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Four Psychos

Kristy Cunning

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same playful register, still paranormal romance

1 more ↓

  • Rejected

    Jaymin Eve2021

    A wolf shifter living as a pack outcast is captured by the leader's son. Her first transformation reveals a fated mate who publicly rejects her.

    playful → tense, still paranormal romance

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    playful → meditative

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • In the Night Garden

    Catherynne M. Valente2006

    A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same playful register

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1

To recover

Same playful register, still paranormal romance

3 more ↓

  • Bitten & Smitten

    Michelle Rowen2006

    Sarah is accidentally turned into a vampire and must rely on a grumpy, centuries-old vampire to teach her how to survive.

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Underworld, #1)

    H.P. Mallory

    A woman discovers she is a witch and becomes entangled with both a vampire and a warlock while navigating a supernatural underworld.

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Nice Werewolves Don't Bite Vampires

    Molly Harper2020

    A werewolf woman dates a vampire music teacher in secret while a series of attacks on vampire businesses threatens their town.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Mist

    Stephen King1980

    A group of townspeople is trapped in a grocery store by a thick mist containing lethal monsters while social order collapses inside.

    playful → tense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Changes

    Jim Butcher2010

    A wizard discovers he has a daughter who has been kidnapped by vampires. He must race against time and sacrifice his principles to save her.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

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.

    playful → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant

    Seth Dickinson2015

    An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

    playful → cold

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Song of Kali

    Dan Simmons1985

    An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

    playful → bleak

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2