After
All Systems Red
Martha Wells2017
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from, nothing faster
More like it
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Martha Wells
A security android that hacked its own governor module helps a friend navigate a legal dispute. It deals with personhood and social anxiety.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Last Emperox
John Scalzi2020
The Interdependency empire faces total collapse as the space-lanes connecting its worlds disappear. Leaders navigate political sabotage to survive.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Ethan of Athos
Lois McMaster Bujold1986
A doctor from an all-male planet travels into deep space to find new genetic material and encounters women for the first time.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Sentinels from Space
Eric Frank Russell1953
A man with telepathic powers works to prevent a war between Earth and its colonies on Mars and Venus. He hides his true nature from humanity.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+3bleak+2
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.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak+2
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.
wry → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+2
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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
The golden age
John C. Wright2002
In a far-future utopia, an immortal man discovers he has had his memories erased. He searches for his identity while defying a collective mind.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-3prose+3bleak+2
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.
wry → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+2
- pace-3prose+3bleak+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.
wry → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+3bleak+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.
wry → meditative
pace-3·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie2013
A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Children of Dune
Frank Herbert1976
The twin heirs of Paul Atreides navigate political conspiracies and their own evolving biology to secure the future of the desert planet.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
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.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+2bleak+3
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.
wry → clinical, still space opera
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
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.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Star Wars - Legacy of the Force - Sacrifice
Karen Traviss2007
Jacen Solo hunts his own parents during a galactic civil war. He commits increasingly ruthless acts to secure his power as a Sith apprentice.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Star by Star
Troy Denning2001
Jedi strike teams infiltrate enemy space to destroy a biological weapon that tracks Force-users. The plot focuses on a high-stakes mission.
wry → tense, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
