After
The half-drowned king
Linnea Hartsuyker2017
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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11/22/63
Stephen King2011
A high school teacher travels back to 1958 and lives for five years to prevent the JFK assassination. He must manage the ripple effects of time.
Same earnest register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Labyrinth
Kate Mosse2005
Two storylines follow a modern archaeologist and a medieval woman linked by a secret. They both search for a hidden religious artifact.
Same earnest register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Tai-Pan
James Clavell1966
A Scottish trader in 1841 Hong Kong fights to establish a merchant empire. He navigates opium smuggling, naval battles, and a deadly local rivalry.
earnest → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The moon in the palace
Weina Dai Randel2016
A young girl enters the Tang Dynasty court as a concubine. She navigates the hierarchies and dangers of the palace to gain the Emperor's favor.
Same earnest register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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Patrick
Stephen R. Lawhead2003
A Welsh teenager is kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery. He learns druidic lore while planning his escape and return home.
Same earnest register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
earnest → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
earnest → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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.
earnest → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
earnest → propulsive
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Wintersteel
Will Wight2020
Lindon and his allies compete in a global martial arts tournament. The focus is on training, gaining power, and tactical combat.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Dark Lover
J. R. Ward2005
A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood2021
A biology PhD candidate enters a fake relationship with a young professor to satisfy a friend. They navigate academic politics and attraction.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Beautiful Bastard
Christina Lauren2013
An MBA intern and her demanding media executive boss engage in a series of sexual encounters while competing at work. It is an erotic romance.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Hot mahogany
Stuart Woods2008
A lawyer guards a former spy with amnesia who restores antique furniture. They uncover a conspiracy linked to the man's service in Vietnam.
earnest → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+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.
earnest → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+2
Pride of Baghdad
Brian K. Vaughan2006
Four lions escape the Baghdad Zoo during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The graphic novel follows their perspective as they navigate the city.
earnest → bleak, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
earnest → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
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.
earnest → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
earnest → tense
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
