After
Changes
Jim Butcher2010
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Death Masks
Jim Butcher2003
A wizard for hire is tasked with recovering the stolen Shroud of Turin while being hunted by a professional assassin.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Club Vampyre (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1-3)
Laurell K. Hamilton
A necromancer and federal marshal investigates supernatural crimes in St. Louis while navigating the politics of the local vampire hierarchy.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Touch the dark
Karen Chance2006
A clairvoyant woman is forced to work for a vampire senator to escape a mob boss. She navigates a supernatural underworld with high-speed action.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Hunted
Kevin Hearne2011
A druid and his apprentice flee across Europe while being hunted by Artemis, Diana, and Loki.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Girl with Ghost Eyes
M.H. Boroson
A young priestess uses Taoist magic to fight spirits in 1890s San Francisco Chinatown. She must protect her community while her powers fade.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- 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
- 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
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
Same propulsive register
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
And One Last Thing...
Molly Harper2010
After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.
propulsive → wry
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Dark Lover
J. R. Ward2005
A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Perfection
R.L. Mathewson2011
A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
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-3·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore2006
A beta-male widower is forced to become a Soul Merchant. He collects glowing objects from the dying while avoiding ancient monsters.
propulsive → dark, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
The Alchemy of Stone
Ekaterina Sedia2008
An alchemist automaton is caught in a political struggle between gargoyles and her creators. She must find a way to wind her own heart key.
propulsive → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
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
pace-1·prose0·bleak+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.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- 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.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
