After
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
- 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+1prose-2bleak0
When Women Were Dragons
Kelly Barnhill2022
In 1955, thousands of American women spontaneously transform into dragons. A young girl grows up in the silence following this mass disappearance.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
Same meditative register, still magical realism
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- 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
To recover
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The time keeper
Mitch Albom2011
The inventor of the first clock is released from a cave to help two people in the modern world. He teaches them the value of their remaining time.
meditative → earnest, still magical realism
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection
Carol Burnett2010
The comedian shares anecdotes from her career in television and film. The book is a series of short chronological reflections.
meditative → warm
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
meditative → earnest
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-1bleak+2
Was
Geoff Ryman1992
Three timelines connect a Kansas girl in the 1880s, Judy Garland on set, and a dying man in the 1980s. It examines the reality behind the Oz myth.
meditative → elegiac, still magical realism
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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
- 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
