A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Big Magic
Elizabeth Gilbert2015
The author shares her philosophy on the creative process through personal anecdotes. It focuses on overcoming fear and pursuing curiosity.
meditative → warm
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
Same meditative register
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

Faster

pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1

3 more ↓

pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0

Heavier

pace+2prose-1bleak+2
The Burning God
R.F. Kuang2020
A general leads a peasant army in a civil war across a fantasy version of China. She grapples with her sanity and the influence of a fire god.
meditative → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
pace+1prose-2bleak+2
Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu
Andrus Kivirähk2015
A boy in medieval Estonia learns the ancient language of snakes to command animals as his forest culture is erased by Christian invaders.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2

3 more ↓

pace+2prose-1bleak+2
The sad tale of the brothers Grossbart
Jesse Bullington2009
Two murderous brothers travel across 14th-century Europe to rob Egyptian tombs. They encounter monsters and religious zealots along the way.
meditative → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
pace+2prose-1bleak+2
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.
meditative → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
pace+2prose-2bleak+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.
meditative → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2