Pandemonium

Thunderbird Falls

C. E. Murphy2006

A beat cop and shaman must prevent a second apocalypse in three months. The story follows her as she balances police work with supernatural duties.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

wry → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·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.

wry → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

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.

wry → dreamlike, still alternate history

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire

Kerrelyn Sparks2005

A vampire who broke a fang kidnaps a dentist who is afraid of blood. She is hiding from the mafia while he needs his smile repaired.

wry → playful, still urban fantasy

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Undead and Unwed

MaryJanice Davidson2004

After dying in a car crash, a fashion-obsessed woman wakes up as a vampire. She resists the local undead community's claim that she is their queen.

wry → playful, still urban fantasy

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Bitten & Smitten

Michelle Rowen2006

Sarah is accidentally turned into a vampire and must rely on a grumpy, centuries-old vampire to teach her how to survive.

wry → playful, still urban fantasy

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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·prose0·bleak+1

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.

wry → sardonic, still urban fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

wry → sardonic, still urban fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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

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

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.

wry → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

wry → elegiac, still urban fantasy

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

A Man Lies Dreaming

Lavie Tidhar2014

A Jewish writer in a concentration camp imagines a world where Hitler is a disgraced private eye in London. The two narratives intertwine.

wry → sardonic, still alternate history

pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

wry → bleak, still urban fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak+2