The Troupe

Sailing to Sarantium

Guy Gavriel Kay1998

A mosaicist travels to a city resembling Byzantium to work on a great sanctuary. He navigates the dangerous politics of the imperial court.

Same elegiac register, still historical fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

elegiac → meditative, still historical fantasy

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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.

elegiac → dreamlike, still historical fantasy

pace-1·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.

elegiac → playful

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To Sir Phillip, With Love

Julia Quinn2003

Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

elegiac → warm

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

All Rhodes Lead Here

Mariana Zapata2021

A woman moves back to her Colorado hometown after a breakup and rents a garage apartment from a grumpy single father.

elegiac → warm

pace0·prose-2·bleak-1

Hannah's List

Debbie Macomber2010

A widower receives a letter from his late wife suggesting three women he should date. He begins to interact with each woman over the following year.

elegiac → warm

pace0·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.

elegiac → 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.

elegiac → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

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·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

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·bleak+1

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·bleak0

The Damnation Game

Clive Barker1985

An ex-con becomes a bodyguard for a billionaire who made a deal with a supernatural gambler. The debt comes due through gore and resurrection.

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

The Black Company

Glen Cook1984

An elite mercenary unit serves an immortal sorceress. The story is told through the cynical journals of the company's doctor and historian.

elegiac → grim, still dark fantasy

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

Snow, Glass, Apples

Neil Gaiman2019

A retelling of Snow White from the stepmother's perspective. The princess is a vampiric creature and the queen struggles to protect the kingdom.

elegiac → cold, still dark fantasy

pace0·prose0·bleak+2