Stardoc

Freedom's ransom

Anne McCaffrey2002

A group of former slaves on the planet Botany must negotiate with their former oppressors to obtain necessary supplies for survival.

pace0·prose0·bleak-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.

earnest → dreamlike, still space opera

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

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, still science fiction

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

earnest → wry, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Nothing But Trouble

Rachel Gibson2010

An actress takes a job as a personal assistant to an injured, hostile hockey player to earn a performance bonus.

earnest → playful

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Translation State

Ann Leckie2023

Three people from different cultures search for a missing diplomat in a galaxy of rigid social hierarchies. It focuses on biological identity.

earnest → tender, still space opera

pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

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.

Same earnest register, still space opera

pace+1·prose0·bleak-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.

earnest → wry, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

earnest → playful, still science fiction

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

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.

earnest → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

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.

earnest → elegiac, still space opera

pace-1·prose+1·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-2·prose+2·bleak-1

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.

earnest → tense, still science fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

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.

earnest → tense, still science fiction

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2

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.

earnest → propulsive, still science fiction

pace+1·prose0·bleak+2