LitQueuelitqueue

After

Heaven’s River

Dennis E. Taylor2021

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Mote in God's Eye

    Larry Niven1974

    Humans make first contact with an alien species in a distant star system. The crew must decipher the biology and motives of the 'Moties'.

    wry → tense, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    wry → meditative, still space opera

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • In Green's Jungles

    Gene Wolfe2000

    A narrator travels to different worlds while his physical form and memories shift. He recounts past voyages to prove his identity to his companions.

    wry → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • Project Hail Mary

    Andy Weir2021

    A man wakes up on a spaceship with amnesia and two dead crewmates. He must use scientific experiments to remember his mission and save the sun.

    wry → propulsive, still hard sci-fi

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Children of Memory

    Adrian Tchaikovsky2023

    Advanced humans and uplifted animals observe a failing colony on a harsh planet. The story explores memory and the nature of consciousness.

    wry → meditative, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • White Mars, or, The mind set free

    Brian W. Aldiss1999

    A group of scientists and thinkers attempts to establish a utopian society on Mars after Earth is cut off by a global catastrophe.

    wry → earnest, still hard sci-fi

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Flood

    Stephen Baxter2008

    The sea level rises globally due to water leaking from the Earth's crust. Four former hostages watch as civilization slowly drowns over decades.

    wry → clinical, still hard sci-fi

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • Echopraxia

    Peter Watts2014

    A biologist is caught on a mission toward the sun alongside a pilot and a group of transhuman monks. It explores consciousness and evolution.

    wry → bleak, still hard sci-fi

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3

  • Beyond the Aquila Rift

    Alastair Reynolds2001

    A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.

    wry → bleak, still hard sci-fi

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3