LitQueuelitqueue

After

First lord's fury

Jim Butcher2009

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

Same propulsive register, still epic fantasy

1 more ↓

  • The Broken Eye

    Brent Weeks2014

    While their leader is enslaved and powerless, his young students navigate a secret war against an ancient order of assassins.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Peril's Gate (Wars of Light & Shadow)

    Janny Wurts2001

    Two cursed half-brothers are driven toward a confrontation that threatens to release a magical mist over their world.

    propulsive → elegiac, still epic fantasy

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • At Swim-Two-Birds

    Flann O'Brien1939

    A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Royally Screwed

    Emma Chase2016

    A crown prince visiting Manhattan pursues a bakery worker who threw a pie at him. The story follows their class-clash courtship.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Phule's Company

    Robert Lynn Asprin1990

    A wealthy captain is court-martialed and sent to lead a group of military misfits on a remote frontier planet.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Princess

    Lori Wick2006

    In the fictional land of Pendaran, a prince enters an arranged marriage with a commoner who must learn the ways of the royal court.

    propulsive → warm

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-3·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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-3·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.

    propulsive → dreamlike

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

propulsive → elegiac, still epic fantasy

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak, still military fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Darkness That Comes Before

    R. Scott Bakker2003

    A monk, a barbarian, and a sorcerer navigate a holy war. The narrative focuses on philosophical manipulation and a cold, strategic view of power.

    propulsive → cold, still epic fantasy

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → bleak, still epic fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2