After
Magic Lost, Trouble Found
Lisa Shearin2007
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
Same wry register, still urban fantasy
- pace0prose0bleak0
Little People
Tom Holt2002
A man discovers his stepfather is exploiting elves for labor. He becomes the reluctant point of contact for the disgruntled magical creatures.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Thunderbird Falls
C. E. Murphy2006
A beat cop and shaman must prevent a second apocalypse in three months. The story follows her as she balances police work with supernatural duties.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Kitty Goes to Washington
Carrie Vaughn2006
A werewolf radio host testifies at a Senate hearing and navigates political threats from a hostile senator and a vampire mistress.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Dark Currents
Jacqueline Carey2012
The daughter of a god works as a liaison in a resort town where humans and supernatural beings coexist. She investigates a magical drowning.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Foxglove Summer
Ben Aaronovitch2014
A London wizard cop investigates the disappearance of two girls in a rural village. He navigates local police culture and hidden magical threats.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
wry → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
wry → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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·bleak+1
Faster
wry → propulsive, still urban fantasy
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
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.
wry → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
wry → earnest, still high fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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, still high fantasy
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
wry → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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.
wry → dark, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
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.
wry → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
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+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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+3
