After
Saint Death's Daughter
C. S. E. Cooney2022
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Closer to Home
Mercedes Lackey2014
An orphan spy-in-training at a magical academy uses telepathy to investigate a conspiracy against his mentor.
Same warm register, still high fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Lifelode
Jo Walton2009
Four people in a polyamorous household manage a manor in a world where time moves at different speeds depending on your location.
Same warm register, still high fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Stories of the Raksura, Volume 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud
Martha Wells
Two novellas follow a colony of winged shapeshifters as they navigate internal court politics and external threats.
Same warm register, still high fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
Twilight's Dawn
Anne Bishop2011
Four short stories follow the SaDiablo family through holidays, personal recovery, and the challenges of ruling their realm.
Same warm register, still found family
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Hands of the Emperor
Victoria Goddard2018
The personal secretary to an immortal emperor takes his first vacation in decades. The story focuses on bureaucracy, culture, and friendship.
Same warm register, still high fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
warm → meditative
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
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.
warm → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
warm → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
warm → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
A Memory of Light
Robert Jordan2013
The final volume of a long-running series where various nations and magical users unite for a final battle against an ancient evil.
warm → earnest, still high fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
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.
warm → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
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.
warm → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
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.
warm → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+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.
warm → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
warm → meditative, still high fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
warm → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
warm → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
warm → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
warm → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
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.
warm → bleak
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
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.
warm → tense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
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.
warm → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
warm → cold
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
