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After

Night Watch

Terry Pratchett2002

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same wry register, still satire

1 more ↓

  • The Bear Went Over the Mountain

    William Kotzwinkle1996

    A bear finds a manuscript in the woods and travels to New York to publish it under a human alias. He becomes a literary celebrity.

    wry → playful, still satire

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Love & Sleep

    John Crowley1994

    Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

wry → playful

3 more ↓

  • Year zero

    Reid, Robert2012

    Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.

    wry → playful, still satire

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • A Galaxy Unknown

    Thomas DePrima2010

    An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.

    wry → earnest

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Rescuing Macie

    Susan Stoker2019

    A military specialist rescues a woman from a dangerous situation. He stays by her side to ensure her safety as she recovers.

    wry → earnest

    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.

    wry → propulsive

    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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Pale King

    David Foster Wallace2011

    An unfinished, experimental novel about the mundane daily operations of an IRS processing center in 1985 Illinois.

    wry → sardonic, still satire

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

wry → sardonic, still satire

3 more ↓

  • The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft

    Thomas M. Disch1999

    A substitute teacher discovers she has the power of witchcraft. She uses her abilities to manipulate her small town as her sanity deteriorates.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    wry → 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.

    wry → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2