After
Reunion
Alan Dean Foster2001
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same earnest register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - The Unifying Force
James Luceno2003
The Jedi and the Galactic Alliance launch a final military campaign to stop the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and save the Force.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Star Wars
J. W. Rinzler2013
This graphic novel adapts George Lucas's original 1974 rough draft. It features different versions of familiar characters and a distinct plot.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Acorna's triumph
Anne McCaffrey2004
A unicorn-like alien and her amnesiac partner attempt to stop a criminal conspiracy and an insectile invasion of their homeworld.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Endymion
Dan Simmons1996
Set 274 years after a galactic collapse, a young man is tasked with protecting a messianic child from the Catholic Church. They flee across worlds.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
First Lensman
Edward E. Smith1950
A man receives a telepathic lens from aliens and must form a galactic police force to defend the universe against a hidden conspiracy.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
The golden age
John C. Wright2002
In a far-future utopia, an immortal man discovers he has had his memories erased. He searches for his identity while defying a collective mind.
earnest → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Truly, Madly
Heather Webber2010
A woman with the psychic ability to find lost objects takes over her family's matchmaking business. She teams up with a cynical private investigator.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → warm
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Marrying Mr. Wrong
Claire Kingsley
Two rivals wake up married in Las Vegas and decide to stay together to help their respective careers.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
Same earnest register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie2013
A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.
earnest → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
earnest → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
earnest → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
earnest → tense, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
