After
Cally's War
John Ringo2004
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Vor Game
Lois McMaster Bujold1990
Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the academy and takes a remote weather station post. He soon finds himself leading a mercenary fleet in a crisis.
Same propulsive register, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Short Victorious War
David Weber1994
Honor Harrington takes command of a battlecruiser as war breaks out. The story focuses on naval strategy and technical fleet engagements.
Same propulsive register, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Gaunt's Ghosts
Dan Abnett2007
Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt leads a displaced regiment of scouts through a series of planetary warzones. It follows the unit's survival.
Same propulsive register, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Providence
Max Barry2020
Four crew members monitor an automated warship during an alien conflict. They deal with isolation while the ship makes its own tactical decisions.
propulsive → tense, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Take Back the Sky
Greg Bear2016
Soldiers and former enemies unite to uncover the true motives of an alien race. The story moves from Saturn's moons to the edge of the system.
propulsive → tense, still military scifi
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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
propulsive → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- 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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
propulsive → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
A Galaxy Unknown
Thomas DePrima2010
An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.
propulsive → earnest, still space opera
pace0·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.
propulsive → wry, 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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- 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.
propulsive → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- 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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
propulsive → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- 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.
Same propulsive register, 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → 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.
propulsive → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman1977
A deep-cover operative undergoes repeated personality wipes and brainwashing to perform assassinations for a galactic government.
propulsive → bleak, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
propulsive → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- 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.
propulsive → 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.
Same propulsive register, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
