After
The Rosetta Codex
Richard Paul Russo2005
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same tense register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Sardonyx Net
Elizabeth A. Lynn1981
On a planet dependent on drug-addicted slave labor, a smuggler is captured and sentenced to serve the family that runs the starport.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Cibola Burn
Ty Franck2014
Settlers and a corporate expedition clash on a new planet filled with lethal biology and waking alien machinery.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Cibola Burn
Daniel Abraham2014
Settlers and a corporate expedition clash over a newly opened habitable planet. Ancient alien technology begins to malfunction around them.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Mercy of Gods
James S. A. Corey2024
Aliens abduct a group of human scientists to serve as a research cell. They must prove their utility to the hive-mind empire or face extinction.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Dark Tide I - Onslaught
Michael A. Stackpole2000
The New Republic faces an invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong, an alien race that exists outside the Force and uses organic technology.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose0bleak-2
The Pirates of Zan
Murray Leinster1959
A bored electronic genius moves to a backwater planet, stages a fake pirate invasion, and leads a rebellion.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-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-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
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+1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+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·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Salt
Adam Roberts2000
Two groups of colonists with opposing ideologies settle on a salt-covered planet, leading to a total breakdown of their society.
tense → bleak, still planetary romance
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
