After
Warbound
Larry Correia2013
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Skin Game
Jim Butcher2014
Wizard Harry Dresden joins a team of villains to rob a vault in the Underworld. It is a fast-paced heist set in a modern fantasy Chicago.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Lake House
James Patterson
A veterinarian and an FBI agent protect six genetically engineered children who can fly. They are pursued by a global conspiracy.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Girl with Ghost Eyes
M.H. Boroson
A young priestess uses Taoist magic to fight spirits in 1890s San Francisco Chinatown. She must protect her community while her powers fade.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Artemis
Andy Weir2017
A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Kill Decision
Daniel Suarez2012
A scientist and a special ops veteran track a swarm of autonomous drones programmed to kill without human oversight.
Same propulsive register, still conspiracy
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Too Like the Lightning
Ada Palmer2016
In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.
propulsive → sardonic
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.
propulsive → sardonic
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
White Hot
Ilona Andrews2017
A private investigator who can sense lies teams up with a powerful telekinetic to find a murderer in Houston.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker2013
A golem and a jinni arrive in 1899 New York City and attempt to pass as human. They form an unlikely bond while hiding their true natures.
propulsive → warm, still urban fantasy
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Drawing of the Dark
Tim Powers1979
An Irish mercenary in 1529 Vienna is hired to protect a brewery. The beer is magical, and the Siege of Vienna is a battle for Western magic.
propulsive → wry, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Dark Lover
J. R. Ward2005
A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.
Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Brutal Prince
Sophie Lark2020
The heirs of two rival Chicago mafia families are forced into an arranged marriage to prevent a gang war.
propulsive → sardonic
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak+1
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino1972
Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
Beelzebub's tales to his grandson
Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff1950
An extraterrestrial being explains the history and strange behaviors of humanity to his grandson during a long space voyage.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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, still historical fantasy
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-3prose+3bleak0
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, still historical fantasy
pace-3·prose+3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
propulsive → bleak, still urban fantasy
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
propulsive → cold
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
propulsive → bleak
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
The Sparrow
Mary Doria Russell1996
A Jesuit priest joins a mission to a newly discovered planet. The story is told in flashbacks after he returns as the sole, traumatized survivor.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Watchmen
Alan Moore1986
Retired masked vigilantes investigate the murder of a former teammate. The story takes place in an alternate 1985 on the brink of nuclear war.
propulsive → bleak, still conspiracy
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
