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After

Deep Roots

Ruthanna Emrys2018

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Stars Dispose

    Michaela Roessner1997

    In Renaissance Florence, a young cook works for Catherine de' Medici amidst political schemes and occult rituals. The pace is slow and deliberate.

    Same meditative register, still historical fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same meditative register, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    Same meditative register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Ice Planet Barbarians

    Ruby Dixon2021

    A group of human women are stranded on a frozen world and rescued by blue, horned aliens. The story focuses on survival and biological attraction.

    meditative → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Secondhand Spirits

    Juliet Blackwell2009

    A vintage shop owner who can feel the history of clothes uses her magic to solve a murder. She must find a killer while hiding her identity.

    meditative → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • A Spell for Chameleon

    Piers Anthony1977

    In a land where everyone has a unique magical talent, a man with no apparent power goes on a quest to avoid exile.

    meditative → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    meditative → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    meditative → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

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.

    meditative → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    meditative → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·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.

    Same meditative register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

meditative → bleak, still cosmic horror

3 more ↓

  • The Red Tree

    Caitlín R. Kiernan2009

    A writer moves to a rural house and finds a manuscript about a local tree. Her journal records her increasing obsession and mental decline.

    meditative → dreamlike, still cosmic horror

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Doll Who Ate His Mother

    Ramsey Campbell1976

    After a car crash, a woman discovers her brother's arm has been stolen. She joins three strangers to track a person with a history of cannibalism.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • 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.

    meditative → bleak, still historical fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2