Empire of Unreason

And Blue Skies from Pain

Stina Leicht2012

In 1970s Northern Ireland, a man with psychic abilities is caught between the IRA, the British Army, and a hidden race of supernatural beings.

Same tense register, still historical fantasy

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.

tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Tours of the Black Clock

Steve Erickson1989

A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.

tense → dreamlike, still alternate history

pace-1·prose+2·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.

tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

If You Give A Jerk A Gingerbread

Jana Aston

A cheerful baker enters a holiday competition and clashes with a cynical, high-profile pastry chef.

pace0·prose-1·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.

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

The Score

Elle Kennedy2016

A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

pace0·prose-1·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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·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.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

tense → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·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.

tense → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

A Man Lies Dreaming

Lavie Tidhar2014

A Jewish writer in a concentration camp imagines a world where Hitler is a disgraced private eye in London. The two narratives intertwine.

tense → sardonic, still alternate history

pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

tense → elegiac, still historical fantasy

pace-1·prose0·bleak+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.

tense → sardonic, still historical fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1