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After

Iron and Magic

Ilona Andrews2018

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same wry register, still urban fantasy

1 more ↓

  • A Brush of Darkness

    Allison Pang2011

    Abby Sinclair is caught between a demonic debt and various supernatural factions in a city of elves and incubi. She must navigate a love triangle.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

wry → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    wry → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

wry → playful, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Playing with Fire

    Gena Showalter2006

    A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Lady is a Vamp

    Lynsay Sands2012

    A mortal man kidnaps a female vampire to help him with a family emergency. They develop a romantic connection while avoiding vampire authorities.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Samson's Lovely Mortal

    Tina Folsom

    A bachelor vampire who has lost his lust for life meets a mortal woman he is driven to protect. He must keep her safe from his enemies.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

wry → propulsive, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Burn for Me

    Ilona Andrews2014

    A private investigator with the ability to tell truth from lies is hired to find a fire-user. She is forced to work with a dangerous billionaire.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Ill Wind

    Rachel Caine2003

    A weather warden on the run from the law uses her ability to control storms to protect people from rogue elemental forces.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Battle Ground

    Jim Butcher2020

    A wizard leads the supernatural defense of Chicago against an invading army led by a Titan. The book is a single, continuous battle.

    pace+1·prose0·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.

    wry → dreamlike

    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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → bleak, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    wry → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    wry → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2