After
The Wizard of Linn
A. E. van Vogt1962
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same earnest register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Skylark Three
Edward E. Smith2007
Scientists travel the galaxy in a spherical ship to find allies against an expansionist alien race. They use physics and new weapons to survive.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
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Armageddon 2419 AD
Philip Francis Nowlan1962
A man wakes up 500 years in the future to find America occupied by a foreign power and joins a guerrilla resistance using jetpacks.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
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Hidden Empire
Kevin J. Anderson2002
Humanity accidentally awakens an ancient elemental race while terraforming a gas giant. Multiple factions navigate the resulting galactic war.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
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The Star Wars
J. W. Rinzler2013
This graphic novel adapts George Lucas's original 1974 rough draft. It features different versions of familiar characters and a distinct plot.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Edge of Dark
Brenda Cooper2015
A colony planet faces the return of post-human AIs banished to the edge of the solar system. The story follows the clash between flesh and silicon.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Hunter of Worlds
C. J. Cherryh1977
A human is abducted by the Iduve, a cold and powerful alien race, to serve as a translator and pawn in their internal political conflicts.
earnest → cold, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Too Like the Lightning
Ada Palmer2016
In a 25th-century utopia, a convict narrates the discovery of a boy who can perform miracles. The prose uses 18th-century styles and gender terms.
earnest → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Electric Idol
Katee Robert2022
In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
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.
Same earnest register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Deathworld
Harry Harrison1960
A professional gambler travels to a planet where every life form is evolved to kill humans. He must use technology and psionics to survive.
earnest → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
The Skylark of Space
Edward E. Smith1946
A scientist discovers faster-than-light travel and pursues a rival who has kidnapped his fiancée and stolen his technology.
earnest → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
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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.
earnest → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
earnest → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
earnest → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
earnest → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
earnest → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
