Genres You Didn’t Know You Loved

You’ve heard of fiction genres like mystery, horror, romance, and fantasy—but sometimes those labels are too broad to capture the stories that really stick with you.

Maybe you crave cozy, hopeful tales set in strange new worlds, or unsettling stories where the ordinary slips just a little off-center. That’s where subgenres and story themes come in. These lesser-known but richly specific categories can help you describe exactly what you love—and discover more of it. Here are 15 intriguing subgenres to help you fine-tune your reading tastes and explore fiction in fresh, unexpected ways.


Hopepunk

A subgenre rooted in optimism, community, and resistance. Even in dark times, characters believe in kindness and connection as a form of rebellion.

The House in the Cerulean Sea

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing


Grimdark

The opposite of hopepunk—think bleak worlds, moral ambiguity, and anti-heroes. Popular in fantasy (e.g. Game of Thrones).

The Poppy War

Prince of Thorns


Slipstream

A genre-bending blend of speculative and literary fiction where the strange and surreal coexist with reality—stories that feel like dreams just a little too close to real life.

The City & the City

Ice


Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi)

Fiction focused on climate change and its consequences—sometimes dystopian, sometimes hopeful. Perfect for readers who enjoy stories grounded in environmental issues.

The Ministry for the Future

Weather


Afrofuturism / Indigenous Futurism

These genres center cultural perspectives that are often underrepresented in science fiction and fantasy, reimagining futures through Black or Indigenous lenses.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

The Intuitionist


Low Fantasy vs. High Fantasy

Low fantasy brings magic into the real world (Harry Potter starts as low fantasy) while high fantasy builds an entirely new world (The Lord of the Rings). Recognizing the distinction can help narrow down fantasy preferences.

Low Fantasy:

The Magicians

The Night Circus

High Fantasy:

The Name of the Wind

His Dark Materials


New Weird

A blend of horror, science fiction, and fantasy with often grotesque, surreal, or baffling elements.

Authority

Perdido Street Station


Solarpunk

A hopeful vision of the future featuring sustainable technology and community resilience. Great for sci-fi readers who want to imagine solutions, not just problems.

Parable of the Sower

The Dispossessed


Magical Realism

Magical realism treats the magical as mundane and integrated into everyday life, unlike fantasy, where the magical is often dramatic and central.

Exit West

Like Water for Chocolate


Speculative Romance

Romance wrapped in sci-fi or fantasy worlds, where the emotional journey is as important as the speculative setting (popular in fan fiction!).

Winter's Orbit

Radiance


Domestic Noir

Psychological suspense stories often involve family secrets, unreliable narrators, and home life turned dangerous (Gone Girl is a classic).

The Family Upstairs

The Big Sleep


Mythic Fiction

Modern or alternate-world retellings of myths, legends, and folklore. Often poetic, symbolic, and introspective.

Siddhartha

Circe


Quiet Horror / Folk Horror

For those who don’t love gore but love a creeping sense of dread. Think atmospheric settings, rural myths, or ancient rituals (The Witch, The Wicker Man).

The Only Good Indians

The Gathering Dark


Bizarro Fiction

Intentionally strange, absurd, and often humorous. Think adult swim meets literature—good for adventurous readers.

This Book Is Full of Spiders

Make Something Up


Techno-Optimism / Techno-Dread

Stories centered around technology’s role in shaping society, for better (hopeful sci-fi) or worse (dystopias, Black Mirror-esque tales).

Klara and the Sun

Feed


Want to learn more about subgenres and themes? 

Looking to dive deeper into what makes your favorite stories tick? Our NoveList Plus database is a fantastic tool for discovering the why behind your reading preferences. Beyond broad genres like mystery or fantasy, NoveList helps you explore more specific story elements—including subgenres, themes, and appeal terms—that describe everything from a book’s tone to its pacing. 





Happy reading!