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After

The Tower of Beowulf

Parke Godwin1995

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same elegiac register, still historical fantasy

1 more ↓

  • Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr

    John Crowley2017

    A crow named Dar Oakley lives through two thousand years of human history, moving between the world of the living and the realm of the dead.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales

    Greer Gilman2009

    A triptych of stories set in a mythic Yorkshire, told in dense, archaic dialect. It follows the intersections of folk magic and celestial myth.

    elegiac → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Neon Gods

    Katee Robert2021

    In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.

    elegiac → tense, still mythic fiction

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Last Question

    Isaac Asimov2007

    A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

elegiac → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → meditative, still historical fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

    Same elegiac register, still mythic fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

    A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → sardonic, still historical fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+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.

    elegiac → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1