After
Forward the Foundation
Isaac Asimov1993
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Ivory
Mike Resnick1988
A researcher tracks the history of two massive elephant tusks across thousands of years and multiple planets.
Same elegiac register, still science fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
The Rise of Endymion
Dan Simmons1997
A man protects a young messiah from a galactic church that uses resurrection to control humanity. It concludes a four-book series.
Same elegiac register, still science fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
The Faded Sun Trilogy (The Faded Sun, #1-3)
C.J. Cherryh
A human diplomat joins the last survivors of a mercenary alien race. They seek a new home while fleeing human expansion.
Same elegiac register, still science fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Songmaster
Orson Scott Card1980
A boy with a voice that manipulates human emotion is trained in a secluded monastery and then sent to serve a galactic emperor.
Same elegiac register, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
A Talent for War
Jack McDevitt1989
Alex Benedict investigates the history of a legendary war hero to uncover the truth behind a centuries-old space battle.
elegiac → earnest, still science fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace0prose+3bleak0
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.
elegiac → sardonic, still science fiction
pace0·prose+3·bleak0
- pace0prose+3bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike, still space opera
pace0·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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.
elegiac → meditative, still science fiction
pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace0prose+3bleak0
Nova Express
William S. Burroughs1964
An experimental narrative uses the cut-up technique to depict a war between intergalactic criminals and the police. It is a collage of imagery.
elegiac → sardonic, still science fiction
pace0·prose+3·bleak0
- pace0prose+3bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike, still space opera
pace0·prose+3·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
Translation State
Ann Leckie2023
Three people from different cultures search for a missing diplomat in a galaxy of rigid social hierarchies. It focuses on biological identity.
elegiac → tender, still science fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose0bleak-2
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
elegiac → playful, still science fiction
pace+2·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose+1bleak-2
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.
elegiac → earnest, still science fiction
pace+2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose+1bleak-2
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Lois McMaster Bujold2012
A military officer enters a marriage of convenience to protect a woman from a criminal syndicate. It is a comedic space opera set in a larger series.
elegiac → playful, still science fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose+1bleak-2
Freedom's ransom
Anne McCaffrey2002
A group of former slaves on the planet Botany must negotiate with their former oppressors to obtain necessary supplies for survival.
elegiac → earnest, still science fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-2
Faster
elegiac → propulsive, still science fiction
- pace+2prose+1bleak-1
Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Alan Dean Foster2001
A scavenger and a defecting soldier join the fight against a new galactic power. They search for a missing hero from the previous generation.
pace+2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose+1bleak-1
The Rookie
Scott Sigler2012
A talented but prejudiced quarterback joins a professional team of diverse alien species. He must lead them to win in a violent interstellar league.
pace+2·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose+1bleak-2
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.
elegiac → earnest, still science fiction
pace+2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose0bleak-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.
elegiac → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+2prose0bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
elegiac → playful, still science fiction
pace+2·prose0·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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.
elegiac → meditative, still science fiction
pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+3bleak0
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.
elegiac → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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.
elegiac → meditative
pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
pace-1·prose+3·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+3bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
pace-1·prose+3·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace+1prose+2bleak+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.
elegiac → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Hard to be a god
Аркадий Стругацкий2014
An observer from a technologically advanced Earth lives undercover on a planet stuck in a medieval state. He must watch atrocities without helping.
elegiac → bleak, still science fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
The Jaunt
Stephen King2009
A father explains the history of teleportation to his family while they wait to travel. He describes the danger of being awake during the trip.
elegiac → tense, still science fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+2prose+2bleak+1
Hellspark
Janet Kagan1988
A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.
elegiac → tense, still science fiction
pace+2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace+2prose+1bleak+1
The Running Man
Richard Bachman
A man enters a deadly reality show to fund medical care for his daughter. He must survive thirty days while the entire world hunts him for money.
elegiac → propulsive, still science fiction
pace+2·prose+1·bleak+1
