After
Witches Abroad
Terry Pratchett1991
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Wyrd Sisters
Terry Pratchett1988
Three witches intervene in the politics of a kingdom to ensure a hidden heir returns to the throne. It is a comedic subversion of Macbeth.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Savages
Tom Holt2015
A group of modern office workers is transported into a traditional fantasy world and must apply corporate logic to survive.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Bear Went Over the Mountain
William Kotzwinkle1996
A bear finds a manuscript in the woods and travels to New York to publish it under a human alias. He becomes a literary celebrity.
Same playful register, still satire
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn
Piers Anthony1984
A ghost tells the story of his life and his quest to find the woman he loved. The world is built entirely on puns and wordplay.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Myth-told tales
Robert Asprin2003
A collection of eight short stories following a magician and his demon mentor. The team deals with weddings, beauty contests, and dream worlds.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
Same playful register, still comic fantasy
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Vellum
Hal Duncan2005
Humans transformed into angels and demons fight across a multiverse for a book that controls reality. The narrative jumps through time and myth.
playful → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+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.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
Faster
- pace+1prose-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.
playful → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
Same playful register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-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.
playful → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
playful → sardonic, still satire
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
Doctor Rat
William Kotzwinkle1976
A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
The Vengeance of Rome
Michael Moorcock2006
Pyat, an unreliable narrator and Nazi sympathizer, travels through the 1930s. He observes the rise of fascism while remaining self-deluded.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft
Thomas M. Disch1999
A substitute teacher discovers she has the power of witchcraft. She uses her abilities to manipulate her small town as her sanity deteriorates.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
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.
playful → tense
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
