LitQueuelitqueue

After

Battlestar Galactica

Jeffrey A. Carver2005

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still space opera

1 more ↓

  • Stealing Light

    Gary Gibson2008

    A pilot is coerced into a mission to recover ancient faster-than-light technology. Various factions fight for control of the discovery.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Naked Lunch: The Restored Text

    William S. Burroughs

    A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.

    tense → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    tense → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    tense → cold, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

tense → earnest, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-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.

    tense → wry, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

tense → propulsive, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • 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·bleak-1

  • 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·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.

    tense → wry, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    tense → clinical, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    tense → bleak, still military sci-fi

    pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

    tense → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1