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Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home

James Tiptree Jr.

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: outsider protagonists, reporter, astronaut, space administrator, government agents, CIA team, lonely explorer, trapped traveler, human seekers, alien beings as active agents

Relationships labels used: human-alien attraction, contact encounter, power imbalance, colonizer/colonized, missionary contact, love-tragedy, rivalry, dependency

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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Untouched by Human Hands

Robert Sheckley · 1954

A vintage SF collection of sharp, funny, idea-driven stories about alien encounters, warped futures, and reality-bending twists.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: ordinary people · astronauts · aliens · shape-shifters · genie · starship crew · hunters and victims · isolated loner · bureaucratic technicians

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · cultural misunderstanding · marriage · family debt · predator-prey · teamwork · dependence · romance · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1515

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Embassytown

China Miéville · 2011

A human colonist returns to an alien city where language is reality, and a new ambassador sparks catastrophe.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: alien species · ambassador pair · clone twins · immerser · lone observer · mythologized child · linguist · political actor · alien otherness

Relationships labels: human-alien relations · colonizer-colonized · marital strain · loyalty conflict · diplomatic mediation · friendship · betrayal · symbiosis · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1753

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The Martian Chronicles

Ray Bradbury · 1984

A lyrical cycle of linked stories follows Earth’s attempts to settle Mars and the human flaws that follow.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: Martians · human colonists · explorers · settlers · invaders · outsiders · sympathetic outsider · cynical human · dreamer · survivor · telepathic beings

Relationships labels: colonizer colonized · first contact · family reunion · community conflict · human alien contact · invader resistance · cultural clash · home leaving · belonging · rivalry · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1776

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Children of Ruin

Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2019 · Children of Time

A human-spider expedition meets utterly alien intelligence in a tense, multi-timeline sci-fi sequel of contact and crisis.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: uplifted beings · human explorers · scientists · terraformers · alien intelligences · nonhuman protagonists · relatable alien minds · collective minds · introverted scientist · AI presence · experimentalist · crew ensemble

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · species cooperation · species conflict · uneasy alliance · first contact · mentor-student · cohabitation · symbiosis · interdependence · misunderstanding · rival factions

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1792

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Space

Stephen Baxter · 2002 · Manifold

A hard-SF future history of first contact, cosmic travel, and a grim answer to why the galaxy seems empty.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: astronaut · scientist · explorer · congresswoman · business titan · female STEM · lone wolf · antihero · arrogant protagonist · old survivor · resourceful woman · alien intelligence · robot species · Neanderthals · ancient traveler

Relationships labels: cooperation · rivalry · human-alien contact · sacrifice · power struggle · community isolation

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1827

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Shroud

Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2025

A stranded human crew on a pitch-black moon must survive, and communicate, as an alien intelligence studies them back.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: two protagonists · female protagonists · scientist protagonist · engineer character · specialist team · competent engineer · social mediator · corporate workers · replaceable labor · nonhuman intelligence · gestalt intelligence · hive mind · alien mind

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · misunderstanding · mutual curiosity · crew dependency · partnership · companionship · camaraderie · power hierarchy · corporate control · inter-species recognition

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1892

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Cylinder van Troffa

Janusz A. Zajdel · 1990

A returning astronaut finds Earth transformed, and must navigate a fractured future while chasing what time left behind.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: astronaut · cosmonaut · lonely protagonist · human protagonist · quest-driven · outsider · disoriented returnee · idealistic · emotionally driven

Relationships labels: lost love · romantic quest · social separation · class division · power imbalance · intergroup division · collective versus individual

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1904

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The New Space Opera

Gardner Dozois · 2007 · Mars

An original anthology of 18 new-space-opera SF tales, ranging from hard-SF ideas to epic interstellar adventure.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: post-human · immortal characters · aliens · human researchers · diplomats · artists · actors · miners · adventurers · resisters · super-science protagonists · large-scale agents

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · diplomacy · war · cold war · conquest · enslavement · civilizational conflict · colony society

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1906

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The Man Who Fell to Earth

Walter Tevis · 1976

An alien comes to Earth to save his dying people, but human loneliness and self-destruction derail his mission.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: alien protagonist · fragile protagonist · genius · outsider · introverted · lonely · alcoholic · depressed · sympathetic antihero · scientist · government agents

Relationships labels: friendship · mentor relationship · scientist relationship · human contact · alienation · isolation · dependence · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1936

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Remembrance of Earth's Past: The Three-Body Trilogy

Liu Cixin · 2017 · Remembrance of Earth's Past

A Chinese hard-SF trilogy where first contact becomes a vast, philosophical struggle over humanity’s survival.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · astronomers · engineers · police investigator · statesmen · strategists · military planners · unknown outsider · carefree protagonist · unambitious protagonist · sympathetic characters · memorable characters · flat characters · wooden characters · two-dimensional characters

Relationships labels: human-alien conflict · factional conflict · collaboration and betrayal · power struggle · institutional conflict · romantic yearning · love across time · civilizational rivalry · community fracture · generational stakes

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1946

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The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A

Ben Bova, C.L. Moore, C.M. Kornbluth, Cordwainer Smith, Eric Frank Russell, H.G. Wells, Henry Kuttner, Jack Williamson, John W. Campbell Jr., Lawrence O’Donnell, Lester del Rey, Poul Anderson, Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon · 1974

Eleven award-voted classic science fiction novellas trace the genre’s early ideas, fears, and wonder across decades.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · explorers · inventors · landlords · soldiers · robots · aliens · time travelers · colonists · morons minority · capable man · ordinary observers · female characters (contested)

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · colony conflict · family relations · romantic tension · crew dynamics · power imbalance · control vs autonomy · community vs individual · government vs citizens · rescuer-rescued

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1951

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The Redemption of Time

Baoshu · 2019 · Remembrance of Earth's Past

A fan-approved continuation of the Three-Body universe follows Yun Tianming into a cosmos-spanning struggle over time, fate, and survival.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: mysterious protagonist · clone body · exile · traitor figure · human pawns · godlike entities · alien civilization

Relationships labels: human-alien encounter · romantic relationship · mentor-pawn dynamic · betrayal · dependence · power imbalance · species conflict · community memory

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1953

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