After
The Nonborn King
Julian May1983
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same tense register, still space opera
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
Pegasus in Flight
Anne McCaffrey1990
Telepaths and telekinetics work to build a space station while a streetwise girl with a gift for languages is recruited into their ranks.
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The January Dancer
Michael F. Flynn2008
A pre-human artifact is found and lost, sparking a chase across the galaxy. The story is told through layers of unreliable barroom narration.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Shards of Earth
Adrian Tchaikovsky2021
A telepathic pilot on a salvage ship discovers evidence that the moon-sized aliens who destroyed Earth have returned.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Two Faces of Tomorrow
James P. Hogan1979
To test a super-intelligent AI, scientists move it to a remote space station and stage a series of attacks to observe its response.
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Memory Called Empire
Arkady Martine2019
An ambassador arrives at a space empire's capital to find her predecessor dead. She must use his uploaded memories to navigate a coup.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+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
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
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-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
Robert A. Heinlein1987
The mother of Lazarus Long recounts her life from the 1880s through a century of time travel and rejuvenation. It is a non-linear memoir.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
Lost in Time
A.G. Riddle2022
A man is exiled to the Triassic period for a murder he didn't commit while his daughter tries to bring him back.
tense → propulsive, still time travel
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Chilling Effect
Valerie Valdes2019
A spaceship captain completes dangerous missions to pay off a ransom for her kidnapped sister. The crew includes a pilot who is a sentient plant.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Star Kings
Edmond Hamilton1949
A 20th-century man swaps bodies with a prince 200,000 years in the future. He must lead a galactic empire against a tyrant's fleet.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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·bleak0
- pace-2prose0bleak-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.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-2prose-1bleak-1
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.
tense → earnest
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+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
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose-1bleak+2
Doomsday Book
Connie Willis1992
A student travels to 14th-century England while a virus spreads in the present. She arrives during the Black Death due to a technical error.
tense → bleak, still time travel
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
Behold the Man
Michael Moorcock1968
A man uses a time machine to travel to 28 AD to meet Jesus. Finding only a disabled man who cannot fulfill the gospels, he takes the role himself.
tense → bleak, still time travel
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose-1bleak+2
The Year of the Quiet Sun
Wilson Tucker1970
A social scientist travels forward in time to document the collapse of the United States through racial conflict and nuclear war.
tense → bleak, still time travel
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+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
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
