After
Deathworld
Harry Harrison1960
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
Same propulsive register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Skylark of Space
Edward E. Smith1946
A scientist discovers faster-than-light travel and pursues a rival who has kidnapped his fiancée and stolen his technology.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Planet of the Damned
Harry Harrison1962
A champion athlete is sent to a hostile planet to stop a nuclear war. He must survive the lethal environment and negotiate with its inhabitants.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
Brigands of the Moon
Ray Cummings1931
A space traveler poses as a pirate to infiltrate a gang of Martian brigands who have hijacked a ship carrying rare lunar ore.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Sunlit Man
Brandon Sanderson2023
A man fleeing an interstellar pursuit lands on a planet where the sunlight is lethal. He must help a group of rebels to recharge his power.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Alan Dean Foster2001
A scavenger and a defecting soldier join the fight against a new galactic power. They search for a missing hero from the previous generation.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+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.
propulsive → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
VAS
Steve Tomasula2002
A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.
propulsive → clinical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-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.
propulsive → wry, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose+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.
propulsive → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+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.
propulsive → clinical, still space opera
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+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.
propulsive → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
propulsive → bleak, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
