After
Star Wars - Fate of the Jedi - Allies
Christie Golden2010
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same tense register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Mirror Dance
Lois McMaster Bujold1994
A clone hijacks a mercenary fleet to liberate a laboratory, forcing his brother to stage a rescue. It deals with identity and physical trauma.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Exit Strategy
Martha Wells2018
A self-aware security android returns to a space station to rescue its former client. It must bypass corporate security to deliver incriminating data.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Blade Dancer
S.L. Viehl2000
A female assassin trained from childhood seeks revenge against those who experimented on her. She navigates underworld politics and combat.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars - Cloak of Deception
James Luceno2001
A Jedi Master and his apprentice investigate trade route taxation and political sabotage in the lead-up to a galactic summit.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Mercy of Gods
James S. A. Corey2024
Aliens abduct a group of human scientists to serve as a research cell. They must prove their utility to the hive-mind empire or face extinction.
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.
tense → 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.
tense → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
tense → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Fifty Shades Freed
E.L. James2011
The final entry in a trilogy following a newly married couple as they navigate their erotic life and a threat from the past.
tense → earnest
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
tense → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Dragon Bound
Thea Harrison2011
A woman steals a penny from a dragon's hoard, forcing her into the world of a powerful Wyr leader. It follows their immediate, forced connection.
tense → propulsive
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Master
Kresley Cole2014
A Russian politician with mafia ties hires an escort who is secretly hiding from her past. Their professional arrangement becomes a power struggle.
tense → propulsive
pace0·prose0·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.
tense → 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.
tense → earnest, 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
tense → 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.
Same tense register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
