LitQueuelitqueue

After

Nona the Ninth

Tamsyn Muir2022

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Empire of Silence

    Christopher Ruocchio2018

    Hadrian Marlowe recounts his life from noble fugitive to the man who destroyed an alien race. It is a memoir of a long, galactic war.

    tender → elegiac, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ink

    Hal Duncan2007

    Gods and mortals clash in a shifting city where reality is written on skin. The story follows a cycle of mythic archetypes across time.

    tender → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Boneland

    Alan Garner2012

    An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Light and the Dark

    Mikhail Shishkin2013

    Two lovers exchange letters that transcend time and space. One writes from a domestic life while the other writes from the front lines of a war.

    tender → elegiac

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Twice Bitten

    Lynsay Sands2018

    An immortal woman hunting rogue vampires encounters a man who claims they have a history she cannot remember.

    tender → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Love in the Time of Dragons

    Katie MacAlister2010

    A mother wakes up in a world of dragon-shifters who believe she is a historical figure and sentence her to death for her past crimes.

    tender → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • All Systems Red

    Martha Wells2017

    A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

    tender → wry, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Sunlit Man

    Brandon Sanderson2023

    A man fleeing an interstellar pursuit lands on a planet where the sunlight is lethal. He must help a group of rebels to recharge his power.

    tender → propulsive, still science fantasy

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Empress of Forever

    Max Gladstone2019

    A tech billionaire is transported to the end of time. She joins a crew of outcasts to overthrow an eternal empress using advanced technology.

    tender → propulsive, still science fantasy

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • All Systems Red

    Martha Wells2017

    A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

    tender → wry, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

    tender → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    Same tender register

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tender → meditative, still found family

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Blade of Tyshalle

    Matthew Woodring Stover2001

    A retired assassin returns to a parallel fantasy world to save his wife from corporate and divine enemies. He navigates two realities.

    tender → sardonic, still science fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·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.

    tender → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tender → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1