Three Parts Dead

When among Crows

Veronica Roth2024

A man seeking to break a family curse teams up with a winged warrior in modern Chicago. They hunt monsters from Slavic folklore to find a cure.

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Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

propulsive → meditative

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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.

propulsive → playful

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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.

propulsive → meditative

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The Rooster Bar

John Grisham2017

Three law students realize their school is a scam and drop out to pose as lawyers. They steal identities to survive and pay off their debts.

propulsive → sardonic, still legal thriller

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The Renegade Hunter

Lynsay Sands2009

A former vampire hunter living as a rogue rescues a woman from an attack. He discovers she is his life mate while protecting her from his kind.

propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy

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Electric Idol

Katee Robert2022

In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.

propulsive → playful, still urban fantasy

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Battle Ground

Jim Butcher2020

A wizard leads the supernatural defense of Chicago against an invading army led by a Titan. The book is a single, continuous battle.

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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.

propulsive → sardonic, still urban fantasy

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The Firm

John Grisham1991

A young lawyer joins a high-paying law firm only to discover it is a front for the mob and the FBI wants him to inform on them.

Same propulsive register, still legal thriller

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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.

propulsive → dreamlike

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Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

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

propulsive → meditative

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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.

propulsive → dreamlike

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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.

propulsive → bleak, still urban fantasy

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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.

propulsive → bleak

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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.

propulsive → tense

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