LitQueuelitqueue

After

Monstrous Regiment

Terry Pratchett2003

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Enchanted Typewriter

    John Kendrick Bangs1899

    A narrator discovers his typewriter is being operated by the ghosts of historical figures. They provide satirical accounts of the afterlife.

    Same wry register, still fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

wry → playful, still satire

3 more ↓

  • Year zero

    Reid, Robert2012

    Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-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.

    wry → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Rich People Problems

    Kevin Kwan2017

    An extended family gathers in Singapore as their matriarch lies dying. They scheme against one another to inherit a massive estate.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive

    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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → meditative, still fantasy

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

wry → sardonic, still satire

3 more ↓

  • The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft

    Thomas M. Disch1999

    A substitute teacher discovers she has the power of witchcraft. She uses her abilities to manipulate her small town as her sanity deteriorates.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 13 Dreams to Kill Cthulhu

    Raasiq Shaikh2026

    wry → tense, still fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    wry → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2