After

Star Wars - Catalyst - A Rogue One Novel

James Luceno2016

pace
prose
structure
bleakness

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still space opera

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Mirror Dance
Lois McMaster Bujold1994
A clone hijacks a mercenary fleet to liberate a laboratory, forcing his brother to stage a rescue. It deals with identity and physical trauma.
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Exit Strategy
Martha Wells2018
A self-aware security android returns to a space station to rescue its former client. It must bypass corporate security to deliver incriminating data.
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Salvation
Peter F. Hamilton2018
In 2204, a team investigates a crashed alien ship while a future timeline reveals the consequences of that discovery for the human race.
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Invader
C. J. Cherryh1995
A human diplomat navigates political tension when a long-lost starship returns to an alien planet. He must manage fragile peace between species.
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1 more ↓

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Star Wars - Fate of the Jedi - Allies
Christie Golden2010
Luke and Ben Skywalker navigate a planet of Force-users and form a temporary truce with a Sith fleet to fight a common threat.
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Denser prose

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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.
tense → dreamlike, still space opera
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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.
tense → meditative, still space opera
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3 more ↓

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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.
tense → dreamlike, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
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Sometimes a Great Notion
Ken Kesey1964
A family of independent loggers in Oregon refuses to join a local strike. The perspective shifts rapidly between characters, often mid-paragraph.
tense → elegiac
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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.
tense → dreamlike
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To recover

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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.
tense → wry, still space opera
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While We Were Dating
Jasmine Guillory2021
An advertising executive and a famous actress begin a fake relationship for publicity. They navigate Hollywood sets and family health issues.
tense → warm
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3 more ↓

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The Wedding Game
Meghan Quinn2021
Two rivals compete on a reality TV show to see who can plan the best wedding. They must work together while their families clash.
tense → playful
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The Marriage Mistake
Jennifer Probst2012
After a one-night stand is discovered by family, a businessman and his friend's sister enter a forced marriage to satisfy Italian tradition.
tense → playful
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Star Nomad
Lindsay Buroker2016
A fighter pilot and a small crew of strangers attempt to escape a system-wide war in a freighter. It is a character-driven space adventure.
tense → playful, still space opera
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Faster

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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.
tense → wry, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
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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.
tense → earnest, still space opera
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3 more ↓

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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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
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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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
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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.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
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Slower

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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.
tense → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
pace-1prose+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.
tense → meditative
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3 more ↓

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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.
tense → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
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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.
tense → playful
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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.
tense → playful
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Heavier

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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.
tense → bleak, still space opera
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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.
tense → clinical, still space opera
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3 more ↓

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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.
tense → bleak, still space opera
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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.
tense → bleak, still space opera
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Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Star by Star
Troy Denning2001
Jedi strike teams infiltrate enemy space to destroy a biological weapon that tracks Force-users. The plot focuses on a high-stakes mission.
Same tense register, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2