LitQueuelitqueue

After

The hike

Drew Magary2016

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Talisman

    Stephen King1984

    A twelve-year-old boy travels across America and into a parallel world to find a crystal that will save his dying mother.

    sardonic → earnest, still portal fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

sardonic → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

sardonic → playful

3 more ↓

  • A Veiled Deception

    Annette Blair2009

    A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • It Starts with Us

    Colleen Hoover2022

    A single mother navigates a new relationship with her first love while managing a jealous ex-husband. The story alternates perspectives.

    sardonic → earnest

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Assistant to the Villain

    Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023

    A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Boneland

    Alan Garner2012

    An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak+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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

  • Phantastes

    George MacDonald1850

    A young man enters a dreamlike fairy world where he wanders through symbolic landscapes on a quest for spiritual self-surrender.

    sardonic → dreamlike, still portal fantasy

    pace-3·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → tense

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    sardonic → cold

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2