Air Logic

The Stone in the Skull

Elizabeth Bear2017

A brass automaton and a former bodyguard transport a secret message across a desert landscape. The story focuses on their journey and dialogue.

pace0·prose0·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.

meditative → dreamlike

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

Same meditative register

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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.

meditative → playful

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

The Duke and I

Julia Quinn2000

A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.

meditative → playful

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

On Dublin Street

Samantha Young2012

An American woman in Scotland enters a sex-only arrangement with her roommate's brother to avoid emotional intimacy. It is a contemporary romance.

meditative → warm

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Night Pleasures

Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.

meditative → playful

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

meditative → sardonic

pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

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.

meditative → playful

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

meditative → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

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.

meditative → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

Same meditative register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

meditative → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

meditative → bleak, still epic fantasy

pace+1·prose0·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.

meditative → grim, still epic fantasy

pace+1·prose0·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.

meditative → tense, still epic fantasy

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2