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Ann Leckie2017

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same playful register, still space opera

1 more ↓

  • The Wrong Stars

    Tim Pratt2017

    A salvage crew finds a sleeper ship from the past and accidentally triggers first contact with a strange alien race.

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    playful → dreamlike

    pace-2·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.

    playful → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Sometimes a Great Notion

    Ken Kesey1964

    A family of independent loggers in Oregon refuses to join a local strike. The perspective shifts rapidly between characters, often mid-paragraph.

    playful → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Pioneer Woman

    Ree Drummond2011

    A city woman moves to a remote cattle ranch after falling in love with a cowboy. She details her transition to country life and farm chores.

    playful → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Going Cowboy Crazy

    Katie Lane2011

    A woman travels to a small Texas town to find her secret twin sister and is mistaken for her by the local residents and her sister's ex-flame.

    Same playful register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Marrying Mr. Wrong

    Claire Kingsley

    Two rivals wake up married in Las Vegas and decide to stay together to help their respective careers.

    Same playful register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same playful register, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    Same playful register, 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.

    playful → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

    playful → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

  • Ancillary Justice

    Ann Leckie2013

    A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.

    playful → meditative, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Children of Dune

    Frank Herbert1976

    The twin heirs of Paul Atreides navigate political conspiracies and their own evolving biology to secure the future of the desert planet.

    playful → meditative, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    playful → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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.

    playful → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Star by Star

    Troy Denning2001

    Jedi strike teams infiltrate enemy space to destroy a biological weapon that tracks Force-users. The plot focuses on a high-stakes mission.

    playful → tense, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2