The Once and Future Witches

The Bird King

G. Willow Wilson2019

A mapmaker and a concubine flee the Spanish Inquisition during the fall of Granada, aided by a jinn and a man who can transform into a bird.

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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.

earnest → meditative, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+2·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.

earnest → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Neon Gods

Katee Robert2021

In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.

earnest → tense

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Starter Villain

John Scalzi2023

A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

earnest → wry

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

earnest → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-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.

earnest → playful

pace+1·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.

earnest → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Warbound

Larry Correia2013

In an alternate 1930s, people with magical abilities fight a war against a trans-dimensional threat. It is the final book in a trilogy.

earnest → propulsive, still historical fantasy

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+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.

earnest → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Soldier of Aretê

Gene Wolfe1989

A mercenary in ancient Greece loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his travels and his interactions with gods in a daily scroll.

earnest → meditative, still historical fantasy

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

earnest → sardonic, still historical fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

earnest → bleak

pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

earnest → tense

pace0·prose0·bleak+2