After
The Incrementalists
Steven Brust2013
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Knights of the Cornerstone
James Blaylock2008
A reclusive book collector visits his relatives in a small California town and discovers a secret society guarding holy relics.
meditative → warm, still contemporary fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Folk of the Air
Peter S. Beagle1986
A man returns to California and joins a group of medieval reenactors whose rituals begin to manifest real magic. It is a slow urban fantasy.
meditative → dreamlike, still contemporary fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Atlas Six
Olivie Blake2022
Six magicians compete for five spots in a secret society. They study ancient archives while navigating shifting alliances and lethal stakes.
Same meditative register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
We Are the Crisis
Cadwell Turnbull2023
Humanity and supernatural beings struggle to coexist while a cosmic entity threatens to unmake reality.
Same meditative register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Unraveling
Karen Lord2019
A forensic investigator teams up with two immortal beings to solve a series of murders that lead into the afterlife.
Same meditative register, still contemporary fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
meditative → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Tours of the Black Clock
Steve Erickson1989
A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.
meditative → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
meditative → playful, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Dark Lover
J. R. Ward2005
A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.
meditative → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
meditative → playful, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Factfulness
Hans Rosling2018
A data-driven look at global trends in poverty, health, and education. It uses statistics to correct common misconceptions about the world.
meditative → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
Kerrelyn Sparks2005
A vampire who broke a fang kidnaps a dentist who is afraid of blood. She is hiding from the mafia while he needs his smile repaired.
meditative → playful, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
meditative → propulsive, still urban fantasy
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
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.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
Touch the dark
Karen Chance2006
A clairvoyant woman is forced to work for a vampire senator to escape a mob boss. She navigates a supernatural underworld with high-speed action.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Battle Ground
Jim Butcher2020
A wizard leads the supernatural defense of Chicago against an invading army led by a Titan. The book is a single, continuous battle.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Blood Engines
Tim Pratt2007
A sorceress who uses blood magic to power her spells defends her city from a rival. She makes ruthless choices to maintain her power.
meditative → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.
meditative → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Tam Lin
Pamela Dean1991
A college student in the 1970s joins a group of classics majors and discovers their theater troupe is tied to a faerie blood sacrifice.
Same meditative register, still contemporary fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Little, Big
John Crowley1981
A man marries into a family living in a massive house where the borders of the natural world blur. It follows several generations over a century.
meditative → dreamlike, still contemporary fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
Among Others
Jo Walton2011
A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.
meditative → tender
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore2006
A beta-male widower is forced to become a Soul Merchant. He collects glowing objects from the dying while avoiding ancient monsters.
meditative → dark, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
The Alchemy of Stone
Ekaterina Sedia2008
An alchemist automaton is caught in a political struggle between gargoyles and her creators. She must find a way to wind her own heart key.
meditative → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
A Matter of Blood
Sarah Pinborough2010
A detective investigates a serial killer in a London plagued by a failing economy and a supernatural virus. The tone is consistently grim.
meditative → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
meditative → bleak
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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.
meditative → tense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
