After
Deep Wheel Orcadia
Harry Josephine Giles2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Matrix
Lauren Groff2021
Seventeen-year-old Marie de France is exiled to a starving abbey. Over decades, she transforms the convent into a wealthy, secluded matriarchy.
Same meditative register, still found family
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand
Samuel R. Delany1984
Rat Korga, a former slave, meets an industrial diplomat on a world with complex gender norms. The book uses experimental pronouns.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie2013
A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Inversions
Iain Banks1998
Two stories run in parallel about a doctor and a bodyguard serving different rulers on a medieval planet. Both are secretly from a high-tech society.
Same meditative register, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
You're Never Weird on the Internet
Felicia Day2015
The actress and creator of 'The Guild' recounts her life as a homeschooled child, her gaming addiction, and her career in digital media.
meditative → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace0prose-3bleak-1
Sugar Cookie Murder
Joanne Fluke2003
During a community Christmas buffet in Minnesota, a man's ex-wife is found stabbed to death. A bakery owner investigates while sharing recipes.
meditative → playful
pace0·prose-3·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
meditative → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
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.
meditative → propulsive, still space opera
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
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.
meditative → earnest, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak+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.
meditative → dreamlike
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
Same meditative register
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
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.
meditative → elegiac
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-2bleak-1
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.
meditative → earnest
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose-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.
meditative → clinical, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+2
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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-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.
meditative → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace+1prose-2bleak+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.
meditative → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+2
