Star Wars - Coruscant Nights II - Street of Shadows

Star Wars - Outbound Flight

Timothy Zahn2005

Jedi and colonists launch a massive vessel to explore beyond the known galaxy, unaware of the threats waiting in the Unknown Regions.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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·bleak0

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.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

tense → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Killer Blonde

Laura Levine2004

A freelance writer investigates a murder in the Hamptons after a socialite is killed. She balances the case with her work for a demanding boss.

tense → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

A Galaxy Unknown

Thomas DePrima2010

An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.

tense → earnest, still space opera

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

The Kaiju Preservation Society

John Scalzi2022

A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.

tense → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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-2

Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Edge of Victory I - Conquest

J. Gregory Keyes2001

Anakin Solo travels to the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 to rescue students from an invading fleet of Yuuzhan Vong warriors.

tense → propulsive, still space opera

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

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-2

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·bleak-1

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-2

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·bleak-1

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.

tense → bleak, still space opera

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

A Scanner Darkly

Philip K. Dick1977

An undercover narcotics agent in a near-future California becomes addicted to the drug he is investigating and begins to spy on himself.

tense → bleak, still noir

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Watchmen

Dave Gibbons1986

Retired costumed vigilantes investigate a conspiracy after one of their own is murdered. The story uses a comic-within-a-comic and backmatter.

tense → cold, still noir

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1