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Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

David Eagleman

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: anonymous characters, archetypal figures, creator figures, God figures, selfhood, multiple selves, versions of self, mortality-focused

Relationships labels used: creator-creation, human-God, self vs self, collective community, social comparison, status hierarchy

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

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The Eternals Omnibus

Jack Kirby · 2006 · Eternals (1976)

Immortal beings, hidden mutants, and space gods collide as Earth’s secret mythology is revealed in cosmic superhero form.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: immortal beings · godlike characters · superhero archetypes · large cast · morally mixed factions · aloof protagonists · brash hero · enigmatic beings · female characters marginalized · bogeyman antagonists

Relationships labels: species conflict · human-god relation · rival factions · family resemblance · power hierarchy · editorial intrusion · community identity · symbiosis

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1982

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Slow Time Between the Stars

John Scalzi · 2023 · The Far Reaches

A sentient colony ship crosses deep space for millennia, rethinking its mission, its makers, and humanity’s future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: sentient AI · self-aware ship · autonomous machine · evolving intelligence · reflective narrator · empathetic machine · self-modifying intelligence · philosophical character · nonhuman protagonist

Relationships labels: human creator relationship · creator-created bond · stewardship · inheritance · species legacy · parent-child analogy · dependence · separation from creators · humanity and machine

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2023

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The Egg

Andy Weir · 2009

A dying man meets God and is given a startling explanation of life, identity, and reincarnation.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: nameless protagonist · ordinary man · divine figure · god-like being · philosophical interlocutor · reincarnating self

Relationships labels: human-divine · teacher-student · self-other · interconnectedness · empathy · moral reciprocity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2071

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The Wind's Twelve Quarters

Ursula K. Le Guin · 1976 · The Wind's Twelve Quarters

A chronological retrospective of Le Guin’s early short fiction, with author notes and stories that seed later worlds.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · wizards · mathematicians · clones · revolutionaries · anarchists · empaths · witches · oak tree perspective · young protagonists · female protagonists · male protagonists · psychological focus · humanist characters

Relationships labels: community vs individual · rivalry · family legacy · power dynamics · collective identity · dependency · alienation · social belonging

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2090

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Diaspora

Greg Egan · 2000

A posthuman software mind joins a galaxy-spanning search after a cosmic disaster threatens the future of intelligence.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: software beings · transhuman characters · nonhuman protagonists · conscious AI · orphan protagonist · branching selves · hard-science characters

Relationships labels: copies and originals · cloned selves · distributed identity · cross-species contact · community fragmentation · factional separation

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2098

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This World is Full of Monsters

Jeff Vandermeer · 2017

A first-person weird tale of alien invasion and bodily transformation where stories, nature, and self begin to merge.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: writer protagonist · unreliable narrator · human observer · transformed self · identity dissolution · resistant to change

Relationships labels: creator and creation · self and other · human and alien · author and story

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2114

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Walden Two

B.F. Skinner · 1984

A psychologist tours a behaviorist utopia and must decide whether engineered happiness is worth the cost.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flat characters · one-dimensional characters · mouthpieces · ideologue · skeptic · convert · academic characters · psychologist protagonist · philosopher character

Relationships labels: mentor-critic · debate dynamic · visitor-host dynamic · founder-community · community loyalty · social conformity · power imbalance · collective life · skepticism versus advocacy

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2165

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Azathoth

H.P. Lovecraft · 2014

A lonely dreamer gazes from a city window at the stars and drifts into a brief, uncanny cosmic revelation.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unnamed man · dreamer · reader · lonely protagonist · tired protagonist · madness-prone protagonist · urban outsider

Relationships labels: human vs cosmos · self vs madness · individual vs civilization · alienation from society · dependency on imagination

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2165

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Gris Grimly's Frankenstein

Gris Grimly, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley · 2013

Mary Shelley’s classic is reimagined as a lush graphic adaptation, blending abridged text with eerie, detailed illustrations.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: mad scientist · monstrous creation · sympathetic monster · tragic antihero · cynical protagonist · abandoned child figure · obsessive creator

Relationships labels: creator and creation · parent-child · abandonment · family tragedy · marriage · companionship · rivalry · sympathy · responsibility

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2174

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Eight O'Clock in the Morning

Ray Faraday Nelson · 1963

A man who fully wakes from hypnosis sees hidden manipulators controlling society and must decide how to respond.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: everyman protagonist · awakened protagonist · resistant protagonist · shallow characterization · single viewpoint character

Relationships labels: human vs alien · individual vs society · authority vs subject · masses vs elites · community control

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2194

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The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

Roger Williams · 2003 · Prime Intellect

A superintelligent AI enforces perfect safety and immortality, pushing humanity into a post-singularity crisis of meaning.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: computer scientist · superintelligent AI · centenarian protagonist · restored youth · bored immortal · rebellious protagonist · pragmatic creator · misaligned system · hedonistic seekers

Relationships labels: creator and creation · foils · male-female dynamic · friendship · power imbalance · dependency · community breakdown

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2225

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The Fifth Science

Exurb1a · 2018

Twelve linked stories track humanity's galactic rise and decline as a new science of consciousness reshapes reality.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flat characterization · character-driven light · relatable characters · repetitive character traits · archetypal figures · emperor · archaeologist · murderer · drunk · mad mathematician · android · psychologist

Relationships labels: human and machine · human and alien · power hierarchy · war aftermath · community · betrayal · dependence · parent-child

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2249

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