After
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
James Tiptree Jr.1990
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Grimspace
Ann Aguirre
A navigator with a rare brain mutation is forced out of prison to guide a ship through dangerous dimensions for a corporate conglomerate.
tender → tense, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Bug
Giacomo Sartori2019
A deaf boy observes his dysfunctional family as they struggle with debt and corporate hacking. He communicates through a computer program named Bug.
Same tender register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie2013
A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.
tender → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Home Fires
Gene Wolfe2011
A soldier returns from an interstellar war having aged months, while her husband has aged twenty years. They navigate a world of spies and cults.
tender → wry, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
tender → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
tender → dreamlike, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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.
tender → meditative, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
tender → dreamlike, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
tender → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
tender → meditative, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
tender → propulsive, still space opera
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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.
tender → earnest, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
tender → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
tender → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
tender → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
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.
tender → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
tender → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
tender → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
tender → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+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.
tender → bleak, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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.
tender → clinical, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Marlon James2019
A hunter with a supernatural sense of smell joins a group to find a missing child. The journey through mythical Africa is violent and hallucinatory.
tender → bleak, still grimdark
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
