LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Genesis of Misery

Neon Yang2022

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Furious Heaven

    Kate Elliott2023

    Princess Sun leads her fleet against an empire in a space opera retelling of Alexander the Great's conquests.

    Same tense register, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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+1·bleak0

  • Rakesfall

    Vajra Chandrasekera2024

    Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.

    tense → dreamlike, still science fantasy

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Vampires Are Forever

    Lynsay Sands2008

    A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Mane Event

    Shelly Laurenston2007

    A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

    tense → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    tense → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

tense → propulsive, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • 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-2·bleak-2

  • Deathstalker Destiny

    Simon R. Green1999

    Owen Deathstalker attempts to rescue his partner from genetic experimenters while protecting a leper colony on the planet Lachrymae Christi.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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-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.

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

  • The Dreaming Void

    Peter F. Hamilton2007

    In the year 3589, humans face a threat from a growing void at the center of the galaxy. Multiple factions clash over a pilgrimage to the void.

    tense → propulsive, still space opera

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-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-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.

    tense → clinical, still space opera

    pace-1·prose0·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.

    tense → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Seed to Harvest (Patternist, #1-4)

    Octavia E. Butler

    An immortal man breeds telepaths over centuries to create a master race. The story follows the evolution and eventual conflict of his descendants.

    tense → cold, still science fantasy

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1