LitQueuelitqueue

After

Archangel

Sharon Shinn1996

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Deryni Rising

    Katherine Kurtz

    In a kingdom resembling medieval Wales, a young prince must use forbidden magical powers to claim his throne after his father is murdered.

    Same earnest register, still chosen one

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Dæmonomania

    John Crowley2000

    In the third book of the Aegypt cycle, characters in the 1970s and the Renaissance navigate secret histories and alchemy. It is a slow study.

    earnest → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    earnest → meditative

    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.

    earnest → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Once Upon a Prince (Royal Wedding #1)

    Rachel Hauck2013

    A woman reeling from a breakup meets a European prince traveling incognito in Georgia. He must choose between his duty and his feelings.

    earnest → warm

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Royally Screwed

    Emma Chase2016

    A crown prince visiting Manhattan pursues a bakery worker who threw a pie at him. The story follows their class-clash courtship.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive, still chosen one

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → 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.

    earnest → meditative

    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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → sardonic, still science fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

    earnest → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    earnest → bleak, still chosen one

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2