After
Sandman Slim
Richard Kadrey2009
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same sardonic register, still urban fantasy
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Killing Pretty
Richard Kadrey2015
Sandman Slim investigates the murder of a god in a gritty Los Angeles filled with angels, demons, and noir archetypes.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The good, the bad, and the uncanny
Simon R. Green2010
A private investigator in a supernatural London district is offered the job of running the city. He must decide while dodging various enemies.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Nightwise
R. S. Belcher2015
An amoral occultist travels across the United States to settle a debt involving a supernatural conspiracy. It uses noir tropes and urban grit.
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Fool Moon
Jim Butcher2001
A wizard for hire helps the Chicago police investigate a series of brutal murders involving different types of werewolves.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
Bill Willingham
Fairy tale characters live in a secret community in modern New York. Bigby Wolf investigates the apparent murder of Snow White's sister.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
sardonic → dreamlike
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
sardonic → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
sardonic → playful, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
And One Last Thing...
Molly Harper2010
After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.
sardonic → wry
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Perfection
R.L. Mathewson2011
A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.
sardonic → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
sardonic → propulsive
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Better Off Dead
Lee Child2021
Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.
sardonic → propulsive
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
sardonic → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
sardonic → dark, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
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.
sardonic → elegiac, still urban fantasy
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Last Days
Brian Evenson2009
A detective is kidnapped by a cult that practices ritual amputation and forced to investigate a murder within their ranks.
sardonic → clinical, still noir
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
Same sardonic register, still noir
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
