LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Empress of Mars

Kage Baker2008

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Perdition

    Ann Aguirre2013

    Inmates on a high-security prison ship must work together to survive and escape. The story follows a group forming an alliance in a violent setting.

    wry → tense, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

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.

    wry → meditative, still science fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Against the Day

    Thomas Pynchon2006

    A massive ensemble cast navigates the globe between the 1893 World's Fair and WWI. The plot spans airships, math, and secret societies.

    wry → playful

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    wry → sardonic, still science fiction

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

wry → playful, still science fiction

3 more ↓

  • Artemis

    Andy Weir2017

    A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.

    wry → propulsive

    pace+2·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.

    Same wry register, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Star Nomad

    Lindsay Buroker2016

    A fighter pilot and a small crew of strangers attempt to escape a system-wide war in a freighter. It is a character-driven space adventure.

    wry → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Faster

wry → propulsive, still science fiction

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → earnest, still science fiction

    pace+2·prose0·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.

    Same wry register, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    wry → playful, still science fiction

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·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.

    wry → playful

    pace-1·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.

    wry → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → tense, still science fiction

    pace+1·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.

    wry → tense, still science fiction

    pace+2·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Running Man

    Richard Bachman

    A man enters a deadly reality show to fund medical care for his daughter. He must survive thirty days while the entire world hunts him for money.

    wry → propulsive, still science fiction

    pace+2·prose0·bleak+2