Exploring from

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti

Genevieve Valentine

Find similar books by

Combine common axes

Similar in tone + premise

These books are ranked using the tone + premise labels extracted for Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Tone labels used: lyrical, poetic, dark, grim, melancholy, eerie, haunting, macabre, dreamlike, gorgeous, tense, disturbing, claustrophobic

Premise labels used: traveling circus, war-torn world, mechanized performers, magical body modification, internal conflict, outside threat, family unit

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

Exclude same author

Max ratings No limit

Bitter Seeds

Ian Tregillis · 2010 · Milkweed Triptych

In an alternate WWII, a British spy faces Nazi super-soldiers and turns to forbidden warlocks to fight back.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · grim · gloomy · horrific · tense · melancholic · dread-filled · morally uneasy · cynical · disturbing · fascinating · bleak · somber

Premise labels: secret war · super-soldiers · battle magic · occult warfare · espionage · counterintelligence · blood price · hidden powers · wartime desperation · moral compromise

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1953

Continue from here

Carve the Mark

Veronica Roth · 2017 · Carve the Mark

Two enemies from warring worlds are forced together by gifts, fate, and survival in a galaxy shaped by the Current.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · tense · bleak · romantic · adventurous · brooding · melancholy · intense · serious

Premise labels: enemy nations · captivity · unlikely alliance · survival · special powers · fated lives · interplanetary conflict · forbidden love · power struggle · political conflict

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1980

Continue from here

Black Helicopters

Caitlín R. Kiernan · 2018 · Tinfoil Dossier

A time-jumping occult spy story follows rival agents, secret experiments, and twin sisters through a cosmic crisis.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · menacing · haunting · surreal · moody · dreadful · cynical · despairing · atmospheric · baffling · dreamlike · weird

Premise labels: secret war · rival agencies · occult conspiracy · time-spanning mystery · human experimentation · psychic operatives · cosmic invasion · apocalypse prevention · world-spanning game · chess motif

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1995

Continue from here

Wild Seed

Octavia E. Butler · 1980 · Patternist

Two immortal shapeshifters clash across centuries as one seeks control and the other fights for family, freedom, and survival.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · disturbing · horrifying · uncomfortable · painful · tense · melancholic · intense · thought-provoking · lyrical · engaging · propulsive · grotesque · sweeping

Premise labels: immortal beings · body swapping · shape shifting · breeding project · power struggle · centuries-long conflict · superhuman powers

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2009

Continue from here

The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1: Deus lo Vult

Carlo Zen · 2017 · The Saga of Tanya the Evil Light Novel

A reincarnated salaryman in a child soldier's body fights to survive an alternate WWI with magic, war, and a hostile god.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · cold · sarcastic · serious · gritty · intense · philosophical · thoughtful · dry · satirical · bleak · uncomfortable · dense · cynical

Premise labels: reincarnation · war survival · magical warfare · soldier protagonist · god conflict · gender swap · alternate history war · military rise

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2028

Continue from here

The Marbury Lens

Andrew Smith · 2010 · The Marbury Lens

After a kidnapping, a teen discovers glasses that reveal a brutal alternate world tied to his unraveling mind.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · disturbing · nightmarish · grim · harrowing · twisted · eerie · tense · unsettling · brutal · surreal · bleak · haunting

Premise labels: trauma aftermath · alternate world · parallel reality · kidnapping survivor · psychological breakdown · survival mission · addictive escape

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2050

Continue from here

All the Names They Used for God

Anjali Sachdeva · 2018

A debut collection of nine strange, globe-spanning stories where ordinary lives meet fate, magic, and unsettling change.

Why this is here

Tone labels: haunting · dreamlike · mysterious · uneasy · ominous · dark · wondrous · poignant · melancholy · otherworldly · bizarre · eerie · surreal · tender · devastating

Premise labels: fate · isolation · mystery forces · ordinary lives disrupted · small miracles · otherworldly intrusion

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2053

Continue from here

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods

Molly X. Chang · 2024 · Gods Beyond the Skies

A death-blessed girl is forced into an enemy prince’s service, torn between family survival and resisting conquest.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · intense · mysterious · angsty · emotional · tense · oppressive · heartbreaking · addictive · beautifully bleak · uncomfortable · tragic

Premise labels: death magic · enemy prince · forced bargain · personal assassin · colonized world · survival choice · family protection · war dilemma · colonial oppression · science versus magic

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2055

Continue from here

The Bleeding Woods

Brittany Amara · 2025

A guilt-ridden young woman’s road trip turns deadly when a haunted forest, hidden powers, and an obsessed stranger collide.

Why this is here

Tone labels: eerie · atmospheric · dark · haunting · oppressive · gothic · unsettling · macabre · dreamlike · heartbreaking · messy · creeping dread · emotional · surreal

Premise labels: dangerous powers · hidden nature · estranged family · haunted forest · stranded group · vicious murders · shared past · telepathic bond · obsessive pursuit · humanity vs monster · medical suppression · scientific secrets · family trauma

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2056

Continue from here

The Water Cure

Sophie Mackintosh · 2019

Three sisters on an isolated island confront fear, desire, and control when strangers arrive from the sea.

Why this is here

Tone labels: haunting · eerie · atmospheric · claustrophobic · disturbing · hypnotic · melancholy · unsettling · dreamlike · bleak · dark · tense

Premise labels: isolated family · remote island · sheltered daughters · fear of men · toxic outside world · survival rituals · cult-like protection · strangers ashore · sibling rivalry · female fear

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2057

Continue from here

A Song of Stone

Iain Banks · 1999

An aristocrat fleeing a war-torn country is forced back to his castle, where occupation turns private decay into public ruin.

Why this is here

Tone labels: bleak · dark · nihilistic · grim · disturbing · haunting · vicious · macabre · miserable · claustrophobic · sardonic · wry · perverse · doomy · macabre fable

Premise labels: war-torn society · castle siege · refugee flight · hostage-taking · occupied home · descent into brutality · class conflict · power reversal · survival under anarchy

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2059

Continue from here

The Country Under Heaven

Frederic S. Durbin · 2025

A haunted former Union soldier rides the post-Civil War West, following visions into monsters, other worlds, and hard-won peace.

Why this is here

Tone labels: lyrical · melancholy · hopeful · wondrous · haunting · elegiac · sombre · gentle · bittersweet · contemplative · weird · beautiful · serious · immersive · uplifting · ominous

Premise labels: former soldier · visions · second sight · quest · wandering hero · supernatural journey · postwar trauma · monster encounters · other worlds · helping strangers · finding peace · cross-country travel

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.2065

Continue from here