Dark scifi?

[RCoots]

Hello hello all. I'm guessing/hoping this is the best place for this topic. I am writing dark space opera. Not milscifi, not power armor, not post apocalyptic. I'm trying to read around the genre to find comparable books and so far I'm failing miserably. I've seen Warhammer suggested in a few places, but when I've picked it up, it doesn't quite fit. I do have Revelation Space and the Culture series queued up, but I'd like more. Anyone out there know of various scifi that might answer to the 'grimdark'?

[WasAnn]

That's a tough one because the granularity of Dark SF subgenres is very intense. Dark Space Opera is one that I've literally never seen a dark one that wasn't filled with the fight scenes and powerarmor and such.

[Mark Gardner]

Hello hello all. I'm guessing/hoping this is the best place for this topic. I am writing dark space opera. Not milscifi, not power armor, not post apocalyptic. I'm trying to read around the genre to find comparable books and so far I'm failing miserably. I've seen Warhammer suggested in a few places, but when I've picked it up, it doesn't quite fit. I do have Revelation Space and the Culture series queued up, but I'd like more. Anyone out there know of various scifi that might answer to the 'grimdark'?

I think the Game of the Gods series by L. Fergus is rather space fantasy-ish, but definitely dark (The protagonist is the god of evil.)

[Lorri Moulton]

Hello hello all. I'm guessing/hoping this is the best place for this topic. I am writing dark space opera. Not milscifi, not power armor, not post apocalyptic. I'm trying to read around the genre to find comparable books and so far I'm failing miserably. I've seen Warhammer suggested in a few places, but when I've picked it up, it doesn't quite fit. I do have Revelation Space and the Culture series queued up, but I'd like more. Anyone out there know of various scifi that might answer to the 'grimdark'?

I thought of grimdark, while I was reading your thread.  I don't know the equivalent in scifi, but it's an excellent question. 

Maybe ask one of the blogger/judges groups in the #SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) on Facebook?  They love grimdark! 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/122875124938545/

ETA: All I can think of is Dark Matter on Netflix.  At times, that's pretty bleak.  While I don't read a lot of scifi, I do enjoy watching it.  It's not as dark as Game of Thrones, but it's not noblebright either.

[RCoots]

Thanks guys. I'll look into some of these (I'd been watching Dark Matter, but got distracted in other shows). Funny, the mention of GoT. That's pretty much how I've been describing this world to people....with fewer weddings ;)

[Joe Vasicek]

George RR Martin wrote a space opera novel back in the day called Dying of the Light, and it was very dark.

[Leegreg]

Have you tired C.S. Friedman’s Science Fiction In Conquest Born and This Alien Shore? I am not positive that even her Fantasy is “grimdark”, but all of her work that I’ve read is psychologically dark and the SciFi is not an exception. 

[Tom Wood]

Neal Asher's Prador Moon gets pretty grimdark. It does have military stuff in it, and appears to have spawned a series.

[guest120]

My only suggestions would be films like 'Alien' or perhaps 'Event Horizon'.

[deedee]

Hello hello all. I'm guessing/hoping this is the best place for this topic. I am writing dark space opera. Not milscifi, not power armor, not post apocalyptic. I'm trying to read around the genre to find comparable books and so far I'm failing miserably. I've seen Warhammer suggested in a few places, but when I've picked it up, it doesn't quite fit. I do have Revelation Space and the Culture series queued up, but I'd like more. Anyone out there know of various scifi that might answer to the 'grimdark'?

The Culture series books are not grimdark. They are actually quite bright futures that face some challenges but overall we'd all be pretty darn happy to live there. For grimdark, hmm, maybe some of the more miserable Gregory Benford. Can't remember the name of it but there was one where humanity was pretty much reduced to living as c*ckroaches on some more important species's space ship... now that's grim.