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After

The Black Bird Oracle

Deborah Harkness2024

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Etched in Bone

    Anne Bishop2017

    In a town where shapeshifters and vampires rule, human survivors attempt to rebuild after a failed uprising against the supernatural Elders.

    meditative → tense, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

meditative → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    meditative → dark

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    meditative → cold

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    Same meditative register

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

meditative → playful, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Playing with Fire

    Gena Showalter2006

    A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.

    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

  • Night Play

    Sherrilyn Kenyon2004

    A woman meets a man who is secretly a werewolf being hunted by his own kind. He must protect her while they navigate a fated connection.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

meditative → propulsive, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Ill Wind

    Rachel Caine2003

    A weather warden on the run from the law uses her ability to control storms to protect people from rogue elemental forces.

    pace+2·prose0·bleak0

  • Tempt the Stars

    Karen Chance2013

    A supernatural seer manages a possessive vampire lover and rogue acolytes while attempting to rescue a friend from a magical fate.

    pace+2·prose0·bleak0

  • Wicked All Night

    Jeaniene Frost2021

    A vampire and a siren enter a marriage of convenience to protect her from a supernatural threat. They hunt a dark god across the globe.

    pace+2·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    meditative → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    meditative → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Flowers in the Attic

    V.C. Andrews1979

    Four children are hidden in an attic for years by their mother and grandmother to secure an inheritance. They face gradual poisoning and abuse.

    meditative → elegiac

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Hamlet

    William Shakespeare

    A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.

    Same meditative register

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Terror

    Dan Simmons2007

    Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.

    meditative → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2