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After

Lost Boy

Christina Henry2017

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same bleak register, still dark fantasy

1 more ↓

  • The Swordbearer

    Glen Cook1982

    A young man gains a magical sword to defend his kingdom, only to find the weapon is sentient and malevolent. It slowly consumes his life.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    bleak → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    bleak → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    bleak → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

To recover

bleak → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • This Man

    Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

    An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

    bleak → tense

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Ready Player One

    Ernest Cline2008

    A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Real Murders

    Charlaine Harris1990

    A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

    bleak → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Hellsing

    Kohta Hirano2003

    A secret British organization uses a powerful vampire to fight a supernatural Nazi uprising. The Vatican intervenes as London is besieged.

    bleak → sardonic, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Something is Killing the Children, Book One

    James Tynion IV2021

    A monster hunter arrives in a town where children are being eaten by invisible creatures. It is a graphic novel about systemic violence.

    bleak → tense, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    bleak → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    bleak → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    bleak → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    bleak → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Queen of the Conquered

    Kacen Callender2019

    A noblewoman with mind-control powers enters a royal competition to kill the colonizers who murdered her family.

    Same bleak register, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    bleak → tense, still horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Song of Kali

    Dan Simmons1985

    An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

    Same bleak register, still horror

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1