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After

King of Battle and Blood

Scarlett St. Clair2021

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same propulsive register, still romantasy

1 more ↓

  • The Courting of Bristol Keats

    Mary E. Pearson2024

    A woman enters a fae realm to find her kidnapped father. She must navigate a world of dangerous creatures and family secrets.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

propulsive → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    propulsive → meditative

    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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-1·prose+3·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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Prelude to Foundation

    Isaac Asimov1988

    Mathematician Hari Seldon flees across the planet Trantor while developing the science of psychohistory.

    propulsive → earnest

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Neon Gods

    Katee Robert2021

    In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.

    propulsive → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Wyrd Sisters

    Terry Pratchett1988

    Three witches intervene in the politics of a kingdom to ensure a hidden heir returns to the throne. It is a comedic subversion of Macbeth.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • A Memory of Light

    Robert Jordan2013

    The final volume of a long-running series where various nations and magical users unite for a final battle against an ancient evil.

    propulsive → earnest

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Whalefall

    Daniel Kraus2023

    A diver searching for his father's remains is swallowed by a sperm whale. He has one hour of oxygen to find a way out of the animal's stomach.

    propulsive → tense

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

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-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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → 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.

    propulsive → bleak

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2