After
A Power Unbound
Freya Marske2023
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same wry register, still historical fantasy
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Story of the Stone
Barry Hughart1988
An elderly sage and his assistant investigate a series of supernatural murders in a mythic version of ancient China.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Sorcerer to the Crown
Zen Cho2015
A freed slave becomes the Sorcerer Royal of England and must restore the country's fading magic while facing prejudice from the elite.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke2004
Two magicians attempt to restore English magic during the Napoleonic Wars. The story uses dense footnotes to build a history of fairy lore.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
A Natural History of Dragons
Marie Brennan2013
A Victorian-era woman writes a memoir about her scientific expedition to study dragons. It is presented as a formal natural history journal.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
On Stranger Tides
Tim Powers1987
A puppeteer joins a pirate crew to rescue his lover. He encounters voodoo, zombies, and the search for the Fountain of Youth.
wry → propulsive, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
wry → meditative, still historical fantasy
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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.
wry → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Tourmaline
Paul Park2006
A girl from our world navigates a magical, alternate-history Europe where Romania is a superpower. The narrative is dense and non-linear.
wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
wry → playful, still enemies to lovers
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
Fifty Shades Freed
E.L. James2011
The final entry in a trilogy following a newly married couple as they navigate their erotic life and a threat from the past.
wry → earnest
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
Beauty from Pain
Georgia Cates2013
A woman travels to New York to become a surrogate for a billionaire, but they enter into a romantic arrangement instead.
wry → earnest
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
Sweet Temptation
Cora Reilly2020
A young woman enters an arranged marriage with a widowed mafia enforcer. The story follows their domestic life and his two children.
wry → tender
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
Taming the Highland Bride
Lynsay Sands2010
A Scottish woman hopes to escape her rowdy brothers through an arranged marriage, only to find her new husband is equally boisterous.
wry → playful
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → sardonic
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
wry → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
wry → meditative, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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.
wry → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
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.
wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
wry → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose-1bleak+2
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.
wry → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
wry → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
wry → bleak
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
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.
wry → tense
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
