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Cover of Speaker for the Dead by Aaron Johnston
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Speaker for the Dead

Aaron Johnston

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Similar in themes

These books are ranked using the themes labels extracted for Speaker for the Dead.

Themes labels used: truth, redemption, forgiveness, compassion, understanding, tolerance, cultural relativism, colonization, alien ethics, religion and faith, death and mourning, afterlife, identity, responsibility, misunderstanding, healing, atonement, human condition, science and sociology, social sciences

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

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Cover of Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Speaker for the Dead

Orson Scott Card · 1994 · Ender's Saga

An older Ender Wiggin is called to a troubled colony, where alien contact, guilt, and truth-telling collide.

Why this is here

Themes labels: redemption · forgiveness · empathy · understanding · otherness · humanity · truth · guilt · penance · repentance · acceptance · cultural difference · religion · morality · ethics · genocide · coexistence · responsibility · reconciliation · community · colonialism · identity · death and mourning · human-alien communication

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0534

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Cover of Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

Children of God

Mary Doria Russell · 1998 · The Sparrow

A traumatized Jesuit returns to a transformed alien world, where faith, forgiveness, and contact collide again.

Why this is here

Themes labels: faith · doubt · religion · morality · forgiveness · trauma · suffering · redemption · meaning-making · cultural contact · ethical responsibility · colonialism · race · genocide · resistance · time · human nature · justice · mercy · ecology · power · change · hope

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0884

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Cover of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Sparrow

Mary Doria Russell · 1997 · The Sparrow

A Jesuit-led first-contact mission to a singing alien world becomes a devastating inquiry into faith, guilt, and humanity.

Why this is here

Themes labels: faith · loss of faith · religion · morality · human condition · suffering · meaning · first contact ethics · anthropology · linguistics · culture clash · trauma · grief · guilt · duty · resilience · good and evil · humanity · spiritual journey · understanding others · colonialism · missionary ethics · belonging · family · love · forgiveness · acceptance · gender roles · commerce · art · ecology · eugenics · survival

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1004

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Cover of Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Xenocide

Orson Scott Card · 1996 · Ender's Saga

On a doomed colony world, Ender and allies race to avert extinction while a virus, aliens, and faith collide.

Why this is here

Themes labels: ethics · morality · free will · determinism · religion · faith · science and religion · consciousness · sentience · identity · humanity · otherness · prejudice · coexistence · survival · sacrifice · responsibility · good and evil · parental duty · community

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1049

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Cover of Engraved on the Eye by Saladin Ahmed

Engraved on the Eye

Saladin Ahmed · 2012

Eight genre-bending stories weave Middle Eastern, Muslim, and speculative worlds across fantasy, SF, horror, and weird west.

Why this is here

Themes labels: faith · morality · ethics · cultural difference · representation · identity · racism · xenophobia · tokenism · social justice · compassion · duty · honor · redemption · kindness · justice · technology and belief · good versus evil · moral ambiguity

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1090

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Cover of The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

The Book of Strange New Things

Michel Faber · 2014

A Christian missionary to an alien colony fights to keep his marriage alive as Earth and Oasis drift toward crisis.

Why this is here

Themes labels: faith · love · loss · humanity · alienation · communication · miscommunication · colonialism · responsibility · compassion · belief · doubt · mortality · grief · empathy · identity · addiction · translation · otherness · apocalypse

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1101

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Cover of Pilgrims by M.R. Leonard

Pilgrims

M.R. Leonard · 2024

When Catholic aliens arrive speaking Latin, a broken Latin teacher becomes humanity’s translator—and moral fault line.

Why this is here

Themes labels: faith · redemption · conversion · Catholicism · Christian apologetics · love · forgiveness · mercy · free will · morality · identity · humanity · transcendence · religion and science · truth · sacrifice · hope · civilizational change · abuse of power · pride

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1119

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Cover of The Seventh Gate by Margaret Weis

The Seventh Gate

Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman · 1995 · The Death Gate Cycle

The Death Gate Cycle ends as Haplo and Alfred race to the Seventh Gate while old enemies, new threats, and a vast world-spanning destiny collide.

Why this is here

Themes labels: prejudice · racism · fear · hate · power · authority · coexistence · redemption · sacrifice · faith · hope · love · morality · identity · good and evil · responsibility · transgenerational trauma · spirituality · government corruption · belonging · loyalty

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1120

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Cover of Into the Light by Claudia Gray

Into the Light

Claudia Gray · 2025 · Star Wars: The High Republic

A Jedi-led mission to Kashyyyk collides with a spreading blight, old enemies, and hard-won choices about light and hope.

Why this is here

Themes labels: hope · light and life · grief · forgiveness · redemption · self-doubt · growth · identity · community · sacrifice · belief · responsibility · memory · trauma · resilience · ecological stewardship · colonial exploitation · science vs belief · morality

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1127

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Cover of Goddess in the Machine by Lora Beth Johnson

Goddess in the Machine

Lora Beth Johnson · 2020 · Goddess in the Machine

A cryosleeping teen wakes 1,000 years late, mistaken for a goddess, and must survive future politics to go home.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · survival · trust · betrayal · language change · technology and belief · science and religion · power and control · political legitimacy · body image · grief and loss · homecoming · colonization · ethics of technology · adaptation · truth and deception · faith and doubt

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1128

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Cover of Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

Disquiet Gods

Christopher Ruocchio · 2024 · The Sun Eater

An exiled hero is recalled for one last galaxy-spanning mission to stop an ancient cosmic threat and save humanity.

Why this is here

Themes labels: religion · faith · suffering · humanity · existentialism · identity · free will · transhumanism · morality · redemption · sacrifice · duty · power · death · apocalypse · civilization · theodicy · biblical allegory · philosophy · human nature

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1134

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Cover of Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

Eifelheim

Michael Flynn · 2006

A medieval German priest and modern scholars confront an alien crash, a vanished village, and the Black Death.

Why this is here

Themes labels: charity · empathy · xenophobia · religion and science · faith and reason · otherness · culture clash · historical truth · interpretation · cosmology · soul · suffering · plague · conversion · communication barriers · moral obligation · humanity · religious tolerance · historical memory · truth-seeking

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1146

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