LitQueuelitqueue

After

Sorcerer to the Crown

Zen Cho2015

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Winter of the Witch

    Katherine Arden2019

    A girl with magical abilities attempts to save Moscow from a demon and political ruin. It concludes a trilogy based on Russian folklore.

    wry → earnest, still historical fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

3 more ↓

  • 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, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    wry → meditative, still historical fantasy

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Wandering Unicorn

    Manuel Mujica Lainez1965

    A shapeshifting fairy falls in love with a medieval knight and follows him through the Crusades. The prose is dense and formal.

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1

  • Warbound

    Larry Correia2013

    In an alternate 1930s, people with magical abilities fight a war against a trans-dimensional threat. It is the final book in a trilogy.

    wry → propulsive, still historical fantasy

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales

    Greer Gilman2009

    A triptych of stories set in a mythic Yorkshire, told in dense, archaic dialect. It follows the intersections of folk magic and celestial myth.

    wry → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+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.

    wry → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Soldier of Aretê

    Gene Wolfe1989

    A mercenary in ancient Greece loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his travels and his interactions with gods in a daily scroll.

    wry → meditative, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The sad tale of the brothers Grossbart

    Jesse Bullington2009

    Two murderous brothers travel across 14th-century Europe to rob Egyptian tombs. They encounter monsters and religious zealots along the way.

    wry → sardonic, still historical fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    wry → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • 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.

    wry → tense

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+3