After
Old Man's War
John Scalzi2005
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The End of All Things
John Scalzi2015
Four interconnected stories follow the diplomatic and military struggle to save the Colonial Union after Earth cuts off its supply of soldiers.
Same wry register, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Dissidence
Ken MacLeod2016
In a future of corporate-owned soldiers, a combat robot gains consciousness. It joins a group of human insurgents to fight for autonomy.
Same wry register, still military scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein1959
A young soldier undergoes rigorous training and fights in an interstellar war against arachnid aliens. It focuses on military philosophy.
wry → earnest, still military scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Persepolis Rising
James S. A. Corey2017
Thirty years after the previous book, an isolationist empire invades the solar system with superior technology. The aging Rocinante crew resists.
wry → tense, still military scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Vor Game
Lois McMaster Bujold1990
Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the academy and takes a remote weather station post. He soon finds himself leading a mercenary fleet in a crisis.
wry → propulsive, still military scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+3bleak+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.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+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.
wry → meditative
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
To recover
wry → earnest, still space opera
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
The Rowan
Anne McCaffrey1990
A powerful telepath living in isolation connects with a distant mind to defend against an alien invasion. It follows their psychic courtship.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Uplift War
David Brin1987
A gorilla-like alien race invades the planet Garth. A small group of humans and uplifted chimpanzees lead a guerrilla resistance in the mountains.
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Finders Keepers
Linnea Sinclair2005
An independent trader and a military commander are forced to work together to recover a stolen ship. Their professional rivalry turns romantic.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak-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.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak-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.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+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.
wry → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Red Rising
Pierce Brown2014
A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+2bleak0
The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester1956
Gully Foyle is left for dead in space and spends years seeking revenge. He travels a future where humans can teleport using their minds.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak-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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+3bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-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.
wry → playful
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
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.
wry → playful
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman1977
A deep-cover operative undergoes repeated personality wipes and brainwashing to perform assassinations for a galactic government.
wry → bleak, still military scifi
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
wry → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+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.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
