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The Northern Girl

Elizabeth A. Lynn1980

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  • Imager

    L.E. Modesitt Jr.2009

    A portraitist discovers he can materialize objects with his mind. He joins a secret order of mages and learns to navigate city politics.

    tender → meditative, still high fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tender → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

    A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.

    tender → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    tender → playful

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

tender → playful

3 more ↓

  • Catch Of The Day

    Kristan Higgins2007

    A diner owner in a small Maine town looks for love with the help of a local priest. She eventually pursues a relationship with a lobsterman.

    tender → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Fantasy Lover

    Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

    A Spartan warrior cursed to be a love-slave inside a book is summoned by a modern woman. She takes him into the world to live as a man.

    tender → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • To Catch an Heiress

    Julia Quinn2002

    An agent of the crown kidnaps a woman he mistakes for a spy. She plays along with the identity to hide until she reaches her inheritance age.

    pace+1·prose-2·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.

    tender → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    tender → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    tender → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tender → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    tender → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    tender → meditative, still feminist fantasy

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tender → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    tender → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    tender → cold

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2