After
The B-Team
John Scalzi
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak+1
An Ancient Peace
Tanya Huff2015
A retired gunnery sergeant leads a team of specialists to recover ancient weapons from a tomb. They must prevent a galactic war.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Cordelia's Honor
Lois McMaster Bujold1996
An explorer and a military commander from warring planets fall in love and navigate the political fallout of their union.
wry → earnest, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Accidental War
Walter Jon Williams2018
Two former officers are pulled back into service when a financial crisis threatens to trigger a galactic war. It focuses on space economics.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Dennis E. Taylor
A man's consciousness is uploaded into a self-replicating starship. He explores the galaxy and clones himself to manage different tasks.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Honor Among Thieves
James S.A. Corey2014
Han Solo and Chewbacca are hired by a high-ranking Imperial official to rescue a kidnapped planet-governor from a rebel cell.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
Denser prose
wry → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
In the Night Garden
Catherynne M. Valente2006
A girl with tattooed eyelids tells a prince interlocking stories of monsters and folklore. The narrative is a series of nested myths.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
The Claw of the Conciliator
Gene Wolfe1981
An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges1945
A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.
wry → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
At Swim-Two-Birds
Flann O'Brien1939
A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.
wry → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
A Plague of Demons
Keith Laumer1965
A secret agent investigates the disappearance of entire battalions. He discovers an alien invasion and has his brain transplanted into a giant tank.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Fortune's Pawn
Rachel Bach
A power-armored mercenary joins the crew of a suspicious cargo ship to earn enough money for her elite military dreams.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Killing of Worlds
Scott Westerfeld2003
Captain Laurent Zai fights a lone ship-to-ship battle against invaders while Senator Nara Oxham uncovers the Emperor's secrets.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Last Watch
J.S. Dewes2021
Exiled soldiers at the edge of the universe discover the vacuum of space is collapsing. They must repair the Divide with limited resources.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Love & Sleep
John Crowley1994
Pierce Moffett researches the history of magic while living in a small town. The narrative shifts between his life and the Renaissance.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
Boneland
Alan Garner2012
An adult Colin searches for his lost sister while an ancient shaman performs rituals in the same landscape. The two timelines mirror one another.
wry → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
The Habitation of the Blessed
Catherynne M. Valente2010
A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.
wry → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Unfinished Tales
J.R.R. Tolkien1980
A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Moonwise
Greer Gilman1991
Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.
wry → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
The Fifth Season
N. K. Jemisin2015
A mother searches for her daughter across a continent undergoing a tectonic apocalypse. Some chapters address the reader in the second person.
wry → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
Pet Sematary
Stephen King1983
A family moves to Maine and discovers a burial ground that can return the dead to life. They use it, and the consequences are absolute.
wry → tense
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+3
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang2018
A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.
wry → bleak
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson2015
An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.
wry → cold
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
Song of Kali
Dan Simmons1985
An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.
wry → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
