After
Surface Detail
Iain Banks2010
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Player of Games
Iain Banks1988
A champion of a post-scarcity society travels to a repressive empire to play their national game, where the winner becomes the ruler.
Same sardonic register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Book of Dreams
Jack Vance1981
Kirth Gersen pursues the last of the five Demon Princes across the galaxy to complete his lifelong revenge. It is a picaresque space opera.
Same sardonic register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Grimspace (Sirantha Jax # 1)
Ann Aguirre2008
A navigator with a rare genetic ability is freed from prison by rebels to help overthrow a galactic government.
Same sardonic register, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Shards of Earth
Adrian Tchaikovsky2021
A telepathic pilot on a salvage ship discovers evidence that the moon-sized aliens who destroyed Earth have returned.
sardonic → tense, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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Endymion
Dan Simmons1996
Set 274 years after a galactic collapse, a young man is tasked with protecting a messianic child from the Catholic Church. They flee across worlds.
sardonic → earnest, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
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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.
sardonic → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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Shadow & Claw
Gene Wolfe1983
A torturer travels across a far-future Earth where technology is indistinguishable from magic. He recounts his exile in dense, archaic prose.
sardonic → meditative
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
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.
sardonic → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
William S. Burroughs
A series of nonlinear vignettes follow a drug addict's hallucinations and travels. The prose is fragmented and satirical.
Same sardonic register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
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A Galaxy Unknown
Thomas DePrima2010
An ensign uses her tactical skills to rise through the ranks of a space navy while fighting pirates and internal bureaucracy.
sardonic → earnest, still space opera
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace0prose-2bleak-1
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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
sardonic → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
sardonic → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
sardonic → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
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.
sardonic → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak+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.
sardonic → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
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.
sardonic → meditative
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose0bleak-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.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-2·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-2prose-1bleak-1
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.
sardonic → earnest
pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
sardonic → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
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.
sardonic → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
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.
sardonic → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
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.
sardonic → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
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.
sardonic → tense, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak+2
