After
Ashes of Candesce
Karl Schroeder2012
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Queen of Candesce
Karl Schroeder2007
In a world of floating cities, a woman named Venera Fanning survives a fall and plots to regain power. It is set in the Virga universe.
Same propulsive register, still hard scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Sky Road
Ken MacLeod1999
Two timelines follow a woman during a nuclear crisis and a scholar centuries later as he helps build a new spacecraft.
propulsive → earnest, still hard scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Metaplanetary: A Novel of Interplanetary Civil War
Tony Daniel2001
Nanotechnology connects all life in the solar system until a dictator triggers a war between the inner planets and the outer clouds.
Same propulsive register, still hard scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Startide Rising
David Brin1983
A crew of humans and genetically uplifted dolphins crash-land on a water world. They must survive while hiding from hostile alien armadas.
Same propulsive register, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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Caliban's War
James S. A. Corey2012
A crew investigates a biological super-soldier on Ganymede while political tensions rise between Earth and Mars.
Same propulsive register, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Against the Day
Thomas Pynchon2006
A massive ensemble cast navigates the globe between the 1893 World's Fair and WWI. The plot spans airships, math, and secret societies.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
propulsive → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
propulsive → meditative, still hard scifi
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
propulsive → playful, still space opera
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
propulsive → meditative, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Ringworld
Larry Niven1970
Four explorers travel to a massive artificial ring around a distant star. The story focuses on the mechanics and scale of the structure.
propulsive → playful, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
The 4-Hour Workweek
Timothy Ferriss2006
A guide to lifestyle design that explains how to automate a business and outsource life tasks to achieve a four-hour workweek.
propulsive → wry
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
His Master's Voice
Stanisław Lem2018
A mathematician works at a secret facility to decode a neutrino signal from space. The book is a philosophical essay disguised as a memoir.
propulsive → clinical, still hard scifi
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose0bleak-1
Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury1946
A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-2·prose0·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
propulsive → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
Titan
Stephen Baxter1997
A crew of astronauts embarks on a one-way mission to Saturn's moon. The narrative details the technical and psychological decay of the mission.
propulsive → cold, still hard scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Perdido Street Station
China Miéville2000
A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.
propulsive → bleak, still steampunk
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
Maelstrom
Peter Watts2001
A bio-engineered virus spreads through the global network while a woman navigates a flooded, post-apocalyptic landscape.
propulsive → bleak, still hard scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
