After
Awake in the Night Land
John C. Wright2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Paladin's Strength
Ursula Vernon2021
A paladin and a powerful nun hunt a supernatural killer and missing sisters across a continent. They eventually reach gladiatorial pits.
Same tense register, still fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The worm Ouroboros
Eric Rücker Eddison1900
The Lords of Demonland engage in a long war and a mountain quest against the King of Witchland. It is written in archaic, ornate prose.
Same tense register, still adventure
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Jon Shannow
Gemmell, David2010
A lone gunman searches for the ruins of Jerusalem in a post-apocalyptic world where magic and technology have merged.
Same tense register, still fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Invasion of the Tearling
Erika Johansen2015
Queen Kelsea prepares her kingdom for an invasion while experiencing visions of a pre-collapse past. She develops a magical link to a stranger.
Same tense register, still fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Mist
Stephen King1980
A group of townspeople is trapped in a grocery store by a thick mist containing lethal monsters while social order collapses inside.
Same tense register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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.
tense → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
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.
tense → playful, still fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Medusa
Clive Cussler2009
The NUMA team investigates a missing undersea lab and a bathysphere attack. They uncover a corporate plot involving a deadly virus and jellyfish.
tense → propulsive, still adventure
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Morgan Is My Name
Sophie Keetch2023
A retelling of the early life of Morgan le Fay. She navigates the court of King Uther Pendragon and discovers her own magical abilities.
tense → playful, still fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-2prose-1bleak-2
Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius2012
tense → playful, still fantasy
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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.
tense → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → elegiac
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak-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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
tense → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+1bleak-2
A Slow Regard of Silent Things
Patrick Rothfuss2013
A young woman lives alone in the tunnels beneath a university, finding meaning in discarded objects and daily rituals.
tense → tender, still fantasy
pace-3·prose+1·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
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.
Same tense register
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
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.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
tense → cold
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
