After
Banner of Souls
Liz Williams2004
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same cold register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Luna: Wolf Moon
Ian McDonald2017
The Corta family fights to survive on the Moon after their corporate empire is destroyed. It follows multiple heirs seeking revenge or safety.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Chasm City
Alastair Reynolds2001
A mercenary hunts a killer in a city transformed by a virus that fuses flesh and machinery. The narrative weaves between the hunt and past memories.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Brass Man
Neal Asher2005
An agent pursues a cyborg enemy across star systems while a scientist uncovers the truth about a lethal, ancient alien technology.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Infinity Engine
Neal L. Asher2017
Multiple factions and a lethal swarm-robot hunt a rogue artificial intelligence across space.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Reality Dysfunction
Peter F. Hamilton1996
In a future of colonized worlds, an accidental encounter with an ancient entity allows the dead to possess the living. It is a massive epic.
cold → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → meditative, still science fantasy
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The golden age
John C. Wright2002
In a far-future utopia, an immortal man discovers he has had his memories erased. He searches for his identity while defying a collective mind.
cold → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → sardonic
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
cold → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
Split Infinity
Piers Anthony1980
A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.
cold → playful, still science fantasy
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
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.
cold → playful
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
Mile High
Liz Tomforde2023
A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.
cold → playful
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
cold → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Sunlit Man
Brandon Sanderson2023
A man fleeing an interstellar pursuit lands on a planet where the sunlight is lethal. He must help a group of rebels to recharge his power.
cold → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Empress of Forever
Max Gladstone2019
A tech billionaire is transported to the end of time. She joins a crew of outcasts to overthrow an eternal empress using advanced technology.
cold → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
cold → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
cold → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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.
cold → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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.
cold → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose0bleak-2
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.
cold → elegiac
pace-2·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-2prose-1bleak-2
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.
cold → earnest
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
cold → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Golem100
Alfred Bester1980
In a future city, a group of women accidentally summon a psychic monster that commits acts of extreme violence while investigators track it.
cold → sardonic, still science fantasy
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
cold → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
cold → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
cold → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1