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After

Persepolis Rising

James S. A. Corey2017

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More like it

Same tense register, still space opera

1 more ↓

  • Persepolis Rising

    Daniel Abraham2017

    Thirty years after the previous book, an isolated human colony returns with superior technology to conquer the solar system.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Shadow & Claw

    Gene Wolfe1983

    A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.

    tense → meditative

    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·bleak+1

  • 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+2

To recover

tense → playful, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • 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-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.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The 4-Hour Workweek

    Timothy Ferriss2006

    A guide to lifestyle design that explains how to automate a business and outsource life tasks to achieve a four-hour workweek.

    tense → wry

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    tense → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    tense → earnest, still space opera

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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·bleak0

  • 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-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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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+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.

    tense → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    tense → propulsive, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2