After
Changing Planes
Ursula K. Le Guin2003
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing slower
More like it
Same wry register
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke2004
Two magicians attempt to restore English magic during the Napoleonic Wars. The story uses dense footnotes to build a history of fairy lore.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens1861
An orphan receives a fortune from a secret benefactor and moves to London to become a gentleman. He pursues a girl raised to break men's hearts.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Dragon Waiting
John M. Ford1983
In an alternate 15th century, a vampire, a wizard, and a mercenary join forces to put Richard III on the English throne.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Madouc
Jack Vance1989
A headstrong princess in the Lyonesse islands searches for her true parentage while navigating the whims of an eccentric king.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Outside the Dog Museum
Jonathan Carroll1991
An eccentric architect is hired by a wealthy sultan to design a museum for dogs and discovers a hidden magical world.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
wry → dreamlike
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
wry → meditative
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak-1
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.
wry → playful
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
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.
wry → meditative
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
wry → playful
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-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.
wry → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
wry → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
Same wry register
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
wry → sardonic
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
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.
wry → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
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.
wry → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+2prose0bleak+2
Bullettime
Nick Mamatas2012
A teenager about to commit a school shooting is intercepted by his future self. He explores various timelines of his own life and death.
wry → sardonic, still speculative fiction
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+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.
wry → bleak
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
wry → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
wry → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose0bleak+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.
wry → cold
pace+2·prose0·bleak+2
