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After

Chien du heaume

Justine Niogret2009

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Rusalka

    C. J. Cherryh1989

    In a forest in old Russia, a wizard's son encounters a girl murdered by her father who has returned as a dangerous ghost. Magic is based on will.

    bleak → tense, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    bleak → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·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.

    bleak → meditative, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

    bleak → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

bleak → playful

3 more ↓

  • She Went All the Way

    Meg Cabot2002

    A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Mile High

    Liz Tomforde2023

    A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Behind the Net

    Stephanie Archer2024

    A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

    bleak → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    bleak → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    bleak → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    bleak → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales

    Greer Gilman2009

    A triptych of stories set in a mythic Yorkshire, told in dense, archaic dialect. It follows the intersections of folk magic and celestial myth.

    bleak → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    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.

    bleak → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

Same bleak register, still dark fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Damnation Game

    Clive Barker1985

    An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Black Company

    Glen Cook1984

    An elite mercenary unit serves an immortal sorceress. The story is told through the cynical journals of the company's doctor and historian.

    bleak → grim, still dark fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Snow, Glass, Apples

    Neil Gaiman2019

    A retelling of Snow White from the stepmother's perspective. The princess is a vampiric creature and the queen struggles to protect the kingdom.

    bleak → cold, still dark fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1