After
The Witch's Heart
Genevieve Gornichec2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Alcestis
Katharine Beutner2010
A retelling of the Greek myth from the perspective of the woman who dies for her husband. She describes her life and her time in the underworld.
Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Elektra
Jennifer Saint2022
The story of the Trojan War told through the perspectives of Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra. It focuses on the consequences of men's wars.
Same elegiac register, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Tower of Beowulf
Parke Godwin1995
A retelling of the Beowulf myth that explores the psychological motivations of the monster Grendel and his mother. It is a somber, mythic drama.
Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Firebrand
Marion Zimmer Bradley1987
Kassandra, a princess of Troy, receives visions of her city's destruction that no one believes. It follows her life leading up to the Trojan War.
Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Forest House
Diana L. Paxson1994
In Roman-occupied Britain, a young woman is trained as a priestess while torn between her duty and her love for a Roman officer.
Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak-1
Soldier of Sidon
Gene Wolfe2006
A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.
elegiac → meditative, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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, still mythic fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike, still mythic fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
elegiac → meditative, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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, still mythic fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
elegiac → playful
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
elegiac → warm
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
Odessa Sea
Clive Cussler2016
Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
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+2·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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-1·bleak-1
Slower
elegiac → dreamlike, still mythic fiction
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
elegiac → meditative, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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, still mythic fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak-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+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu
Andrus Kivirähk2015
A boy in medieval Estonia learns the ancient language of snakes to command animals as his forest culture is erased by Christian invaders.
Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
The Burning God
R.F. Kuang2020
A general leads a peasant army in a civil war across a fantasy version of China. She grapples with her sanity and the influence of a fire god.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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.
elegiac → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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.
elegiac → bleak
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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.
elegiac → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
