After
Jade City
Fonda Lee2017
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Full Fathom Five
Max Gladstone2014
On a tropical island, a woman who builds artificial gods discovers a dying deity. She uncovers a conspiracy involving the city's soul-economy.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Cast in Peril
Michelle Sagara2012
A police officer with magical sight investigates a murder involving the nobility. It is the eighth entry in the Chronicles of Elantra series.
propulsive → earnest, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Silence Fallen
Patricia Briggs2017
Mercy Thompson is kidnapped and taken to Europe by a powerful vampire. She must navigate a foreign continent alone to find her way home.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
propulsive → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
propulsive → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Assistant to the Villain
Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023
A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Fearless Fourteen
Janet Evanovich2008
A bounty hunter searches for a missing bank robber while a stoner guards a cop's house. The plot involves a hidden nine-million-dollar fortune.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Alec
L.A. Casey
A young woman navigates a relationship with her brother's best friend in Dublin. It follows their transition from childhood friction to romance.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
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
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Blood Engines
Tim Pratt2007
A sorceress who uses blood magic to power her spells defends her city from a rival. She makes ruthless choices to maintain her power.
propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.
propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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.
propulsive → meditative, still fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+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
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose+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
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
