Necklace of Kisses

Glass Soup

Jonathan Carroll2005

A group of people in Vienna and the afterlife navigate a cosmic battle between order and chaos. The story uses surreal logic and dream imagery.

Same dreamlike register, still magical realism

pace0·prose0·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.

Same dreamlike register, still magical realism

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Soldier of Sidon

Gene Wolfe2006

A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.

dreamlike → meditative

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Ink

Hal Duncan2007

Gods and mortals clash in a shifting city where reality is written on skin. The story follows a cycle of mythic archetypes across time.

Same dreamlike register

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Love in the Time of Dragons

Katie MacAlister2010

A mother wakes up in a world of dragon-shifters who believe she is a historical figure and sentence her to death for her past crimes.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Julia Quinn2002

A long-time wallflower and her friend's brother discover each other's secrets in Regency London. The plot centers on the identity of a gossip writer.

dreamlike → warm

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

The Rosie Project

Graeme Simsion2013

A genetics professor uses a detailed questionnaire to find a wife, then meets a woman who fails every criteria. He helps her find her father.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·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.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·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.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → tender, still magical realism

pace-1·prose-1·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → elegiac

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

Same dreamlike register

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → tense

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+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.

dreamlike → bleak

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Seth Dickinson2015

An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

dreamlike → cold

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2