After
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East
Quan Barry2022
Two twin monks travel across Mongolia to identify the reincarnation of a high lama. One brother can hear the other's thoughts.
Same meditative register, still magical realism
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Tales of Nevèrÿon
Samuel R. Delany1979
A collection of stories set in a prehistoric civilization. It uses the tropes of sword and sorcery to examine economics, power, and language.
Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register, still magical realism
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
Freshwater
Akwaeke Emezi2018
A Nigerian woman grows up with multiple distinct spirits living inside her. The narrative follows her mental fragmentation and physical trauma.
Same meditative register, still magical realism
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
To recover
meditative → playful
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
The Mane Event
Shelly Laurenston2007
A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
Mile High
Liz Tomforde2023
A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
Behind the Net
Stephanie Archer2024
A former musician becomes the live-in assistant for a professional hockey goalie she knew in high school.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
She Went All the Way
Meg Cabot2002
A screenwriter and an actor survive a helicopter crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must hike to safety while being pursued by a killer.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose-2bleak0
Among Others
Jo Walton2011
A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.
meditative → tender, still magical realism
pace-1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Little, Big
John Crowley1981
A man marries into a family living in a massive house where the borders of the natural world blur. It follows several generations over a century.
meditative → dreamlike, still magical realism
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak+1
The Book of Merlyn
T. H. White1977
An aged King Arthur meets with Merlyn and a council of animals in a badger's sett to debate the nature of humanity and war.
meditative → elegiac, still philosophical fiction
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
Tehanu
Ursula K. Le Guin1990
A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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·prose0·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
A Short Stay in Hell
Steven L. Peck2009
A man wakes up in a version of hell that is an infinite library. He must find the one book containing his life story among billions of volumes.
Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Was
Geoff Ryman1992
Three timelines connect a Kansas girl in the 1880s, Judy Garland on set, and a dying man in the 1980s. It examines the reality behind the Oz myth.
meditative → elegiac, still magical realism
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
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.
meditative → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
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.
meditative → tense
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
meditative → bleak
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
