Raintree

Edge of twilight

Maggie Shayne2004

An immortal warrior seeks out a half-human, half-vampire woman to help him kill the man who murdered his kind.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

tense → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

At Swim-Two-Birds

Flann O'Brien1939

A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

tense → playful

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Go Fetch!

Shelly Laurenston2009

A shapeshifting dog hybrid and a human woman are forced together by a supernatural bond. The story features animal-human hybrid politics.

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Dark Witch

Nora Roberts2013

A woman moves to Ireland to connect with her cousins and her family's magical heritage. She works at a stable while a centuries-old curse looms.

tense → warm, still paranormal romance

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Dark Lover

J. R. Ward2005

A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.

tense → propulsive, still paranormal romance

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Burn for Me

Ilona Andrews2014

A private investigator with the ability to tell truth from lies is hired to find a fire-user. She is forced to work with a dangerous billionaire.

tense → propulsive, still paranormal romance

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Ill Wind

Rachel Caine2003

A weather warden on the run from the law uses her ability to control storms to protect people from rogue elemental forces.

tense → propulsive, still paranormal romance

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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.

tense → propulsive, still urban fantasy

pace+1·prose0·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.

tense → 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.

tense → 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.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → bleak, still urban fantasy

pace0·prose0·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.

tense → bleak

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.

Same tense register

pace0·prose0·bleak+2