After
The Iliad
Homer1946
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Hymn to Dionysus
Natasha Pulley2025
A soldier rescues a child from a palace fire and later struggles with trauma as a training master. The story follows his military life and secrets.
Same epic register, still mythology
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson2005
A 13th-century guide to Norse mythology and poetry, framed as a dialogue between a king and three mysterious figures.
epic → elegiac, still mythology
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Shadow of the Torturer
Gene Wolfe1980
An apprentice torturer is exiled for showing mercy to a prisoner. He travels across a far-future Earth where technology is mistaken for magic.
epic → dreamlike
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Silmarillion
J. R. R. Tolkien1977
A history of the First Age of Middle-earth, from the creation of the world to the fall of the Elven kingdoms. It is written as a mythic chronicle.
epic → elegiac
pace0·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
epic → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
epic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
epic → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
epic → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
epic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
epic → sardonic
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
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.
epic → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
epic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
epic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
epic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
epic → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
epic → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
epic → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-2bleak-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.
epic → tender
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.
epic → meditative
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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.
epic → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-2bleak+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.
epic → tense
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
epic → bleak
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
epic → cold
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Song of Kali
Dan Simmons1985
An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.
epic → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
