LitQueuelitqueue

After

Star Trek Discovery - The Way to the Stars

Una McCormack2019

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Star Wars - Milennium Falcon

    James Luceno2008

    Han Solo and Leia Organa trace the history of their starship through its previous owners. The story spans decades of galactic history.

    Same earnest register, still space opera

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → meditative, still space opera

    pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • In Green's Jungles

    Gene Wolfe2000

    A narrator travels to different worlds while his physical form and memories shift. He recounts past voyages to prove his identity to his companions.

    earnest → elegiac

    pace0·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.

    earnest → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace0·prose+2·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.

    earnest → playful, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → playful, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → bleak, still space opera

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    earnest → clinical, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    earnest → bleak, still space opera

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3