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After

The Trials of Empire

Richard Swan2024

6 of 6 directions open

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  • Prisoner of the iron tower

    Sarah Ash2004

    A former prince loses his magical powers after exorcising a dragon-daemon and must navigate political exile in a winter kingdom.

    Same elegiac register, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

elegiac → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Warrior Prophet

    R. Scott Bakker2005

    During a holy war, a monk with the power to manipulate thoughts positions himself as a messiah to seize control of the crusading armies.

    elegiac → cold, still epic fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

To recover

elegiac → playful

3 more ↓

  • Brutal Prince

    Sophie Lark2020

    The heirs of two rival Chicago mafia families are forced into an arranged marriage to prevent a gang war.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Castle of Wizardry

    David Eddings1984

    A young sorcerer and his companions travel across a continent to return a powerful artifact to its rightful throne.

    elegiac → playful, still epic fantasy

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Play Dead

    David Rosenfelt2007

    A defense attorney tries to prove a man's innocence by using a golden retriever as a witness to a five-year-old murder.

    elegiac → wry

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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+1·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-2·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-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Moonwise

    Greer Gilman1991

    Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • We Dream of Gods

    Devin Madson2022

    Four protagonists navigate the collapse of empires as a god returns to the world. The story concludes a series defined by total war and betrayal.

    elegiac → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Forge of darkness

    Steven Erikson2012

    A civil war begins in an ancient realm of darkness. The narrative follows aristocrats and soldiers as their society fractures into factions.

    Same elegiac register, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Queen of the Conquered

    Kacen Callender2019

    A noblewoman with mind-control powers enters a royal competition to kill the colonizers who murdered her family.

    elegiac → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1