After
City of my dreams
Per Anders Fogelström2000
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Space Opera
Catherynne M. Valente2018
Earth must compete in a galactic musical talent show to avoid extinction. The narrative uses maximalist prose and frequent footnotes.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Technicolor Time Machine
Harry Harrison1967
A struggling film producer uses a time machine to travel to the eleventh century to film a Viking movie on location.
Same playful register, still time travel
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Pirates of the Universe
Terry Bisson1996
A space pilot attempts to retire by capturing a 'Space Pete' entity, but becomes entangled in a surreal corporate and temporal conspiracy.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
City of Death
James Goss2012
The Doctor and his companions visit 1979 Paris and discover a plot involving Leonardo da Vinci and an alien race hidden in time.
Same playful register, still sci-fi
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
playful → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-2bleak0
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.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
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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.
playful → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak+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.
playful → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
- 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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose-1bleak0
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.
playful → earnest, still sci-fi
pace-2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
Same playful register
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
- pace-1prose-1bleak+3
Make Room! Make Room!
Harry Harrison1966
A detective investigates a murder in a 1999 New York City suffering from extreme overpopulation, food riots, and resource exhaustion.
playful → bleak, still sci-fi
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
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Guernica Night
Barry N. Malzberg1975
In a future where suicide is a social norm, a man navigates a society obsessed with death. The prose is dense and repetitive.
playful → bleak, still sci-fi
pace-1·prose0·bleak+3
- pace-1prose0bleak+3
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.
playful → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+3