LitQueuelitqueue

After

Bloody Rose

Nicholas Eames2018

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Lone Drow

    R. A. Salvatore2003

    Believing his friends are dead, a dark elf ranger wages a solo guerrilla war against an invading orc army in the Forgotten Realms.

    Same propulsive register, still heroic fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • 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

  • 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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Eye of Heaven

    Clive Cussler2014

    Husband-and-wife treasure hunters find a Viking ship in the Arctic containing Mexican artifacts and race to find a legendary Toltec object.

    propulsive → playful, still action

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Fumbled

    Alexa Martin2019

    A single mother reunites with her high school sweetheart, now an NFL star, who did not know he had a son.

    propulsive → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Deep

    Kylie Scott2015

    A woman becomes pregnant after a one-night stand with a rock star in Las Vegas. The two attempt to navigate a relationship for the baby.

    propulsive → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·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 ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → cold

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Song of Kali

    Dan Simmons1985

    An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2