The Outside

Shards of Earth

Adrian Tchaikovsky2021

A telepathic pilot on a salvage ship discovers evidence that the moon-sized aliens who destroyed Earth have returned.

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.

tense → dreamlike, still space opera

pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

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.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

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.

tense → meditative, still space opera

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The Mane Event

Shelly Laurenston2007

A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.

tense → playful

pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

tense → playful, still space opera

pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Mile High

Liz Tomforde2023

A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.

tense → playful

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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.

tense → playful, still space opera

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

tense → propulsive, still space opera

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

tense → earnest, still space opera

pace+1·prose-1·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.

tense → meditative

pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Night Land

William Hope Hodgson2014

In the distant future, a man leaves the last human stronghold to find a woman across a sunless, monster-filled wasteland.

tense → dreamlike, still cosmic horror

pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

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.

tense → elegiac

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Echopraxia

Peter Watts2014

A biologist is caught on a mission toward the sun alongside a pilot and a group of transhuman monks. It explores consciousness and evolution.

tense → bleak, still cosmic horror

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Beyond the Aquila Rift

Alastair Reynolds2001

A spaceship crew wakes from cold sleep to find they have overshot their destination by light-years. They must face the reality of their location.

tense → bleak, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Negative Space

B.R. Yeager2020

Four teenagers in a decaying New Hampshire town use a drug made from local parasites. They navigate hallucinations and a string of suicides.

tense → bleak, still cosmic horror

pace0·prose0·bleak+1