After
Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia2007
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Tempt the Stars
Karen Chance2013
A supernatural seer manages a possessive vampire lover and rogue acolytes while attempting to rescue a friend from a magical fate.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
The Broken Eye
Brent Weeks2014
While their leader is enslaved and powerless, his young students navigate a secret war against an ancient order of assassins.
Same propulsive register, still chosen one
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Death Masks
Jim Butcher2003
A wizard for hire is tasked with recovering the stolen Shroud of Turin while being hunted by a professional assassin.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Darkest Pleasure
Gena Showalter2008
A warrior possessed by a demon of pain pursues a mortal woman while she and her family flee immortal hunters. It is a paranormal romance.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Hunted
Kevin Hearne2011
A druid and his apprentice flee across Europe while being hunted by Artemis, Diana, and Loki.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
propulsive → dreamlike, still chosen one
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-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-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Mackenzie's Pleasure
Linda Howard1996
A Navy SEAL rescues an ambassador's daughter from a terrorist group. They must evade capture in the mountains while developing a physical bond.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Flip This Zombie
Jesse Petersen2011
A married couple runs a zombie extermination and 'flipping' business. They treat the apocalypse as a series of domestic and financial hurdles.
propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-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
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak+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-3·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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-3·prose+3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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-2·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
propulsive → tense
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
