LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Tyranny of Faith

Richard Swan2023

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Third Kingdom

    Terry Goodkind2013

    A wizard loses his magic and must stop a death-infected conspiracy in the northern Dark Lands. He relies on his sword and wits to save his allies.

    Same tense register, still epic fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Dæmonomania

    John Crowley2000

    In the third book of the Aegypt cycle, characters in the 1970s and the Renaissance navigate secret histories and alchemy. It is a slow study.

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    tense → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Blood of Roses

    Tanith Lee1990

    A forest spirit and a girl navigate a landscape of vampires and werewolves. The prose is dense and the logic follows dream-like patterns.

    tense → dreamlike, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Rooster Bar

    John Grisham2017

    Three law students realize their school is a scam and drop out to pose as lawyers. They steal identities to survive and pay off their debts.

    tense → sardonic

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Accidental Target

    Theresa Hall2020

    A woman witnesses a body in a truck and goes on the run with a police sergeant. The story follows their flight from a killer.

    tense → earnest

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Ghost Ship

    Clive Cussler2014

    Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.

    tense → propulsive, still conspiracy

    pace+1·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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → propulsive, still conspiracy

    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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → 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.

    tense → bleak, still epic 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.

    tense → elegiac, still epic 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.

    tense → bleak, still dark fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1