LitQueuelitqueue

After

Winter Rose

Patricia A. McKillip1996

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same dark register

1 more ↓

  • Grave Peril

    Jim Butcher2001

    Chicago's ghosts become violent and lethal, forcing a wizard to investigate the spirit world. He must deal with vampires and ancient bargains.

    dark → tense, still detective

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

dark → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Ficciones

    Jorge Luis Borges1945

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

    dark → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    dark → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dark → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Spellman Files

    Lisa Lutz2007

    A private investigator works for her family's firm while her parents and sister spy on her. She tries to solve a disappearance and her own life.

    dark → wry, still detective

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

    Mindy Kaling2011

    A collection of essays about the author's childhood, her career in comedy, and her observations on friendship.

    dark → wry, still humor

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • You're Never Weird on the Internet

    Felicia Day2015

    The actress and creator of 'The Guild' recounts her life as a homeschooled child, her gaming addiction, and her career in digital media.

    dark → playful, still humor

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Stainless Steel Rat

    Harry Harrison1961

    A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.

    dark → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dark → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·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.

    dark → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    dark → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·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.

    dark → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    dark → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Poppy War

    R.F. Kuang2018

    A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.

    dark → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Traitor Baru Cormorant

    Seth Dickinson2015

    An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

    dark → cold

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Song of Kali

    Dan Simmons1985

    An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

    dark → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1