After
Binti
Nnedi Okorafor2015
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Night Masquerade
Nnedi Okorafor2018
Binti returns to her home planet to face a brewing war between the Meduse and the Khouw. She must balance her many identities to find peace.
meditative → earnest, still afrofuturism
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Sweep of Stars
Maurice Broaddus2022
An African-descended empire spans the solar system while facing internal rebellion and external threats. It follows multiple political threads.
meditative → earnest, still afrofuturism
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Expendable
James Alan Gardner1997
In a future where only 'expendable' people are sent to dangerous planets, an explorer investigates a high-fatality mission. It is a space opera.
meditative → wry, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Riders of the storm
Julie E. Czerneda2008
Exiled from their people, Aryl and her clan attempt to rebuild a village while discovering the history of their world's three races.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The Long Cosmos
Terry Pratchett2013
Post-humans receive a galactic message with instructions to build a continent-sized AI. Humanity must decide whether to assist the project.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
meditative → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
In Green's Jungles
Gene Wolfe2000
A narrator travels to different worlds while his physical form and memories shift. He recounts past voyages to prove his identity to his companions.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
meditative → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
A Spell for Chameleon
Piers Anthony1977
In a land where everyone has a unique magical talent, a man with no apparent power goes on a quest to avoid exile.
meditative → playful, still chosen one
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
My Roommate Is a Vampire
Jenna Levine2023
An artist moves in with a man who sleeps all day and speaks in an archaic style. She eventually discovers he is a vampire from the 1800s.
meditative → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
It Happened One Summer
Tessa Bailey2021
A socialite is sent to a small fishing town to run a dive bar. She enters a relationship with a local sea captain who doubts her competence.
meditative → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Bitten & Smitten
Michelle Rowen2006
Sarah is accidentally turned into a vampire and must rely on a grumpy, centuries-old vampire to teach her how to survive.
meditative → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Underworld, #1)
H.P. Mallory
A woman discovers she is a witch and becomes entangled with both a vampire and a warlock while navigating a supernatural underworld.
meditative → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
meditative → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
meditative → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
meditative → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
meditative → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
meditative → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
meditative → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
meditative → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
meditative → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
meditative → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
