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More Than Human

Theodore Sturgeon

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Similar in tone + premise

These books are ranked using the tone + premise labels extracted for More Than Human. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Tone labels used: lyrical, poetic, bleak, melancholic, introspective, strange, unsettling, hopeful, thoughtful, dark, uplifting, disturbing

Premise labels used: psychic powers, group consciousness, human evolution, misfits band together, outsider group, new species, shared consciousness, gestalt being

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their tone + premise embeddings are close.

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To Marry Medusa

Theodore Sturgeon · 1999

An alien hive mind hijacks a desolate drunk and tries to turn humanity into one collective consciousness.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · bleak · intense · somber · hopeful · thought-provoking · philosophical · wry · humorous · disturbing · introspective · unpleasant · compassionate · optimistic

Premise labels: alien invasion · hive mind · collective consciousness · mind transfer · human assimilation · individuality vs collectivity · misfit protagonist · unwitting host · Earth under threat · forced unity · gestalt consciousness

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1408

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Unity

Elly Bangs · 2021

In a shattered future, a fragmented consciousness flees to reunite with itself while enemies hunt the secret inside her.

Why this is here

Tone labels: gritty · bleak · hopeful · idealistic · intense · philosophical · thought-provoking · emotional · tragic · violent · adventurous · morally complex · soulful

Premise labels: shared consciousness · gestalt identity · identity crisis · escape quest · post-collapse survival · reunion quest · bounty pursuit · consciousness merger

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1769

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Eva

Peter Dickinson · 1988

After a crash leaves her near death, a teen wakes in a chimp body and must navigate identity, ethics, and survival.

Why this is here

Tone labels: haunting · disturbing · thought-provoking · bittersweet · bleak · unsettling · intellectual · lyrical · compulsive · philosophical · strange

Premise labels: mind transplant · body swap · animal consciousness · human-animal hybrid · experimental medicine · survival at any cost · species identity · ethical dilemma · animal exploitation · future collapse

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1893

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My Name is Monster

Katie Hale · 2019

A lone survivor crosses a ruined world, then finds a feral girl and must decide what it means to survive and become Mother.

Why this is here

Tone labels: bleak · atmospheric · tender · dark · quiet · melancholic · poetic · disturbing · hopeful · chilling · reflective · introspective · languid · haunting · contemplative

Premise labels: last survivor · post-collapse survival · lonely journey · feral child · found family · motherhood · identity shift · creation and creation · new worldbuilding · self-sufficiency

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1946

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On the Origin of Species and Other Stories

Kim Bo-young · 2021

A short story collection where robots, humans, dragons, and time travelers probe evolution, identity, and what counts as life.

Why this is here

Tone labels: thought-provoking · philosophical · haunting · beautiful · strange · mind-bending · poetic · introspective · eerie · hopeful · melancholic · witty · surreal · imaginative · disturbing

Premise labels: posthuman survival · evolutionary thought experiment · nonhuman protagonists · alternate futures · humanity questioned · sentience test · identity crisis · species boundary

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1956

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Arborescence

Rhett Davis · 2026

In a near-future world, a couple is divided by a spreading movement of people trying to become trees.

Why this is here

Tone labels: uncanny · poetic · melancholic · hopeful · haunting · consoling · quiet · philosophical · surreal · beautiful · eerie · bittersweet · reflective · darkly humorous · unsettling

Premise labels: people turning into trees · eco-collapse · AI saturation · climate crisis · identity crisis · purpose seeking · relationship drift · humanity redefinition · saving the planet · post-human transformation

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1963

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Bloodchild and Other Stories

Octavia E. Butler · 1995

A Hugo-winning short story collection where Octavia Butler explores alien coexistence, illness, language loss, and the costs of survival.

Why this is here

Tone labels: disturbing · bleak · hopeful · dark · somber · grotesque · thought-provoking · intense · unsettling · emotional

Premise labels: alien contact · symbiotic coexistence · genetic disease · post-apocalyptic survival · communication breakdown · thought experiment · moral dilemma · duty versus freedom

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1969

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Seed to Harvest

Octavia E. Butler · 2007 · Patternist

Four linked Butler novels trace telepathy, mutation, and power struggles across centuries in a bleak, visionary saga.

Why this is here

Tone labels: grim · bleak · dark · violent · unsettling · horrifying · eerie · mythic · compassionate · humane · thought-provoking · beautifully strange · depressing · disturbing · wondrous

Premise labels: telepathic lineage · immortal breeder · human transformation · power struggle · origin story · species change · coerced evolution · distant-future conflict

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1971

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The Deep

Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, Jonathan Snipes · 2019

A merfolk historian burdened by ancestral memory flees the deep and must face her people’s past to help them survive.

Why this is here

Tone labels: lyrical · poetic · haunting · melancholic · beautiful · atmospheric · painful · hopeful · moving · dark · intense · righteous

Premise labels: collective memory · generational trauma · ancestral memory · identity recovery · undersea society · memory burden · heritage loss · survival · community memory

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1997

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Gliff

Ali Smith · 2025 · Gliff

In a near-future Britain, two siblings navigate surveillance, exclusion, and a strange horse while language itself becomes resistance.

Why this is here

Tone labels: unsettling · bleak · hopeful · playful · darkly lyrical · urgent · paranoid · heartbreaking · witty · mysterious · poetic

Premise labels: near-future dystopia · surveillance state · outsiders on the run · sibling survival · horse companion · identity classification · humanity vs data · authoritarian control

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2001

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Lives of the Monster Dogs

Kirsten Bakis · 1997

Elegant, intelligent monster dogs arrive in New York and a young woman helps uncover their strange, tragic history.

Why this is here

Tone labels: melancholy · uneasy · haunting · gothic · grotesque · strange · poignant · bittersweet · somber · whimsical · elegiac · darkly beautiful

Premise labels: intelligent animals · human-like animals · created beings · scientific experiment · alienation · celebrity outsiders · refugee community · species survival

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2014

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Amatka

Karin Tidbeck · 2012

A woman sent to a remote colony finds a world where naming objects keeps reality from dissolving—and obedience is everything.

Why this is here

Tone labels: bleak · unsettling · creepy · strange · surreal · atmospheric · dour · somber · haunting · claustrophobic · eerie · depressing

Premise labels: language shapes reality · naming as power · controlled commune · survival society · market research assignment · outsider arrives in colony · forbidden knowledge · collective over individual · reality instability

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2014

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