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After

The Shipbuilder of Bellfairie

M. Rickert2021

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The House of Shattered Wings

    Aliette de Bodard2015

    In a ruined Paris ruled by fallen angels, a young woman is caught in the power struggles of Great Houses. The city is built on scavenged magic.

    Same elegiac register, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • To Sir Phillip, With Love

    Julia Quinn2003

    Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • All Rhodes Lead Here

    Mariana Zapata2021

    A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Hannah's List

    Debbie Macomber2010

    A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Titus Groan

    Mervyn Peake1973

    The birth of an heir triggers power struggles in a decaying, ritual-bound castle. The prose is dense and focuses on the grotesque architecture.

    elegiac → sardonic, still gothic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Damnation Game

    Clive Barker1985

    An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.

    elegiac → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Black Company

    Glen Cook1984

    An elite mercenary unit serves an immortal sorceress. The story is told through the cynical journals of the company's doctor and historian.

    elegiac → grim, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1