LitQueuelitqueue

After

Saturn Returns

Sean Williams2007

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Death's End

    Liu Cixin2010

    An aerospace engineer awakens from hibernation centuries into a cold war with aliens. Humanity faces the physical laws of a hostile universe.

    Same cold register, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    cold → meditative, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

  • The Fractal Prince

    Hannu Rajaniemi2012

    A post-human thief is sent to Earth to steal a memory from a city made of digital ghosts. The prose uses dense, unexplained jargon.

    cold → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace0·prose+2·bleak-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.

    cold → dreamlike, still amnesia

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    cold → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    cold → wry, still hard sci fi

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    cold → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    cold → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

    cold → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • 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.

    cold → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2

  • For Us, the Living

    Robert A. Heinlein2003

    A 1930s pilot wakes up in the year 2086. The book consists of long dialogues explaining the social, economic, and sexual norms of the future.

    cold → earnest

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-2

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    cold → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    cold → propulsive, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Star Wars - Legacy of the Force - Sacrifice

    Karen Traviss2007

    Jacen Solo hunts his own parents during a galactic civil war. He commits increasingly ruthless acts to secure his power as a Sith apprentice.

    cold → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1