After
Network Effect
Martha Wells2020
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same sardonic register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Artificial Condition
Martha Wells2018
A security robot and a research vessel travel to a mining facility to investigate the robot's history of mass murder.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Robert A. Heinlein1985
A writer and his wife are drawn into a multi-world conspiracy involving a sentient computer and characters from other timelines.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Engine City
Ken MacLeod2002
In the conclusion to a trilogy, humans and aliens on a distant world face a viral threat that challenges their social structures.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Grimspace (Sirantha Jax # 1)
Ann Aguirre2008
A navigator with a rare genetic ability is freed from prison by rebels to help overthrow a galactic government.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Startide Rising
David Brin1983
A crew of humans and genetically uplifted dolphins crash-land on a water world. They must survive while hiding from hostile alien armadas.
sardonic → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Hunter of Worlds
C. J. Cherryh1977
A human is abducted by the Iduve, a cold and powerful alien race, to serve as a translator and pawn in their internal political conflicts.
sardonic → cold, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Mindy Kaling2011
A collection of essays about the author's childhood, her career in comedy, and her observations on friendship.
sardonic → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Someday, Someday, Maybe
Lauren Graham2013
A young actress in 1990s New York City gives herself a three-year deadline to find professional success before her money runs out.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Rogue Protocol
Martha Wells2018
A self-aware security android travels to a space station to find evidence against a corrupt corporation while hiding its autonomy.
Same sardonic register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
sardonic → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Cosm
Gregory Benford1998
A physicist accidentally creates a miniature universe in a particle accelerator. She must protect the object from government and media scrutiny.
sardonic → elegiac, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
His Master's Voice
Stanisław Lem2018
A mathematician works at a secret facility to decode a neutrino signal from space. The book is a philosophical essay disguised as a memoir.
sardonic → clinical, still hard scifi
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace0prose+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.
sardonic → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
Titan
Stephen Baxter1997
A crew of astronauts embarks on a one-way mission to Saturn's moon. The narrative details the technical and psychological decay of the mission.
sardonic → cold, still hard scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Maelstrom
Peter Watts2001
A bio-engineered virus spreads through the global network while a woman navigates a flooded, post-apocalyptic landscape.
sardonic → bleak, still hard scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+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.
sardonic → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+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.
sardonic → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2