Elantris

The Traitor Queen

Trudi Canavan2012

A black magician returns from exile to negotiate an alliance between his people and a rebel faction. This concludes the Traitor Spy trilogy.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Dæmonomania

John Crowley2000

In the third book of the Aegypt cycle, characters in the 1970s and the Renaissance navigate secret histories and alchemy. It is a slow study.

earnest → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

earnest → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

David and Goliath

Malcolm Gladwell2013

A series of case studies arguing that perceived disadvantages can become strengths. It covers topics from dyslexia to the civil rights movement.

Same earnest register

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Love Comes Softly

Janette Oke1979

A widow on the 19th-century frontier enters a marriage of convenience with a widower to survive the winter and care for his daughter.

earnest → tender

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

The perfect Christmas

Debbie Macomber2009

A woman hires a grumpy matchmaker to find a husband. He assigns her three tasks to complete before he will introduce her to his chosen candidate.

earnest → warm

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Promise of Blood

Brian McClellan2013

A Field Marshal stages a bloody coup against his king and must defend the new government using soldiers who gain magic powers from gunpowder.

earnest → propulsive, still epic fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

earnest → sardonic

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

earnest → playful

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

earnest → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Last Argument of Kings

Joe Abercrombie2008

The Union faces internal revolt and external invasion as a dying king leaves a power vacuum. Multiple POV characters navigate a cynical war.

earnest → bleak, still epic fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

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.

earnest → grim, still epic fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

The Dragon Republic

R. F. Kuang2019

A shaman soldier joins a rebellion to overthrow the Empress while struggling with opium addiction and a vengeful god. It mirrors Chinese history.

earnest → tense, still epic fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak+2