LitQueuelitqueue

After

A Memory of Light

Robert Jordan2013

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

Same earnest register, still epic fantasy

1 more ↓

  • Prophecy: Child of Earth

    Elizabeth Haydon2000

    Rhapsody, a singer with magical naming powers, flees through the earth's center to emerge in a future where she is a figure of prophecy.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → dreamlike, still chosen one

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    earnest → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • A Girl's Guide to Vampires

    Katie MacAlister2003

    An American woman travels to a Goth festival in the Czech Republic and meets a man she believes is a vampire. A mystery involving a killer unfolds.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Longest Ride

    Nicholas Sparks2013

    An elderly man trapped in a car crash remembers his late wife while a young couple's romance develops nearby.

    earnest → tender

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak+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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    earnest → tender

    pace-3·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Last Argument of Kings

    Joe Abercrombie2008

    The Union faces internal revolt and external invasion as a dying king leaves a power vacuum. Multiple POV characters navigate a cynical war.

    earnest → bleak, still epic fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Black Company

    Glen Cook1984

    An elite mercenary unit serves an immortal sorceress. The story is told through the cynical journals of the company's doctor and historian.

    earnest → grim, still epic fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Dragon Republic

    R. F. Kuang2019

    A shaman soldier joins a rebellion to overthrow the Empress while struggling with opium addiction and a vengeful god. It mirrors Chinese history.

    earnest → tense, still epic fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2