The Free Bastards

The Aeronaut's Windlass

Jim Butcher2015

An airship captain and a group of magical recruits defend their Spire from an enemy invasion. The setting features floating ships and giant cats.

Same propulsive register, still fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

propulsive → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

propulsive → dreamlike

pace-1·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.

propulsive → playful

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Mile High

Liz Tomforde2023

A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Behind the Net

Stephanie Archer2024

A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

She Went All the Way

Meg Cabot2002

A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.

pace0·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.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·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.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·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.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·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.

propulsive → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

propulsive → meditative, still fantasy

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

propulsive → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

propulsive → cold, still grimdark

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

The Darkness That Comes Before

R. Scott Bakker2003

A monk, a barbarian, and a sorcerer navigate a holy war. The narrative focuses on philosophical manipulation and a cold, strategic view of power.

propulsive → cold, still grimdark

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Empire of the Damned

Jay Kristoff2024

A vampire hunter protects the Holy Grail while navigating a war between rival vampire bloodlines. The world is trapped in a permanent night.

propulsive → bleak, still grimdark

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2