After
A Matter of Blood
Sarah Pinborough2010
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Benighted
Kit Whitfield2006
In a world where 99 percent of people are werewolves, a non-lycanthrope officer works for the agency that polices the majority.
Same bleak register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Unholy Ghosts
Stacia Kane2009
A drug-addicted witch hunts ghosts for a church to pay off debts. She takes a job involving black magic and sacrifice to survive a drug lord.
bleak → tense, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Dead Set
Richard Kadrey2013
A grieving girl discovers a portal to the underworld in a record store. She enters the realm of the dead to find her father.
bleak → tense, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Bone Song
John Meaney2007
A detective investigates the ritualistic murders of artists in Tristopolis, a city powered by the energy of the dead.
bleak → noir, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
bleak → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak-2
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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-2
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+2bleak-3
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.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-3
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
To recover
bleak → playful, still urban fantasy
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Night Play
Sherrilyn Kenyon2004
A woman meets a man who is secretly a werewolf being hunted by his own kind. He must protect her while they navigate a fated connection.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
The Lady is a Vamp
Lynsay Sands2012
A mortal man kidnaps a female vampire to help him with a family emergency. They develop a romantic connection while avoiding vampire authorities.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
bleak → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
A Veiled Deception
Annette Blair2009
A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
It Starts with Us
Colleen Hoover2022
A single mother navigates a new relationship with her first love while managing a jealous ex-husband. The story alternates perspectives.
bleak → earnest
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
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.
bleak → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
bleak → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
Fool Moon
Jim Butcher2001
A wizard for hire helps the Chicago police investigate a series of brutal murders involving different types of werewolves.
bleak → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
The good, the bad, and the uncanny
Simon R. Green2010
A private investigator in a supernatural London district is offered the job of running the city. He must decide while dodging various enemies.
bleak → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
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.
bleak → propulsive, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
bleak → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
bleak → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
bleak → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
