LitQueuelitqueue

After

Spell or High Water

Scott Meyer2014

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

Same playful register, still humorous fantasy

1 more ↓

  • Land of unreason

    L. Sprague De Camp1942

    An American diplomat is kidnapped by fairies and taken to a land where logic is inverted. He must navigate a war between magical factions.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    playful → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    Same playful register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    playful → sardonic, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    playful → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    playful → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3