After
The Witches of Karres
James H. Schmitz1966
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
Same playful register, still space opera
- pace0prose0bleak0
Galaxy blues
Allen M. Steele2008
A disgraced pilot joins a freighter crew to avoid prison. He must navigate alien politics and a mission involving a black hole.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Wrong Stars
Tim Pratt2017
A salvage crew finds a sleeper ship from the past and accidentally triggers first contact with a strange alien race.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
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.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Agent of Change
Sharon Lee1988
A master spy and a mercenary pilot are forced to cooperate while being hunted across the galaxy. It is the start of a long-running series.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → meditative, still space opera
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike, still space opera
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → meditative
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
playful → wry, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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.
playful → earnest, still space opera
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
Same playful register, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
playful → propulsive, still space opera
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
playful → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- 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.
playful → 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.
playful → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie2013
A lone soldier, once the artificial intelligence of a massive starship, seeks revenge in a single human body.
playful → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
Children of Dune
Frank Herbert1976
The twin heirs of Paul Atreides navigate political conspiracies and their own evolving biology to secure the future of the desert planet.
playful → meditative, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
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.
playful → clinical, still space opera
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
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.
playful → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
Star Wars - Legacy of the Force - Sacrifice
Karen Traviss2007
Jacen Solo hunts his own parents during a galactic civil war. He commits increasingly ruthless acts to secure his power as a Sith apprentice.
playful → bleak, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
- pace0prose0bleak+3
Star Wars - The New Jedi Order - Star by Star
Troy Denning2001
Jedi strike teams infiltrate enemy space to destroy a biological weapon that tracks Force-users. The plot focuses on a high-stakes mission.
playful → tense, still space opera
pace0·prose0·bleak+3
