After
The Last Colony
John Scalzi2007
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dissidence
Ken MacLeod2016
In a future of corporate-owned soldiers, a combat robot gains consciousness. It joins a group of human insurgents to fight for autonomy.
Same wry register, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Old Man's War
John Scalzi2005
Senior citizens trade their old bodies for genetically enhanced young ones to fight in a space war. Survival earns them a new life on a colony.
Same wry register, still military scifi
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Courageous
Jack Campbell2007
Captain Geary leads a retreating fleet through enemy systems while managing internal dissent. The focus is on fleet maneuvers and naval tactics.
wry → tense, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein1959
A young soldier undergoes rigorous training and fights in an interstellar war against arachnid aliens. It focuses on military philosophy.
wry → earnest, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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Persepolis Rising
James S. A. Corey2017
Thirty years after the previous book, an isolationist empire invades the solar system with superior technology. The aging Rocinante crew resists.
wry → tense, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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.
wry → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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Rakesfall
Vajra Chandrasekera2024
Two souls reincarnate across centuries of Sri Lankan history and a distant future. The narrative shifts through different bodies and realities.
wry → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+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.
wry → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
All Those Vanished Engines
Paul Park2014
Three linked stories follow the Park family through an alternate history where the American Civil War ended in a two-nation settlement.
wry → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
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The Pirates of Zan
Murray Leinster1959
A bored electronic genius moves to a backwater planet, stages a fake pirate invasion, and leads a rebellion.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
wry → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
Same wry register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
wry → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
wry → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
wry → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+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.
wry → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
wry → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+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.
wry → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
All My Sins Remembered
Joe Haldeman1977
A deep-cover operative undergoes repeated personality wipes and brainwashing to perform assassinations for a galactic government.
wry → bleak, still military scifi
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
wry → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+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+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+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+1·bleak+2
