The Drowning Girl

The Physiognomy

Jeffrey Ford1997

A physiognomist travels to a remote mining town to judge a crime. The world is a surreal, industrial landscape governed by pseudoscience.

Same dreamlike register, still unreliable narrator

pace0·prose0·bleak-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.

Same dreamlike register, still unreliable narrator

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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.

dreamlike → meditative

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.

dreamlike → elegiac, still unreliable narrator

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

dreamlike → tense

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline2008

A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

dreamlike → wry

pace+1·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.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

The Atlantis Gene

A.G. Riddle2013

A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Monster Hunter International

Larry Correia2007

An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.

dreamlike → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·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.

Same dreamlike register

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.

dreamlike → tender

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Tehanu

Ursula K. Le Guin1990

A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.

dreamlike → meditative

pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

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.

dreamlike → tense, still psychological horror

pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

Empire of the Damned

Jay Kristoff2024

A vampire hunter protects the Holy Grail while navigating a war between rival vampire bloodlines. The world is trapped in a permanent night.

dreamlike → bleak, still dark fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

The Damnation Game

Clive Barker1985

An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.

dreamlike → bleak, still dark fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak+1