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After

Woman on the Edge of Time

Marge Piercy

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More like it

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  • Babel

    R.F. Kuang2022

    A student at a 19th-century Oxford translation institute discovers how magic powers the British Empire. It follows his path toward revolution.

    Same earnest register

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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.

    earnest → meditative, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·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.

    earnest → playful

    pace0·prose+1·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.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • King of Pride

    Ana Huang2023

    A buttoned-up billionaire heir falls for an impulsive bartender while trying to secure a CEO position. They navigate a forbidden workplace romance.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies

    Tara Schuster2020

    A television executive shares personal anecdotes and daily rituals used to recover from a neglected childhood. It is a memoir-style guide.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries

    Emily Brightwell1993

    A Victorian housekeeper and her staff secretly solve crimes for their employer, a clueless Scotland Yard inspector.

    earnest → playful

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Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·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.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    earnest → tender

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Tehanu

    Ursula K. Le Guin1990

    A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.

    earnest → meditative

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Heavier

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  • Doctor Rat

    William Kotzwinkle1976

    A laboratory rat loyal to his human captors defends the practice of vivisection while animals worldwide begin a bloody revolt.

    earnest → sardonic, still dystopian

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Gradual

    Christopher Priest2016

    A composer travels between islands where time passes at different rates. He observes how these temporal shifts isolate him from his family.

    earnest → melancholy, still dystopian

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Memory Police

    Yoko Ogawa1994

    Objects vanish from an island and from the residents' memories. A novelist hides her editor from the police who enforce the disappearances.

    earnest → elegiac, still dystopian

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1