After
The Solitudes
John Crowley1987
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Endless Things
John Crowley2007
A scholar travels to Europe to find a secret history of magic hidden within real-world myths. This is the conclusion of a four-book cycle.
Same meditative register, still literary fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon
Lisa Goldstein1993
In Elizabethan London, a bookseller discovers her son is a changeling while Christopher Marlowe becomes entangled in faerie politics.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Winged Histories
Sofia Samatar2016
Four women—a soldier, a scholar, a socialite, and a singer—navigate a civil war. The story is told through their distinct, lyrical perspectives.
meditative → elegiac, still literary fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Soldier of Sidon
Gene Wolfe2006
A mercenary in ancient Egypt loses his memory every time he sleeps. He records his days in a scroll while interacting with gods and spirits.
Same meditative register, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
Same meditative register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection
Carol Burnett2010
The comedian shares anecdotes from her career in television and film. The book is a series of short chronological reflections.
meditative → warm
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → earnest
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-3bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+3prose-3bleak0
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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
The Burning God
R.F. Kuang2020
A general leads a peasant army in a civil war across a fantasy version of China. She grapples with her sanity and the influence of a fire god.
meditative → bleak, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-2bleak+2
Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu
Andrus Kivirähk2015
A boy in medieval Estonia learns the ancient language of snakes to command animals as his forest culture is erased by Christian invaders.
meditative → elegiac, still historical fantasy
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak+2
The sad tale of the brothers Grossbart
Jesse Bullington2009
Two murderous brothers travel across 14th-century Europe to rob Egyptian tombs. They encounter monsters and religious zealots along the way.
meditative → sardonic, still historical fantasy
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-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.
meditative → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+2prose-2bleak+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.
meditative → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2
