LitQueuelitqueue

After

Perhaps the Stars

Ada Palmer2021

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Traitor

    Matthew Woodring Stover2002

    A captured Jedi is tortured and mentored by a mysterious alien. He undergoes a philosophical transformation regarding the nature of the Force.

    Same meditative register, still space opera

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Da Vinci Code

    Dan Brown2003

    A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

    meditative → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Factfulness

    Hans Rosling2018

    A data-driven look at global trends in poverty, health, and education. It uses statistics to correct common misconceptions about the world.

    meditative → earnest

    pace0·prose-3·bleak-2

  • 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.

    meditative → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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-3·bleak-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.

    meditative → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • 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·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • For Us, the Living

    Robert A. Heinlein2003

    A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.

    meditative → earnest

    pace-2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Hav

    Jan Morris2006

    A travel writer describes the culture and history of a fictional Mediterranean city-state before and after a massive political upheaval.

    meditative → elegiac

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Kolyma tales

    Varlam SHALAMOV1980

    Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.

    meditative → clinical

    pace-2·prose0·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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+1

  • 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+1

  • 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·prose-2·bleak+1