After
Soldier of Aretê
Gene Wolfe1989
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Lord of the Two Lands
Judith Tarr1993
An Egyptian priestess travels to meet Alexander the Great, believing he is the prophesied pharaoh who will liberate her land from Persian rule.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon
Lisa Goldstein1993
In Elizabethan London, a bookseller discovers her son is a changeling while Christopher Marlowe becomes entangled in faerie politics.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Stars Dispose
Michaela Roessner1997
In Renaissance Florence, a young cook works for Catherine de' Medici amidst political schemes and occult rituals. The pace is slow and deliberate.
pace0·prose0·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
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Katherine Arden
A combat nurse searches for her brother in the trenches of WWI while a mysterious figure offers soldiers a way to forget their pain.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- 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.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Winged Histories
Sofia Samatar2016
Four women—a soldier, a scholar, a socialite, and a singer—navigate a civil war. The story is told through their distinct, lyrical perspectives.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Tourmaline
Paul Park2006
A girl from our world navigates a magical, alternate-history Europe where Romania is a superpower. The narrative is dense and non-linear.
meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Wandering Unicorn
Manuel Mujica Lainez1965
A shapeshifting fairy falls in love with a medieval knight and follows him through the Crusades. The prose is dense and formal.
meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Solitudes
John Crowley1987
An out-of-work teacher moves to the country and begins to suspect that the laws of the world change over time. The focus is on ideas and atmosphere.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
Love Comes Softly
Janette Oke1979
A widow on the 19th-century frontier enters a marriage of convenience with a widower to survive the winter and care for his daughter.
meditative → tender
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Warrior Rising
P.C. Cast2008
Goddesses transport a modern woman to ancient Troy to seduce and distract Achilles. It is a lighthearted fish-out-of-water romance.
meditative → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The perfect Christmas
Debbie Macomber2009
A woman hires a grumpy matchmaker to find a husband. He assigns her three tasks to complete before he will introduce her to his chosen candidate.
meditative → warm
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Danger in the Shadows
Dee Henderson2002
A woman in witness protection hides from a kidnapper while a FBI agent works to keep her safe. The story incorporates elements of Christian faith.
meditative → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Girl with Ghost Eyes
M.H. Boroson
A young priestess uses Taoist magic to fight spirits in 1890s San Francisco Chinatown. She must protect her community while her powers fade.
meditative → propulsive, still historical 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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- 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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Warbound
Larry Correia2013
In an alternate 1930s, people with magical abilities fight a war against a trans-dimensional threat. It is the final book in a trilogy.
meditative → propulsive, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Solitudes
John Crowley1987
An out-of-work teacher moves to the country and begins to suspect that the laws of the world change over time. The focus is on ideas and atmosphere.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- 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.
meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-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.
meditative → tender
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu
Andrus Kivirähk2015
A boy in medieval Estonia learns the ancient language of snakes to command animals as his forest culture is erased by Christian invaders.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Burning God
R.F. Kuang2020
A general leads a peasant army in a civil war across a fantasy version of China. She grapples with her sanity and the influence of a fire god.
meditative → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The sad tale of the brothers Grossbart
Jesse Bullington2009
Two murderous brothers travel across 14th-century Europe to rob Egyptian tombs. They encounter monsters and religious zealots along the way.
meditative → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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.
meditative → bleak
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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.
meditative → tense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
