After
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
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.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Lord Tophet
Gregory Frost2008
A puppeteer and her companions travel a world of massive bridges. They perform plays that reveal secrets about the gods and their own pasts.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
dreamlike → meditative, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
Same dreamlike register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → tender
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → warm
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Being a Green Mother
Piers Anthony1987
Orb, the daughter of Fate, assumes the role of Nature. She uses her magical songs to manage the world's ecology and confront a demonic threat.
dreamlike → earnest, still mythic fiction
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → earnest
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
dreamlike → sardonic
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
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.
dreamlike → elegiac, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
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.
dreamlike → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
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.
dreamlike → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
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.
dreamlike → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-2bleak+2
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.
dreamlike → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2
