After
A Market of Dreams and Destiny
Trip Galey2023
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Fortress in the eye of time
C. J. Cherryh1995
A wizard creates a man out of light and shadow to finish an ancient war. The protagonist navigates a world he has no memories of.
playful → elegiac, still fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The phoenix guards
Steven Brust1991
Four guardsmen navigate court intrigue in a fantasy world. The prose mimics the verbose, formal style of 19th-century swashbuckling adventures.
Same playful register, still fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Last Coin
James Blaylock1988
A group of eccentric characters in a coastal town tries to prevent a man from collecting thirty ancient, magical coins.
Same playful register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Crock of Gold
James Stephens1912
Two philosophers encounter Irish deities and leprechauns in a series of satirical dialogues and adventures.
Same playful register, still fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
Same playful register, still fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
Denser prose
playful → dreamlike
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
playful → meditative
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
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
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
Faster
playful → propulsive, still urban fantasy
- pace+2prose-2bleak+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.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Touch the dark
Karen Chance2006
A clairvoyant woman is forced to work for a vampire senator to escape a mob boss. She navigates a supernatural underworld with high-speed action.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
Battle Ground
Jim Butcher2020
A wizard leads the supernatural defense of Chicago against an invading army led by a Titan. The book is a single, continuous battle.
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
Blood Engines
Tim Pratt2007
A sorceress who uses blood magic to power her spells defends her city from a rival. She makes ruthless choices to maintain her power.
playful → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.
playful → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin1990
A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.
playful → meditative, still fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore2006
A beta-male widower is forced to become a Soul Merchant. He collects glowing objects from the dying while avoiding ancient monsters.
playful → dark, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
The Alchemy of Stone
Ekaterina Sedia2008
An alchemist automaton is caught in a political struggle between gargoyles and her creators. She must find a way to wind her own heart key.
playful → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
- pace+1prose-1bleak+3
A Matter of Blood
Sarah Pinborough2010
A detective investigates a serial killer in a London plagued by a failing economy and a supernatural virus. The tone is consistently grim.
playful → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose0bleak+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
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
