LitQueuelitqueue

After

King of Thorns

Mark Lawrence2012

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same sardonic register, still grimdark

1 more ↓

  • The Hood

    Lavie Tidhar2021

    A retelling of the Robin Hood myth where the forest outlaws are a violent, disparate gang in a gritty version of medieval England.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-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.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • Tours of the Black Clock

    Steve Erickson1989

    A ghostwriter for Hitler's private pornography lives in a surreal version of the 20th century where history and memory blur.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Better Off Dead

    Lee Child2021

    Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    sardonic → wry

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Mind's Eye

    Douglas E. Richards2014

    A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Atlantis Gene

    A.G. Riddle2013

    A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    sardonic → tender

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

sardonic → bleak, still grimdark

3 more ↓

  • Forge of darkness

    Steven Erikson2012

    A civil war begins in an ancient realm of darkness. The narrative follows aristocrats and soldiers as their society fractures into factions.

    sardonic → elegiac, still grimdark

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Mordew

    Alex Pheby2020

    A boy living in a slum discovers he has the power to create life from magical mud. He is taken in by a Master who rules a dark, decaying city.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Wisdom of Crowds

    Joe Abercrombie2021

    A violent revolution overthrows the social order in a fantasy industrial city. Characters from all social classes struggle to survive the purges.

    Same sardonic register, still grimdark

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1