
After
Like a Mighty Army
David Weber2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Zandru’s Forge
Marion Zimmer Bradley2003
In the era of the Hundred Kingdoms, a young Varzil Ridenow and King Carolin form a bond that shapes the telepathic future of Darkover.
Same earnest register, still science fantasy
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- pace0prose0bleak0
Sky Dragons
Anne McCaffrey2012
Dragonriders establish a colony on a dangerous island to replenish their population after a plague. A female rider fights for leadership status.
Same earnest register, still science fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0

- pace+1prose0bleak0
Cordelia's Honor
Lois McMaster Bujold1996
An explorer and a military commander from warring planets fall in love and navigate the political fallout of their union.
Same earnest register, still military sci-fi
pace+1·prose0·bleak0

- pace0prose+1bleak0
Archangel
Sharon Shinn1996
An angel and a mortal woman are forced into marriage to fulfill a prophecy and prevent a satellite from destroying their world.
Same earnest register, still science fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0

1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan1990
Five villagers are hunted by shadow creatures and must flee their home with a magic user. One is prophesied to face an ancient evil.
Same earnest register
pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose
- pace0prose+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.
earnest → dreamlike, still science fantasy
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

- pace0prose+2bleak+1
The Light and the Dark
Mikhail Shishkin2013
Two lovers exchange letters that transcend time and space. One writes from a domestic life while the other writes from the front lines of a war.
earnest → elegiac
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+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.
earnest → dreamlike
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- pace0prose+2bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
earnest → meditative
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- pace0prose+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.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Factfulness
Hans Rosling2018
A data-driven look at global trends in poverty, health, and education. It uses statistics to correct common misconceptions about the world.
Same earnest register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Split Infinity
Piers Anthony1980
A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.
earnest → playful, still science fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Warrior Rising
P.C. Cast2008
Goddesses transport a modern woman to ancient Troy to seduce and distract Achilles. It is a lighthearted fish-out-of-water romance.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Phule's Company
Robert Lynn Asprin1990
A wealthy captain is court-martialed and sent to lead a group of military misfits on a remote frontier planet.
earnest → playful, still military sci-fi
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
A Galaxy Unknown
Thomas DePrima2010
An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.
Same earnest register, still military sci-fi
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman2020
Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.
earnest → sardonic, still science fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
earnest → playful
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → propulsive
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- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

- pace+2prose-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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

Slower
- pace-1prose+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.
earnest → meditative
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- pace-1prose+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.
earnest → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
earnest → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier
- 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.
earnest → bleak, still science fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Unconquered Country: A Life History
Geoff Ryman1986
A woman lives through the colonization and industrial destruction of her country by magical invaders. It mirrors the history of the Vietnam War.
earnest → elegiac, still science fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
Blade of Tyshalle
Matthew Woodring Stover2001
A retired assassin returns to a parallel fantasy world to save his wife from corporate and divine enemies. He navigates two realities.
earnest → sardonic, still science fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
earnest → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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.
earnest → bleak
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
