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These books are ranked using the characterization labels extracted for Light Years.
Characterization labels used: ambitious, outsider, undercover, spying, privileged, underestimated, cocky, wisecracking, reluctant leader, lonely, trauma, secretive, determined, competitive, likable ensemble, character-driven
This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their characterization embeddings are close.
An outcast on a sky island unlocks a hidden class and enters dangerous dungeons below, where power, secrets, and survival collide.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: outsider · underdog · hardworking · relentless trainer · insecure protagonist · sympathetic protagonist · reckless protagonist · team-oriented protagonist · likeable cast · trope-heavy cast
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1797
A Vietnamese American family is split by a sudden internment crisis, forcing those inside and outside the camps to survive and respond.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: ambitious · selfish · flawed · morally compromised · white passing · privileged · naive · juvenile · aimless · shy · resilient · resourceful · complicated characters · character-driven · careerist
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1918
A massive globe-spanning thriller where an online game, a computer virus, and criminal intrigue collide in the real world.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: ensemble characters · competent protagonists · smart characters · plucky women · strong women · female leads · quirky characters · type-based characters · broad villains · sympathetic characters · intelligent characters · tech-savvy characters · survivalist characters · spies · hackers · gangsters · mercenaries · refugee protagonist · ex-smuggler protagonist · billionaire mogul · villainous terrorist mastermind
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1928
When a kid finds the Animorphs’ morphing device, the team must decide whether to trust him or lose him to the enemy.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: newcomer · reluctant recruit · troublemaker · unreliable ally · analytical narrator · ruthless strategist · empathetic manipulator · volatile teen · suspicious outsider · power-hungry
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1955
Human institutions rise amid anti-tech zealotry, secret agendas, and power struggles across the Dune universe.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: ambitious · fanatical · political · strategic · manipulative · ruthless · ideological · flat characters · caricatures · mentor figure · founder figure · heroic characters · villainous characters
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1961
A time-displaced rescue team races to stop apocalypse while governments hunt their time machine and a new leader takes charge.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: team ensemble · elite agents · soldiers · spymaster · tactician · rogue operative · insurance investigator · female leader · badass heroine · competent but flawed · brilliant strategist · manipulative · watchful · unpredictable · tough · gritty · overpowered competence · character-driven
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1996
A young orphan grows into an imperial diplomat, learning the bitter cost of serving a regime built on 'Perfection.'
Why this is here
Characterization labels: orphan · young protagonist · ambitious · idealistic · naive · cynical · weary veteran · diplomat · officer · spycraft · complex morality · loyal insider · jaded realist · resourceful
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1997
A compressed comic adaptation follows Thrawn’s rise through the Imperial ranks, his rivals, and the politics around him.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: cunning strategist · cold and calculating · ruthless · calm · confident · patient · ambitious · nonhuman outsider · genius · politically naïve · mentor figure · protege
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.1997
A low-status, self-taught ship technician who sings to alien energy lines is pulled into a race over a deadly mystery ship.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: underdog · self-taught · low-status · insecure · whiny (mixed) · naive · kind · compassionate · eccentric · fish-out-of-water · misfit · lonely prodigy · beta protagonist · rival linesman · arrogant rival · political operator · strong women · female power figures
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.2009
In a monarchy-run modern France, an antiroyalist girl infiltrates a televised courtship game that hides far darker secrets.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: antiheroine · intelligent protagonist · determined protagonist · courageous heroine · resilient heroine · spies and informants · sadistic antagonist · manipulative elites
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.2011
Miles infiltrates a high-tech POW camp and must turn a broken prison population into a force for survival.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: brilliant protagonist · quick-witted · cunning · devious · charismatic · resourceful · reckless · brash · audacious · competence · leader · manipulator · strategist · undercover operative · war hero · disabled protagonist · physically fragile · self-sacrificing · impulsive · genius · morally driven · hospitalized protagonist · recovering protagonist
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.2051
Three mercenaries on a routine escort job get trapped in local politics, winter isolation, and a late-arriving murder.
Why this is here
Characterization labels: mercenaries · antiheroes · soldiers of fortune · nobles · barons · guards · suspects · analytical character · brutal character · talkative character · interchangeable leads · well-developed secondary characters · unsympathetic leads · likeable protagonists · cynical characters
Semantic match: ranked by characterization
Distance: 0.2071
