LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Human Division

John Scalzi2013

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Vigilant

    James Alan Gardner1999

    A member of an elite monitoring group investigates a conspiracy involving a past alien plague and her father's medical legacy.

    Same wry register, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → dreamlike, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+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.

    wry → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

  • Valis

    Philip K. Dick1981

    A man experiences a beam of pink light that imparts vast information. The narrative explores his mental breakdown and search for God in California.

    wry → meditative

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Starplex

    Robert J. Sawyer1996

    The crew of a research vessel investigates a mysterious ship and the origins of a network of artificial wormholes.

    wry → earnest, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Double Star

    Robert A. Heinlein1956

    A struggling actor is hired to impersonate a kidnapped politician on Mars to prevent an interplanetary war.

    wry → earnest, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

  • All the Weyrs of Pern

    Anne McCaffrey1991

    Dragonriders discover an ancient artificial intelligence that reveals their planet's history. They attempt to end the Thread threat forever.

    wry → propulsive, still space opera

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Red Rising

    Pierce Brown2014

    A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.

    wry → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Stars My Destination

    Alfred Bester1956

    Gully Foyle is left for dead in space and spends years seeking revenge. He travels a future where humans can teleport using their minds.

    wry → propulsive, still space opera

    pace+1·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → playful, still space opera

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

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.

    wry → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • 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.

    wry → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1

  • 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.

    wry → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    wry → clinical, still space opera

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • 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.

    wry → bleak, still space opera

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Dark Age

    Pierce Brown2019

    An outlawed revolutionary fights a losing war on Mercury while an exiled heir attempts to reclaim a space empire. It is a violent military epic.

    wry → propulsive, still space opera

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2