Match BookThe King of the Elves
Philip K. Dick
12 pages · Fantasy
How it reads
The King of the Elves is fantasy (fantasy short story, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in several locations, in no single period, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are identity, power and politics and redemption. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 12 pages it's a single-sitting book. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something adventurous
- you want a complete story in one book
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or melancholy
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- fantasy
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- prolific veteran
- Setting: place
- multiple locations
- Setting: time
- timeless or multiple
- Mood / feeling
- adventurous
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- short
- Narrative style
- third person, one viewpoint
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- identity, power and politics, redemption
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Pathfinder Tales: Winter WitchElaine CunninghamShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- Nettle & BoneT. KingfisherShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
- The Magic of RecluceL.E. Modesitt Jr.Shares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
The Blacktongue ThiefChristopher BuehlmanShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
WarbreakerBrandon SandersonShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- I, MedusaAyana GrayShares: fantasy, adventurous mood, balanced tone, moderate pace
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