LitQueuelitqueue

After

Alif the Unseen

G. Willow Wilson2012

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The touch of twilight

    Vicki Pettersson2008

    A Las Vegas socialite discovers she is a hybrid being caught in a war between Light and Shadow. She must confront her father, the lord of Shadow.

    Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The 4-Hour Workweek

    Timothy Ferriss2006

    A guide to lifestyle design that explains how to automate a business and outsource life tasks to achieve a four-hour workweek.

    propulsive → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Split Infinity

    Piers Anthony1980

    A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

    Kimberly Lemming2021

    A spice trader saves a demon while intoxicated and joins his quest to kill a witch. The story features frequent sexual content and humor.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • 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+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • 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.

    propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

    propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Blade of Tyshalle

    Matthew Woodring Stover2001

    A retired assassin returns to a parallel fantasy world to save his wife from corporate and divine enemies. He navigates two realities.

    propulsive → sardonic, still cyberpunk

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2