After
Hyperion
Dan Simmons1989
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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 space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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 space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Traitor
Matthew Woodring Stover2002
A captured Jedi is tortured and mentored by a mysterious alien. He undergoes a philosophical transformation regarding the nature of the Force.
elegiac → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Dune
Frank Herbert1965
A young nobleman moves to a desert planet to manage the universe's most valuable resource. He must survive a coup and join the native population.
elegiac → tense, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-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 space opera
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
elegiac → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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 space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
The Last Question
Isaac Asimov2007
A short story told in seven vignettes spanning billions of years. Humanity asks a supercomputer if the heat death of the universe can be avoided.
elegiac → meditative, still science fiction
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
elegiac → propulsive, still space opera
- pace+1prose-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+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-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+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-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 space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
elegiac → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose-1bleak-2
Looking Backward, 2000-1887
Edward Bellamy1888
A man falls into a hypnotic sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000 to find the United States transformed into a socialist utopia.
elegiac → earnest, still science fiction
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose0bleak-2
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.
Same elegiac register
pace-2·prose0·bleak-2
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+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
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+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
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-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
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+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+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-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+1·prose-1·bleak+1
