Sebastian

Priestess of the White

Trudi Canavan2005

A woman is chosen by the gods to join a circle of immortals protecting the land. She navigates religious politics and an impending war.

Same earnest register, still forbidden love

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

earnest → meditative

pace0·prose+2·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace0·prose+2·bleak0

At Swim-Two-Birds

Flann O'Brien1939

A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

earnest → playful

pace0·prose+2·bleak-1

It Happened One Summer

Tessa Bailey2021

A socialite is sent to a small fishing town to run a dive bar. She enters a relationship with a local sea captain who doubts her competence.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Bitten & Smitten

Michelle Rowen2006

Sarah is accidentally turned into a vampire and must rely on a grumpy, centuries-old vampire to teach her how to survive.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Underworld, #1)

H.P. Mallory

A woman discovers she is a witch and becomes entangled with both a vampire and a warlock while navigating a supernatural underworld.

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

earnest → propulsive

pace+2·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.

earnest → propulsive

pace+2·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.

earnest → propulsive

pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-1·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.

earnest → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

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·prose+1·bleak+2

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.

earnest → grim, still dark fantasy

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

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.

earnest → cold, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2