After
The Dreamers
James Gunn1981
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same tense register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Matter for Men
David Gerrold1983
After a plague kills most of humanity, a young soldier fights giant, purple, man-eating aliens that have begun to terraform Earth.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Star Wars - Catalyst - A Rogue One Novel
James Luceno2016
Orson Krennic manipulates his old friend, scientist Galen Erso, into researching energy for the Death Star project during the Clone Wars.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Worlds
Joe Haldeman1981
A student from a space colony visits a decaying Earth on the brink of civil war. She must navigate political radicalization and orbital exile.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+3bleak+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
pace0·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+3bleak+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
pace+1·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+3bleak+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
pace0·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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-1·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace0prose+3bleak+1
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
pace0·prose+3·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+2prose0bleak-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+2·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Rowan
Anne McCaffrey1990
A powerful telepath living in isolation connects with a distant mind to defend against an alien invasion. It follows their psychic courtship.
tense → earnest, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+2bleak-1
Space Opera
Catherynne M. Valente2018
Earth must compete in a galactic musical talent show to avoid extinction. The narrative uses maximalist prose and frequent footnotes.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+1bleak-1
The Witches of Karres
James H. Schmitz1966
A space captain rescues three young girls with psychic powers, only to find himself a fugitive from multiple galactic empires.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+1bleak-1
Ethan of Athos
Lois McMaster Bujold1986
A doctor from an all-male planet travels into deep space to find new genetic material and encounters women for the first time.
tense → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose0bleak-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+2·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+2prose+1bleak0
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+2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose+1bleak+1
Red Rising
Pierce Brown2014
A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
pace+2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose+2bleak0
The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester1956
Gully Foyle is left for dead in space and spends years seeking revenge. He travels a future where humans can teleport using their minds.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
pace+2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace+2prose0bleak-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+2·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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-1·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak0
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-1·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+3bleak0
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-1·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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-1·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+3bleak0
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-1·prose+3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose+2bleak+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
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+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
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+2bleak+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
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
Dark Age
Pierce Brown2019
An outlawed revolutionary fights a losing war on Mercury while an exiled heir attempts to reclaim a space empire. It is a violent military epic.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+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
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
