After
Hunted
Kevin Hearne2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
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Touch the dark
Karen Chance2006
A clairvoyant woman is forced to work for a vampire senator to escape a mob boss. She navigates a supernatural underworld with high-speed action.
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Death Masks
Jim Butcher2003
A wizard for hire is tasked with recovering the stolen Shroud of Turin while being hunted by a professional assassin.
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The Girl with Ghost Eyes
M.H. Boroson
A young priestess uses Taoist magic to fight spirits in 1890s San Francisco Chinatown. She must protect her community while her powers fade.
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- pace-1prose0bleak0
Frostbitten
Kelley Armstrong2009
A female werewolf and her partner travel to Alaska to investigate a series of brutal murders that threaten to expose their kind to the world.
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1 more ↓ ↑
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The Undead Pool
Kim Harrison2014
Witch Rachel Morgan attempts to save Cincinnati from a magical virus while navigating her complicated relationship with an elf businessman.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
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- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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
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- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
propulsive → meditative
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To recover
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Dark Lover
J. R. Ward2005
A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Big bad beast
Shelly Laurenston2011
A wolf-shifter Marine investigates a hybrid fighting ring while dealing with her persistent boss. It is a paranormal romance set in an urban world.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
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- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Flip This Zombie
Jesse Petersen2011
A married couple runs a zombie extermination and 'flipping' business. They treat the apocalypse as a series of domestic and financial hurdles.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
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Wicked Appetite
Janet Evanovich2010
A Salem pastry chef discovers she is a 'finder' and must help a mysterious man locate ancient stones representing the seven deadly sins.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
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Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak+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.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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
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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
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Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
A Dirty Job
Christopher Moore2006
A beta-male widower is forced to become a Soul Merchant. He collects glowing objects from the dying while avoiding ancient monsters.
propulsive → dark, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
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The Alchemy of Stone
Ekaterina Sedia2008
An alchemist automaton is caught in a political struggle between gargoyles and her creators. She must find a way to wind her own heart key.
propulsive → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
A Matter of Blood
Sarah Pinborough2010
A detective investigates a serial killer in a London plagued by a failing economy and a supernatural virus. The tone is consistently grim.
propulsive → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- 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.
propulsive → bleak
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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.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
