Sun of Suns

Dune House Corrino

Brian Herbert1999

Set before the events of Dune, Emperor Shaddam IV attempts to consolidate power while the Great Houses plot for control of the spice.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

Nova Express

William S. Burroughs1964

An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.

propulsive → sardonic, still science fiction

pace-1·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.

propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

propulsive → meditative, still science fiction

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

propulsive → playful, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Dark Lover

J. R. Ward2005

A vampire king seeks revenge against the slayers who killed his parents while protecting a woman discovering her own supernatural heritage.

Same propulsive register

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Butterfly Kid

Chester Anderson1967

Hippie protagonists in Greenwich Village discover that a new drug allows them to manifest hallucinations into reality to fight an alien invasion.

propulsive → playful, still science fiction

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Alan Dean Foster2001

A scavenger and a defecting soldier join the fight against a new galactic power. They search for a missing hero from the previous generation.

Same propulsive register, still science fiction

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

The Rookie

Scott Sigler2012

A talented but prejudiced quarterback joins a professional team of diverse alien species. He must lead them to win in a violent interstellar league.

Same propulsive register, still science fiction

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Skylark DuQuesne

Edward Elmer Smith1966

Two rival geniuses must unite their space fleets to stop an alien threat. It features planet-destroying weapons and faster-than-light travel.

propulsive → earnest, still science fiction

pace+1·prose0·bleak-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.

propulsive → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-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.

propulsive → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Perdido Street Station

China Miéville2000

A scientist in a sprawling, industrial city agrees to help a winged refugee fly again. His research accidentally unleashes a psychic predator.

propulsive → bleak, still steampunk

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

The Jaunt

Stephen King2009

A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.

propulsive → tense, still science fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

Hellspark

Janet Kagan1988

A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.

propulsive → tense, still science fiction

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2