After
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
Same playful register, still urban fantasy
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dragons Wild
Robert Asprin2008
A con artist discovers he is a dragon and moves to New Orleans to use his skills in the criminal underworld.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
California Demon
Julie Kenner2006
A suburban mother balances raising her children with her secret life as a retired demon hunter. She must return to work when monsters reappear.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Death's Daughter
Amber Benson2009
The daughter of Death is forced to take over the family business when her father is kidnapped. She must complete three tasks to save him.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
Darynda Jones2017
A private investigator who is also the Grim Reaper deals with gods and demons while raising a daughter destined to save the world.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
One Good Knight
Mercedes Lackey2006
A princess is chosen to be sacrificed to a dragon, but she decides to train as a knight to fight it instead.
Same playful register, still fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Endless Things
John Crowley2007
A scholar travels to Europe to find a secret history of magic hidden within real-world myths. This is the conclusion of a four-book cycle.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+2
The Light and the Dark
Mikhail Shishkin2013
Two lovers exchange letters that transcend time and space. One writes from a domestic life while the other writes from the front lines of a war.
playful → elegiac
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+3bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
Faster
playful → propulsive, still urban fantasy
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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.
playful → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
A magician crawls out of Hell to hunt the people who murdered his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He uses black magic and a stolen shotgun.
playful → sardonic, still urban fantasy
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Hunted
Kevin Hearne2011
A druid and his apprentice flee across Europe while being hunted by Artemis, Diana, and Loki.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
playful → elegiac
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
A Slow Regard of Silent Things
Patrick Rothfuss2013
A young woman lives alone in the tunnels beneath a university, finding meaning in discarded objects and daily rituals.
playful → tender, still fantasy
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
playful → dark, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
playful → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
playful → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
playful → bleak
pace0·prose+2·bleak+3
