LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Dragon Never Sleeps

Glen Cook2008

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Warship

    Neal L. Asher2019

    A cyborg guardian weaponizes a black hole to contain dangerous technology. Human AIs and alien fleets converge to stop or control her.

    Same clinical register, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • City of Saints and Madmen

    Jeff Vandermeer2001

    A collection of stories, histories, and pamphlets about the city of Ambergris. It uses found documents to build a surreal urban history.

    clinical → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    clinical → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·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.

    clinical → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Redshirts

    John Scalzi2012

    Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

    clinical → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Uplift War

    David Brin1987

    A gorilla-like alien race invades the planet Garth. A small group of humans and uplifted chimpanzees lead a guerrilla resistance in the mountains.

    clinical → earnest, still space opera

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Stainless Steel Rat

    Harry Harrison1961

    A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.

    clinical → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

clinical → propulsive, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • The Killing of Worlds

    Scott Westerfeld2003

    Captain Laurent Zai fights a lone ship-to-ship battle against invaders while Senator Nara Oxham uncovers the Emperor's secrets.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Last Watch

    J.S. Dewes2021

    Exiled soldiers at the edge of the universe discover the vacuum of space is collapsing. They must repair the Divide with limited resources.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

    clinical → wry, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    clinical → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Dandelion Wine

    Ray Bradbury1946

    A twelve-year-old boy experiences a series of vignettes over one summer in 1928 Illinois. The chapters focus on small-town life and aging.

    clinical → elegiac

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-2

  • For Us, the Living

    Robert A. Heinlein2003

    A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.

    clinical → earnest

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    Same clinical register, still space opera

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Kaleidoscope Century

    John Barnes1995

    A mercenary wakes every ten years to a new body and a changing world. He uncovers his own history of atrocities across the 21st century.

    clinical → bleak, still military sci-fi

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    clinical → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1