After
Against a Dark Background
Iain Banks1993
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-2
Diplomatic Immunity
Lois McMaster Bujold2002
A diplomatic auditor and his pregnant wife investigate a missing ship and a murder at a space station. It is a mystery set in a space opera world.
dark → wry, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
- pace0prose0bleak0
Emissaries from the Dead
Adam-Troy Castro2008
A legal investigator travels to a space station to solve two murders while navigating the politics of sentient alien species.
dark → tense, still mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Livesuit
James S.A. Corey
A pilot is physically integrated into a massive combat suit to fight an interstellar war. The process erases his human identity over time.
Same dark register, still mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Radiance
Catherynne M. Valente2015
A documentary filmmaker disappears on Venus in an alternate 1980s solar system. The story is told through scripts, interviews, and letters.
dark → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
Perhaps the Stars
Ada Palmer2021
A global war between ideological factions reaches its conclusion. The story is told through a dense, 18th-century style narrative voice.
dark → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
dark → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
dark → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
dark → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
dark → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Hot mahogany
Stuart Woods2008
A lawyer guards a former spy with amnesia who restores antique furniture. They uncover a conspiracy linked to the man's service in Vietnam.
dark → wry, still mystery
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
dark → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Two for the dough
Janet Evanovich1996
An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.
dark → playful, still mystery
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
dark → propulsive, still mystery
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
dark → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Android's Dream
John Scalzi2006
A diplomat must find a specific, genetically engineered sheep to prevent an interstellar war. The story is a fast-paced, irreverent space comedy.
dark → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Chilling Effect
Valerie Valdes2019
A spaceship captain completes dangerous missions to pay off a ransom for her kidnapped sister. The crew includes a pilot who is a sentient plant.
dark → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Star Kings
Edmond Hamilton1949
A 20th-century man swaps bodies with a prince 200,000 years in the future. He must lead a galactic empire against a tyrant's fleet.
dark → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
The Star Wars Trilogy
George Lucas2018
A farm boy joins a rebellion against a galactic empire. He learns to use a mystical force under the guidance of an exiled knight.
dark → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
dark → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino1972
Marco Polo describes fifty-five imaginary cities to Kublai Khan. The book is a series of short, prose-poem meditations on urban existence.
dark → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
dark → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.
dark → playful, still mystery
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
dark → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Consider Phlebas
Iain Banks1987
A shape-shifting mercenary works for an alien empire to retrieve a rogue AI during a galactic war. He faces a series of deadly set-pieces.
dark → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
dark → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
dark → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Doomsday Book
Joel Levy2006
This nonfiction guide analyzes various global catastrophe scenarios, from nuclear war to pandemics, and calculates the probability of each.
dark → tense, still mystery
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Dark Age
Pierce Brown2019
An outlawed revolutionary fights a losing war on Mercury while an exiled heir attempts to reclaim a space empire. It is a violent military epic.
dark → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
