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After

The Winter Long

Seanan McGuire2014

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still urban fantasy

1 more ↓

  • Blood Trade

    Faith Hunter2013

    A skinwalker bounty hunter is hired to kill rogue vampires in Mississippi. She soon discovers the targets are faster and stronger than usual.

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Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    tense → meditative, still unreliable narrator

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    tense → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

tense → playful, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • The Lady is a Vamp

    Lynsay Sands2012

    A mortal man kidnaps a female vampire to help him with a family emergency. They develop a romantic connection while avoiding vampire authorities.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Nice Dragons Finish Last

    Rachel Aaron2014

    The smallest, weakest dragon in a ruthless family is cast out into Detroit. He must survive using diplomacy instead of fire.

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

  • Go Fetch!

    Shelly Laurenston2009

    A shapeshifting dog hybrid and a human woman are forced together by a supernatural bond. The story features animal-human hybrid politics.

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Faster

tense → propulsive, still urban fantasy

3 more ↓

  • Blood Engines

    Tim Pratt2007

    A sorceress who uses blood magic to power her spells defends her city from a rival. She makes ruthless choices to maintain her power.

    tense → sardonic, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·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.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Magic Bites

    Ilona Andrews2007

    In a future Atlanta where magic and technology fluctuate, mercenary Kate Daniels investigates her guardian's murder. It is an urban fantasy.

    tense → sardonic, still urban fantasy

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Unfinished Tales

    J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Moonwise

    Greer Gilman1991

    Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.

    tense → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • A Matter of Blood

    Sarah Pinborough2010

    A detective investigates a serial killer in a London plagued by a failing economy and a supernatural virus. The tone is consistently grim.

    tense → bleak, still urban fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    Same tense register

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2