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After

Resurrection Man

Sean Stewart1995

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Brief History of the Dead

    Kevin Brockmeier2006

    The dead live in a city as long as someone on Earth remembers them. When a virus hits, the city shrinks until only one living woman remains.

    Same elegiac register, still magical realism

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative, still magical realism

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • To Sir Phillip, With Love

    Julia Quinn2003

    Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Life's Too Short

    Abby Jimenez2021

    A travel vlogger with a terminal genetic clock takes in her sister's baby and falls for the workaholic lawyer living next door.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Everything Beautiful in Its Time

    Jenna Bush Hager2020

    The author reflects on the lives and deaths of her grandparents, including a former President and First Lady. It is a series of personal essays.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

elegiac → propulsive, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Dungeon Crawler Carl

    Matt Dinniman2020

    Earth is converted into an 18-level televised death game. A man and a cat must navigate traps and monsters to survive.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Invisible Cities

    Italo Calvino1972

    Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.

    elegiac → meditative, still magical realism

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    elegiac → tender, still magical realism

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same elegiac register, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Was

    Geoff Ryman1992

    Three timelines connect a Kansas girl in the 1880s, Judy Garland on set, and a dying man in the 1980s. It examines the reality behind the Oz myth.

    Same elegiac register, still magical realism

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → sardonic, still alternate history

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1