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The Dark Forest

Liu Cixin

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Similar in premise + setting

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

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

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

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

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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

Premise labels: first contact · alien invasion · existential threat · humanity vs aliens · civilizational survival · cosmic threat · contact with superior beings · hidden strategy · dark forest · future history

Setting labels: China · Cultural Revolution · Earth · Solar System · deep space · interstellar · far future · future history · cosmic scale · hard SF universe · non-Western setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1090

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Fear the Future

Stephen Moss · 2014 · The Fear Saga

As an alien armada closes in, Earth races to survive a brutal, politically fraught war for humanity’s future.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · human survival · last stand · planetary defense · interstellar war · advanced enemy

Setting labels: Earth · alien world · space · future Earth · global conflict · interstellar setting · dystopian future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1106

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Fear the Sky

Stephen Moss · 2014 · The Fear Saga

An alien advance team arrives years early to quietly neutralize Earth’s defenses before a full-scale invasion.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · advance team · planet takeover · nuclear threat · first contact · covert defense · humanity survival · infiltration

Setting labels: present day · Earth · global · military bases · ocean locations · space · near-future · interstellar

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1150

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Childhood's End

Arthur C. Clarke · 1987

When benevolent aliens impose peace on Earth, humanity gains utopia—at a mysterious cost to its future.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · benevolent invasion · alien guardians · humanity at a crossroads · post-scarcity society · hidden alien agenda

Setting labels: Earth · mid-20th century future · global scale · spacefaring era · postwar context · futuristic Earth

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1226

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The Singularity Trap

Dennis E. Taylor · 2018

An impoverished asteroid miner becomes a living-metal host to alien tech, forcing a tense fight over humanity’s future.

Why this is here

Premise labels: asteroid mining · alien artifact · body transformation · AI invasion · human survival · first contact

Setting labels: near future · space mining · asteroid belt · future Earth · solar system · global warming · cold war

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1320

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The Saints of Salvation

Peter F. Hamilton · 2020 · Salvation Sequence

Humanity launches a millennia-spanning counterstrike against alien zealots who are stealing civilizations for the end of time.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · human survival · end-of-time cult · long game · secret mission · civilization-scale conflict · rescue mission · interstellar pursuit

Setting labels: far future · near future · Earth under siege · galaxy-spanning · posthuman future · neutron star civilization · spacefaring civilization · dome-protected cities · relativistic time

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1343

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Death's End

Liu Cixin · 2016 · Remembrance of Earth's Past

A female aerospace engineer wakes into humanity’s fragile peace with aliens and helps decide the fate of civilization.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact aftermath · civilizational survival · alien deterrence · cosmic conflict · future history · cosmic stakes · catastrophic escalation

Setting labels: Solar System · deep space · future Earth · future humanity · interstellar civilization · multiple universes · higher dimensions · post-hibernation future · cosmic scale · future history

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1379

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The Blue, Beautiful World

Karen Lord · 2023 · Cygnus Beta

In a climate-shifted future, hidden aliens and human power brokers prepare Earth for first contact.

Why this is here

Premise labels: first contact · hidden aliens · global diplomacy · alien infiltration · human-alien coexistence · galactic politics · VR society · pop star protagonist

Setting labels: future Earth · climate-changed Earth · near future · global setting · interplanetary society · galactic civilization · VR-mediated society · oceans and deep sea

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1390

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Timelike Infinity

Stephen Baxter · 1997 · Xeelee Sequence

Under alien rule, humans use a wormhole-linked time gate in a bid to alter their fate across centuries.

Why this is here

Premise labels: time travel · alien occupation · human resistance · wormhole technology · time gate · future humanity · cosmic-scale conflict

Setting labels: far future · deep space · Solar System · Jupiter orbit · Earth occupation · relativistic travel · cosmic scale · end of time

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1411

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The Ophiuchi Hotline

John Varley · 1977 · Eight Worlds

A cloned geneticist navigates post-Earth solar-system politics, alien tech, and a looming interstellar reckoning.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · post-Earth humanity · mysterious data stream · technological uplift · clone survival · reclaim Earth · deadly debt

Setting labels: far future · solar system · Moon colonies · Jovian space · Pluto · airless worlds · Earth occupied

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1426

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Salvation Lost

Peter F. Hamilton · 2019 · Salvation Sequence

Humanity faces a ruthless alien “salvation” campaign, fighting across two timelines to survive and strike back.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · human survival · reluctant salvation · extinction threat · long game · future war · contact gone wrong · interstellar conflict

Setting labels: near future Earth · twenty-third century · far future · deep future · spacefaring civilization · solar system · interstellar · galactic scale · future London · habitats · terraforming · portal network

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1431

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The Killing Star

Charles Pellegrino, George Zebrowski · 1995

An unknown alien civilization launches a devastating first strike across the solar system, leaving scattered human survivors to endure.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · first contact paranoia · solar system apocalypse · human extinction · survivors of catastrophe · preemptive strike · existential threat · civilization collapse · dark forest

Setting labels: near future · late 21st century · solar system · Earth · space habitats · space stations · submarine · subsurface ocean · deep space · post-catastrophe wasteland · ghost planet · hard SF future · colonized solar system

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1435

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