After
Record of a Spaceborn Few
Becky Chambers2018
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Long Cosmos
Terry Pratchett2013
Post-humans receive a galactic message with instructions to build a continent-sized AI. Humanity must decide whether to assist the project.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Becky Chambers2019
Four astronauts explore four different exoplanets, using biological modifications to adapt their bodies to each new environment.
Same meditative register, still hopepunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Ender in Exile
Orson Scott Card2008
Following the war in Ender's Game, the teenage protagonist travels to a colony world. He seeks a home while grappling with his legacy as a killer.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Tau Zero
Poul Anderson1970
A spaceship's deceleration system fails, forcing the crew to accelerate indefinitely. They witness the aging of the universe due to time dilation.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
2010: Odyssey Two
Arthur C. Clarke1982
A joint Soviet-American crew travels to Jupiter to investigate the derelict Discovery. They seek to reactivate HAL 9000 and find Dave Bowman.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
Denser prose
meditative → dreamlike, still space opera
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
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.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
Same meditative register
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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.
meditative → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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.
meditative → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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+2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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+2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+2prose0bleak+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.
meditative → earnest, still space opera
pace+2·prose0·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
meditative → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+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.
meditative → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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.
meditative → clinical, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
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
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
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
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose0bleak+3
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
pace+1·prose0·bleak+3
