Exploring from

Anomaly

Peter Cawdron

Find similar books by

Combine common axes

Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for Anomaly. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: first contact, alien artifact, alien intelligence, communication through science, humanity under scrutiny, global response, communication challenge, advanced civilization

Setting labels used: New York City, United Nations, UN building, global setting, international crisis, world politics, real-world Earth, science team setting

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

Exclude same author Exclude same listed series

Max ratings No limit

Tomorrow's Kin

Nancy Kress · 2017 · Yesterday's Kin Trilogy

A midlife geneticist is pulled into alien diplomacy when a hidden biological crisis threatens Earth and her family.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien visitors · human-alien kinship · scientific crisis · impending disaster · vaccine race · global response · family under pressure · invasive species · ecological fallout

Setting labels: near future · New York Harbor · New York City · United Nations · Earth · alien ship · floating embassy · spacefaring civilization · planetary crisis · post-contact Earth

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1758

Continue from here

Trees, Vol. 2: Two Forests

Warren Ellis · 2016 · Trees (Collected Editions)

Two years after alien Trees fell worldwide, a biologist and a new NYC mayor chase ominous clues in a tense near-future mystery.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien first contact · silent alien presence · investigation · political intrigue · post-impact society · ecological threat

Setting labels: near future · global setting · Orkney Islands · Manhattan · New York City · British Isles · flooded city · post-contact Earth

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1789

Continue from here

Waking Gods

Sylvain Neuvel · 2017 · Themis Files

Years after an alien robot was assembled, larger machines appear worldwide and humanity scrambles to survive what comes next.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien invasion · giant robots · global crisis · humanity at risk · mysterious technology · apocalyptic threat · defense against aliens

Setting labels: near future · global · London · earthwide · political institutions · military response · urban destruction · alien reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1943

Continue from here

The Fresco

Sheri S. Tepper · 2002

An abused woman becomes Earth’s go-between when aliens arrive offering help, judgment, and a very high-stakes bargain.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien intermediary · Earth reform · human-alien encounters · interstellar federation · social engineering

Setting labels: present-day Earth · United States · Washington, D.C. · contemporary Earth · interstellar civilization · galactic federation

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1952

Continue from here

Exordia

Seth Dickinson · 2024

A Kurdish refugee’s encounter with an alien pulls her into a world-ending, morally fraught struggle over fate and survival.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien invasion · world-saving mission · mysterious broadcast · apocalyptic stakes · moral dilemma · doomsday countdown · collateral damage · human-alien conflict · race against time

Setting labels: New York City · Central Park · Kurdistan · United States · Earth · 2010s · Obama era · contemporary setting · global conflict · war zone

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1971

Continue from here

Emergence

Kim Harrison · 2024 · Eclipsed Evolution

As humans and aliens struggle to coexist after first contact, a scientist uncovers a dangerous magic secret.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · human-alien contact · magic awakening · political conflict · conspiracy manipulation · interspecies tension · hidden abilities · cultural misunderstanding · diplomatic crisis · earth under threat

Setting labels: Earth · alien world · shared worlds · portal travel · contemporary setting · urban setting · political society · corporate structure

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2005

Continue from here

Wherever Seeds May Fall

Peter Cawdron · 2021 · Seeds

A mysterious object skips through the solar system toward Earth, forcing humanity to confront first contact, fear, and misinformation.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien arrival · extraterrestrial probe · solar system approach · global response · existential threat · Fermi Paradox · human reaction

Setting labels: near future · present day · solar system · Earth · United States-centered · global · space mission · current-day realism

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2074

Continue from here

Trees, Vol. 1: In Shadow

Warren Ellis · 2015 · Trees (Collected Editions)

A global ensemble of lives shifts in the silent shadow of giant alien structures that changed Earth without explaining why.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien arrival · silent first contact · post-invasion world · humanity under pressure · mystery object · global aftermath

Setting labels: near future · global setting · worldwide · China · Italy · Somalia · Arctic · Norway · Svalbard · North America · urban settings · border zones · special cultural zone · post-contact world · dystopian world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2077

Continue from here

Apostles of Mercy

Lindsay Ellis · 2024 · Noumena

In a militarizing Earth on the brink, a human translator and her alien bond face new species, danger, and hard choices.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien politics · human-alien contact · codependent bond · militarized Earth · survival conflict · escape dilemma · inter-species communication

Setting labels: alternate history · early 2000s · mid-2000s · Earth-bound · Japan · United States · global travel · near-future Earth · contained on Earth · science fictional reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2086

Continue from here

The Truth and Other Stories

Stanisław Lem · 2021

Twelve chronologically arranged Lem stories probe alien contact, AI, and human limits with irony, dread, and invention.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · alien intelligence · artificial intelligence · sentient machines · scientific speculation · uncanny encounter · human otherness

Setting labels: space · alien worlds · Earth · mid-century future · Cold War-era context · labyrinthine spaces · astronautic / spacecraft settings

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2154

Continue from here

Ruins of the Earth

Christopher Hopper, J.N. Chaney · 2020 · Ruins of the Earth

A retired Marine is pulled into an Antarctic alien discovery that turns into an all-out invasion of Earth.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · ancient portal · first contact · special ops team · retired veteran · last mission · end-of-the-world · defend humanity · ragtag team · military action

Setting labels: Antarctica · New York City · Manhattan · Brooklyn · near future · Earth · global crisis · research facility · subglacial site

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2164

Continue from here

The Dark Forest

Liu Cixin · 2015 · Remembrance of Earth's Past

Facing a 400-year alien invasion, humanity hides its plans in human minds alone and bets civilization on secret strategists.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · human survival · secret strategy · hidden thoughts · cosmic threat · first-contact fallout

Setting labels: Earth · deep space · future Earth · far future · crisis era · cosmic scale · global setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2176

Continue from here