After
Paradise-1
David Wellington2023
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Tiamat's Wrath
James S. A. Corey2018
The eighth Expanse novel follows a scattered resistance fighting an interstellar empire. It tracks several viewpoints across a colonized galaxy.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Vector Prime
R. A. Salvatore1999
Twenty-one years after the Empire's fall, a race of extra-galactic invaders attacks the New Republic using organic technology.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Night's Dawn Trilogy
Peter F. Hamilton2000
In a future of colonized planets, a rift in reality allows the dead to possess the living. Humanity must fight to prevent total assimilation.
Same propulsive register, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Line of Polity
Neal Asher2003
Agent Cormac investigates the destruction of a space station while a rogue scientist on a lethal planet unleashes a dangerous bioweapon.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Fleet of Knives
Gareth L. Powell2019
A sentient warship responds to a distress call from a derelict generation ship. The crew discovers a predatory alien threat inside the ancient hull.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Valis
Philip K. Dick1981
A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.
propulsive → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
Star Maker
Olaf Stapledon1937
A narrator travels through space and time to observe the birth and death of civilizations across the universe.
propulsive → elegiac, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
propulsive → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
propulsive → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
propulsive → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
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.
propulsive → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Deep
Nick Cutter2015
A veterinarian travels to a research station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to help his brother find a cure for a global plague.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Echopraxia
Peter Watts2014
A biologist is caught on a mission toward the sun alongside a pilot and a group of transhuman monks. It explores consciousness and evolution.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Beyond the Aquila Rift
Alastair Reynolds2001
A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Negative Space
B.R. Yeager2020
Four teenagers in a decaying New Hampshire town use a drug made from local parasites. They navigate hallucinations and a string of suicides.
propulsive → bleak, still cosmic horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
