LitQueuelitqueue

After

Spacehounds of IPC

Edward E. Smith2007

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

Same propulsive register, still space opera

1 more ↓

  • Dune House Corrino

    Brian Herbert1999

    Set before the events of Dune, Emperor Shaddam IV attempts to consolidate power while the Great Houses plot for control of the spice.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

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.

    propulsive → meditative, still science fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    propulsive → sardonic, still science fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Faster

Same propulsive register, still space opera

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → earnest, still space opera

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • 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.

    propulsive → wry, still space opera

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • 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.

    propulsive → elegiac, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    propulsive → tense, still science fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • 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.

    propulsive → tense, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    Same propulsive register, still science fiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+3