LitQueuelitqueue

After

Nine Princes in Amber

Roger Zelazny1970

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • A Spindle Splintered

    Alix E. Harrow2021

    A terminally ill girl pricks her finger and enters a multiverse of Sleeping Beauty variations. She travels between worlds to save other versions.

    sardonic → playful, still portal fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Tourmaline

    Paul Park2006

    A girl from our world navigates a magical, alternate-history Europe where Romania is a superpower. The narrative is dense and non-linear.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Pioneer Woman

    Ree Drummond2011

    A city woman moves to a remote cattle ranch after falling in love with a cowboy. She details her transition to country life and farm chores.

    sardonic → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Going Cowboy Crazy

    Katie Lane2011

    A woman travels to a small Texas town to find her secret twin sister and is mistaken for her by the local residents and her sister's ex-flame.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Marrying Mr. Wrong

    Claire Kingsley

    Two rivals wake up married in Las Vegas and decide to stay together to help their respective careers.

    sardonic → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    sardonic → 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    sardonic → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

    A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

    sardonic → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → elegiac, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    Same sardonic register, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    sardonic → tense

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2