After
Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales
Greer Gilman2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-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.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Lord Tophet
Gregory Frost2008
A puppeteer and her companions travel a world of massive bridges. They perform plays that reveal secrets about the gods and their own pasts.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Tourmaline
Paul Park2006
A girl from our world navigates a magical, alternate-history Europe where Romania is a superpower. The narrative is dense and non-linear.
Same dreamlike register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-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.
Same dreamlike register, still mythic fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Soldier of Sidon
Gene Wolfe2006
A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.
dreamlike → meditative, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Being a Green Mother
Piers Anthony1987
Orb, the daughter of Fate, assumes the role of Nature. She uses her magical songs to manage the world's ecology and confront a demonic threat.
dreamlike → earnest, still mythic fiction
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
dreamlike → tense, still mythic fiction
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Sorceress of Darshiva
David Eddings1989
A group of companions travels across a continent to stop an ancient evil. The story relies on banter and established high-fantasy archetypes.
dreamlike → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The time keeper
Mitch Albom2011
The inventor of the first clock is released from a cave to help two people in the modern world. He teaches them the value of their remaining time.
dreamlike → earnest
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
dreamlike → meditative
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
dreamlike → sardonic
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
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.
dreamlike → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
dreamlike → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu
Andrus Kivirähk2015
A boy in medieval Estonia learns the ancient language of snakes to command animals as his forest culture is erased by Christian invaders.
dreamlike → elegiac, still mythic fiction
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
The Burning God
R.F. Kuang2020
A general leads a peasant army in a civil war across a fantasy version of China. She grapples with her sanity and the influence of a fire god.
dreamlike → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
The sad tale of the brothers Grossbart
Jesse Bullington2009
Two murderous brothers travel across 14th-century Europe to rob Egyptian tombs. They encounter monsters and religious zealots along the way.
dreamlike → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-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.
dreamlike → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-2bleak+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.
dreamlike → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
