LitQueuelitqueue

After

Rusalka

C. J. Cherryh1989

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Virtu

    Sarah Monette2006

    A disgraced wizard and his half-brother, a former thief, travel to a city to repair a magical orb. Both men are recovering from physical trauma.

    Same tense register, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

tense → meditative, still historical fantasy

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.

    tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Tours of the Black Clock

    Steve Erickson1989

    A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    tense → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    tense → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales

    Greer Gilman2009

    A triptych of stories set in a mythic Yorkshire, told in dense, archaic dialect. It follows the intersections of folk magic and celestial myth.

    tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

tense → bleak, still dark fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Damnation Game

    Clive Barker1985

    An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Black Company

    Glen Cook1984

    An elite mercenary unit serves an immortal sorceress. The story is told through the cynical journals of the company's doctor and historian.

    tense → grim, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Snow, Glass, Apples

    Neil Gaiman2019

    A retelling of Snow White from the stepmother's perspective. The princess is a vampiric creature and the queen struggles to protect the kingdom.

    tense → cold, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1