LitQueuelitqueue

After

City on Fire

Walter Jon Williams1997

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Nightlife

    Rob Thurman2006

    Cal Leandros, who is half-monster, hides in New York City with his brother while being hunted by his father's supernatural kin.

    Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

sardonic → playful, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Love Hypothesis

    Ali Hazelwood2021

    A biology PhD candidate enters a fake relationship with a young professor to satisfy a friend. They navigate academic politics and attraction.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Beautiful Bastard

    Christina Lauren2013

    An MBA intern and her demanding media executive boss engage in a series of sexual encounters while competing at work. It is an erotic romance.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Hating Game

    Sally Thorne2016

    Two executive assistants at a publishing house compete for a single promotion through a series of psychological games and mutual sabotage.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

    A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Translated Accounts

    James Kelman2001

    Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.

    sardonic → bleak, still political fiction

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → elegiac, still urban fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+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.

    sardonic → bleak, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Unconquered Country: A Life History

    Geoff Ryman1986

    A woman lives through the colonization and industrial destruction of her country by magical invaders. It mirrors the history of the Vietnam War.

    sardonic → elegiac, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1