A Forest of Stars

Terms of Enlistment

Marko Kloos2013

A young man escapes a crowded urban slum by enlisting in the military. He undergoes training and faces both civil unrest and alien threats.

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Empty Space

M. John Harrison2012

Three interlocking timelines follow a widow in London, a detective in a neon city, and a pilot in deep space. The prose is dense and surreal.

propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Hunter of Worlds

C. J. Cherryh1977

A human is abducted by the Iduve, a cold and powerful alien race, to serve as a translator and pawn in their internal political conflicts.

propulsive → cold, still space opera

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Star Nomad

Lindsay Buroker2016

A fighter pilot and a small crew of strangers attempt to escape a system-wide war in a freighter. It is a character-driven space adventure.

propulsive → playful, still space opera

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

All Systems Red

Martha Wells2017

A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

propulsive → wry, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

The Kaiju Preservation Society

John Scalzi2022

A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.

propulsive → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

The Killing of Worlds

Scott Westerfeld2003

Captain Laurent Zai fights a lone ship-to-ship battle against invaders while Senator Nara Oxham uncovers the Emperor's secrets.

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

The Last Watch

J.S. Dewes2021

Exiled soldiers at the edge of the universe discover the vacuum of space is collapsing. They must repair the Divide with limited resources.

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

All Systems Red

Martha Wells2017

A self-aware security android hacks its own governor module to watch soap operas while protecting a team of scientists on a distant planet.

propulsive → wry, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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-2·prose+2·bleak0

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Ulysses

James Joyce1914

Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

An Exchange of Hostages

Susan R. Matthews1997

A surgeon is drafted into a space empire's corps of torturers. He tries to maintain his ethics while being trained to inflict pain.

propulsive → clinical, still space opera

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Kaleidoscope Century

John Barnes1995

A mercenary wakes every ten years to a new body and a changing world. He uncovers his own history of atrocities across the 21st century.

propulsive → bleak, still military sci-fi

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story

Stephen R. Donaldson

A space pirate, a victim, and a police officer are trapped in a cycle of abuse and betrayal. The narrative shifts perspectives to reveal lies.

propulsive → bleak, still space opera

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2