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Countdown

Mira Grant

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Similar in premise + themes

These books are ranked using the premise + themes labels extracted for Countdown. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: virus origin, outbreak origin, prequel, origin story, pandemic fallout, scientific accident, manmade disaster, viral outbreak, apocalyptic virus, cause and effect

Themes labels used: scientific hubris, unintended consequences, virus research, misinformation, media credibility, public panic, human error, ethical responsibility, pandemic fear, technology and medicine, cause and effect, end of civilization, truth and denial, good intentions gone wrong

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

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The Stand: Captain Trips

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa · 2009 · The Stand: Graphic Novels

A secret-virus outbreak escapes containment and ignites a grim, good-vs-evil apocalypse across America.

Why this is here

Premise labels: viral outbreak · pandemic · government cover-up · apocalypse · survival · good vs evil · biological disaster · escape and contagion · mass depopulation

Themes labels: pandemic fear · contagion · social collapse · government secrecy · human fragility · moral conflict · survival · apocalypse · civic breakdown · compassion and selfishness · paranoia · death and loss

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1754

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The End of October

Lawrence Wright · 2020

An epidemiologist races to contain a deadly new virus as it spreads worldwide, threatening families, governments, and civilization.

Why this is here

Premise labels: pandemic outbreak · virus investigation · containment race · global crisis · biothreat · quarantine response · cure search · civilization collapse

Themes labels: pandemic preparedness · public health · scientific authority · misinformation · cover-up · global interdependence · religion and disease · biowarfare · government response · social breakdown · institutional collapse · fear and panic · quarantine ethics · survival · human selfishness · civilizational fragility · truth versus denial · conspiracy thinking · science and politics · mortality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1774

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Dr. Hugh Mann

Mark Tufo · 2011 · Zombie Fallout

A short prequel reveals the strange, secret history behind the zombie virus and the family ties behind it.

Why this is here

Premise labels: virus origin · outbreak origin · prequel · backstory reveal · scientific discovery · ancient conspiracy · family history · government seizure · weaponized research · apocalypse origins

Themes labels: origin of evil · hidden history · family legacy · cause and effect · scientific hubris · government secrecy · weaponization · apocalypse causation · interconnected past and present · fate

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1793

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Plague of the Dead

Z.A. Recht · 2006 · Morningstar Strain

A military team and a scientist race to contain a fast-moving virus that turns the living and dead into killers.

Why this is here

Premise labels: viral outbreak · zombie apocalypse · global pandemic · containment failure · state collapse · dual infection state · whistleblower leak · cure hunt · military response · survival struggle

Themes labels: pandemic response · collapse of order · survival · containment · public panic · government secrecy · whistleblowing · military power · human error · fear and chaos · end of civilization · science versus crisis · plague management · social breakdown

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1817

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Resistance: A Graphic Novel

Val McDermid · 2021

A journalist investigates a festival illness that becomes a fast-moving antibiotic-resistant pandemic.

Why this is here

Premise labels: pandemic outbreak · antibiotic resistance · infectious disease · festival outbreak · journalist investigation · source tracing · public health crisis · foodborne illness · bacterial contagion · global collapse

Themes labels: antibiotic overuse · public health · pandemic preparedness · science vs politics · government failure · corporate greed · food ethics · industrial farming · animal welfare · media responsibility · truth seeking · panic and denial · quarantine · social fragility · human selfishness · cross-species contamination · scientific literacy · medical cautionary tale · survival

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1852

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The Judas Strain

James Rollins · 2007 · Sigma Force

A covert team races to stop a global plague tied to Marco Polo, ancient clues, and a ruthless conspiracy.

Why this is here

Premise labels: global pandemic · biosecurity threat · ancient mystery · scientific outbreak · race against time · cure hunt · bioterrorism · historical puzzle · scientific mystery

Themes labels: pandemic · extinction · bioterrorism · trust · history and science · fact and fiction · hidden knowledge · ancient secrets · global responsibility · survival · good versus evil · human genetics · religion and science · research and discovery · cure versus weapon · moral ambiguity

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1893

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The Enigma Strain

Nick Thacker · 2014 · Harvey Bennett

A Yellowstone ranger and a CDC scientist race to stop a bomb-triggered viral outbreak that could become a national catastrophe.

Why this is here

Premise labels: bioterror attack · viral outbreak · race against time · scientific crisis · terrorist plot · public health threat · pandemic threat · catastrophe prevention · bio-weapon · supervolcano threat

Themes labels: biosecurity · terrorism · public safety · humanity vs greed · corporate corruption · scientific ethics · government response · survival · trust · catastrophe preparedness · pandemic fear · nature vs technology · ordinary courage · secrecy · conspiracy

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1917

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The Kill Order

James Dashner · 2012 · The Maze Runner

Before the maze, survivors of sun flares race to survive a mutating virus and uncover who unleashed it.

Why this is here

Premise labels: prequel · survival · viral outbreak · post-apocalyptic crisis · race for cure · outbreak mystery · apocalypse origin

Themes labels: survival · sanity · madness · infection · human extinction · population control · sacrifice · trust · hope · desperation · moral ambiguity · destruction of order

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1924

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Plague

Victor Methos · 2012 · The Plague Trilogy

A CDC doctor races to contain a deadly, unidentified pathogen spreading from Hawaii while hidden forces exploit the outbreak.

Why this is here

Premise labels: deadly pathogen · outbreak containment · race against time · patient zero hunt · epidemic crisis · antidote search · human extinction risk · biohazard threat

Themes labels: pandemic fear · survival · social collapse · government response · ethics · human nature · contagion · extinction · greed · quarantine · scientific responsibility · moral gray area · faith and religion · social order

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.1980

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The Fungus

Harry Adam Knight, Leroy Kettle · 1985

A lab-made fungal plague sweeps England, forcing a desperate team into quarantined London to find a possible antidote.

Why this is here

Premise labels: fungal outbreak · bioengineered plague · science gone awry · world hunger experiment · containment mission · suicide mission · antidote quest · body horror · medical horror

Themes labels: unintended consequences · scientific hubris · pandemic fear · containment · survival · humanity versus nature · body transformation · food security · world hunger · quarantine · collapse of society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2048

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Darwin's Cipher: A Medical Thriller

M.A. Rothman · 2019

A cancer researcher’s gene-discovery is stolen and weaponized, triggering an FBI investigation and a race to stop disaster.

Why this is here

Premise labels: cancer cure · genetic research · gene therapy · DNA manipulation · weaponized science · scientific breakthrough · biosecurity threat · government conspiracy · stolen research · medical research gone wrong · race against time · pandemic threat

Themes labels: ethical limits · scientific responsibility · unintended consequences · weaponization · biotechnology ethics · misuse of research · corporate greed · government secrecy · conspiracy · cancer research · evolution · human vulnerability · family loss · pandemic fear · science vs morality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2080

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Extinction Horizon

Nicholas Sansbury Smith · 2014 · Extinction Cycle

A Delta Force team and a CDC virologist race to stop a weaponized virus turning the world into monsters.

Why this is here

Premise labels: bioweapon outbreak · viral apocalypse · infected monsters · race for cure · special forces mission · end of the world

Themes labels: bioweapons · scientific hubris · government secrecy · human extinction · pandemic fear · survival · ethics of experimentation · man vs nature · man vs science · containment failure · public health crisis

Semantic match: ranked by premise + themes

Distance: 0.2094

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