After
The Steel Remains
Richard K. Morgan2008
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same tense register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Lagoon
Nnedi Okorafor2014
Aliens land in the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. The story follows a soldier, a rapper, and a biologist during the initial chaos.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Glasshouse
Charles Stross2006
An amnesiac veteran joins a social experiment simulating a 20th-century society. He must find a killer while living in a total panopticon.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Catspaw
Joan D. Vinge1988
A telepathic half-alien is blackmailed into acting as a bodyguard for a corrupt corporate heir on Earth.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Hild
Nicola Griffith2013
The niece of a 7th-century king survives by becoming his seer. She uses observation and logic to predict political shifts and stay alive.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Spin Control
Chris Moriarty2007
A security commander and a clone travel to a terraformed Mars to investigate a physicist's murder. It involves interstellar diplomacy.
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
tense → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
VAS
Steve Tomasula2002
A man considers a vasectomy while the book uses diagrams and varied typography to explore the history of eugenics and biotechnology.
tense → clinical, still cyberpunk
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Murderbot Diaries
Martha Wells2023
A self-aware security android hacks its governor module to watch soap operas while protecting humans. It navigates corporate conspiracies.
tense → sardonic, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-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-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose+1bleak-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.
tense → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
tense → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
tense → propulsive, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
tense → playful, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-2
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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
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.
tense → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Dr. Adder
K. W. Jeter1984
In a broken future Los Angeles, a surgeon performs extreme genital modifications for a subculture of outcasts.
tense → cynical, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak+1
Market Forces
Richard K. Morgan2004
In a future where executives duel in armored cars for promotions, Chris Faulkner joins a firm that profits from civil wars. It is a corporate satire.
tense → sardonic, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Random Acts of Senseless Violence
Jack Womack1994
A twelve-year-old girl records her life in a diary as New York City collapses into riots and hyperinflation. Her family falls into poverty.
tense → bleak, still cyberpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
Hellspark
Janet Kagan1988
A linguist travels to a new planet to investigate a murder. She must determine if the local species is sentient while navigating a conspiracy.
Same tense register, still cyberpunk
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
