After
The Enchanted Typewriter
John Kendrick Bangs1899
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Monstrous Regiment
Terry Pratchett2003
A girl disguises herself as a man to find her brother in a losing army. She joins a squad of misfits who are all hiding their own secrets.
Same wry register, still fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Crock of Gold
James Stephens1912
Two philosophers encounter Irish deities and leprechauns in a series of satirical dialogues and adventures.
wry → playful, still fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Extract from Captain Stormfield's visit to heaven
Mark Twain1909
A sea captain dies and travels through space for thirty years, only to find that the afterlife is not what he expected.
Same wry register, still satire
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Vikram and the Vampire
Richard Francis Burton1870
A king attempts to carry a vampire across a forest, but the creature repeatedly escapes by telling riddles that the king is compelled to answer.
Same wry register, still fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Anvil of the World
Kage Baker2003
A retired assassin turned caravan master leads a group of travelers across a landscape of demons and gods. It is a picaresque fantasy adventure.
Same wry register, still fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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.
wry → playful, still satire
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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.
wry → dreamlike, still frame story
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
wry → dreamlike
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
wry → meditative, still frame story
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
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.
wry → sardonic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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+2·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
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+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
wry → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+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.
wry → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike, still frame story
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
wry → meditative, still fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
wry → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
wry → sardonic, still satire
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
Doctor Rat
William Kotzwinkle1976
A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
The Vengeance of Rome
Michael Moorcock2006
Pyat, an unreliable narrator and Nazi sympathizer, travels through the 1930s. He observes the rise of fascism while remaining self-deluded.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
The Sub: A Study in Witchcraft
Thomas M. Disch1999
A substitute teacher discovers she has the power of witchcraft. She uses her abilities to manipulate her small town as her sanity deteriorates.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
