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Parable of the Sower

Octavia E. Butler

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Similar in premise + setting

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

Premise labels used: near-future collapse, survival journey, walled community, resource scarcity, founding a religion, community rebuilding, refugee travel, social breakdown

Setting labels used: near future, California, Los Angeles outskirts, walled enclave, post-apocalyptic America, drought-stricken world, lawless society, failed state

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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California

Edan Lepucki · 2014

In a slow-collapsing near-future California, a married couple’s fragile wilderness life unravels after a pregnancy forces them toward a guarded community.

Why this is here

Premise labels: near-future collapse · survival in the wilderness · pregnancy crisis · marriage under pressure · search for safety · trust and paranoia · community versus isolation · family survival

Setting labels: near future · California · Los Angeles · wilderness · forest · remote settlement · gated communities · post-collapse America · post-apocalyptic world · near-future dystopia

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1273

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Parable of the Talents

Octavia E. Butler · 1998 · Earthseed

A near-future California community and its founder are tested by collapse, extremism, and a shattered family.

Why this is here

Premise labels: near-future collapse · new religion · community under siege · political theocracy · survival struggle · mother-daughter separation · found family · fight back

Setting labels: near future · 2030s · California · western United States · post-apocalyptic · dystopian America · rural commune · societal collapse · apocalypse aftermath · authoritarian regime

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1389

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Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Damian Duffy, Octavia E. Butler · 2020 · Earthseed (Graphic Novel adaptations)

In a collapsing near-future America, a teenage girl journals her way toward survival, faith, and a new community.

Why this is here

Premise labels: survival story · dystopian collapse · found religion · road journey · community building · coming of age · apocalyptic future

Setting labels: near future · 2024 · 2025 · 2027 · California · Los Angeles · Southern California · walled community · gated community · post-collapse America · near-future USA · climate-affected future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1455

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The Lightest Object in the Universe

Kimi Eisele · 2019

After a grid failure and flu collapse society, two lovers on opposite coasts struggle toward reunion and renewal.

Why this is here

Premise labels: grid failure · societal collapse · cross-country search · lost lovers · rebuilding community · survival · hope after collapse · post-collapse adaptation · finding home · communication breakdown

Setting labels: post-apocalyptic America · near future · United States · East Coast · West Coast · California · New York · San Francisco · cross-country · railroad line · off-grid · pandemic aftermath · collapsed infrastructure · radio age

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1469

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The Fifth Sacred Thing

Starhawk · 1993 · Maya Greenwood

In a climate-ravaged future California, a spiritual community must defend its free society against a brutal authoritarian south.

Why this is here

Premise labels: utopia vs dystopia · resource conflict · climate collapse · nonviolent resistance · community survival · authoritarian invasion · ecological future · spiritual society · societal rebuilding

Setting labels: near future · mid-21st century · post-apocalyptic · California · San Francisco Bay Area · ecological collapse · fascist theocracy · alternative future · resource-scarce world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1483

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Goliath

Tochi Onyebuchi · 2022

In a near-future US emptied by off-world flight, those left behind struggle to survive as the past comes back to claim Earth.

Why this is here

Premise labels: left behind · space colonies · collapsing civilization · survival under scarcity · off-world elites · gentrified Earth · futures of inequality · systemic oppression · community rebuilding · near-future decline

Setting labels: near future · 2050s · United States · New Haven, Connecticut · Earth · space colonies · post-apocalyptic · post-climate apocalypse · radioactive Earth · irradiated land · crumbling cities · urban ruins · domed habitats · off-world colonies · American future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1518

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The Walking Dead, Vol. 13: Too Far Gone

Robert Kirkman · 2010 · The Walking Dead

A hard-worn survivor group tries to settle in a guarded community, but safety sparks mistrust, abuse, and power struggles.

Why this is here

Premise labels: survival in collapse · walled community · fragile safe haven · civilization after collapse · outside threat · inside threat · leader under pressure · moral compromise · post-disaster community · normalcy tested

Setting labels: post-apocalyptic world · walled community · safe zone · zombie outbreak · ruined society · localized enclave · contested sanctuary · near-normal settlement · post-collapse America

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1603

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Dry

Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman · 2018

When California’s water supply suddenly fails, a teen and her family must survive a desperate scramble for water.

Why this is here

Premise labels: water shortage · drought crisis · tap-out · survival stakes · family survival · civil breakdown · resource scarcity · desperate search · life-or-death choices · crisis response

Setting labels: Southern California · California · suburban neighborhood · near future · present-day adjacent · dystopian future · apocalypse · resource-scarce world · real-world setting · urban breakdown

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1609

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The Folk of the Fringe

Orson Scott Card · 2001

Linked post-apocalyptic stories follow survivors in a Mormon-led Utah rebuilding civilization after war and collapse.

Why this is here

Premise labels: post-apocalyptic survival · civilization rebuilding · faith community · utopian enclave · fringe communities · survivalist society

Setting labels: post-apocalyptic America · post-nuclear future · post-biological collapse · desert reclamation · Rocky Mountains · Utah · Salt Lake City · Great Salt Lake · flooded city · alternate future · theocratic state

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1612

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Nattavaara

Thomas Engström, Margit Richert · 2020 · Nordmark

In a near-future northern Sweden torn by collapse, two survivors fight for safety, belonging, and a way forward.

Why this is here

Premise labels: near future collapse · resource scarcity · survival journey · breakaway state · community expulsion · political intrigue

Setting labels: near future · post-apocalyptic future · Northern Sweden · Norrbotten · Lapland · Kiruna · rural wilderness · dystopian state · self-governing republic · collapsed society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1656

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The People of Sparks

Jeanne DuPrau · 2004 · Book of Ember

After leaving Ember, Lina and Doon help their people survive above ground while a fragile new settlement edges toward conflict.

Why this is here

Premise labels: post-apocalyptic survival · refugee arrival · resource scarcity · community conflict · civil unrest · mystery of vandalism · peacebuilding

Setting labels: post-apocalyptic world · underground city · surface world · small village · ruined cities · resource-poor settlement · future earth

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1658

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The Shutouts

Gabrielle Korn · 2024

In a climate-ravaged future, separated women and families race across the U.S., uncovering the costs of survival and control.

Why this is here

Premise labels: climate apocalypse · survival journey · post-collapse society · community margins · family reunion · resistance · wilderness travel · government conspiracy

Setting labels: near future · United States · wilderness · North America · climate-ravaged world · post-apocalyptic world · isolated settlement · survivalist community · commune · Inside Project

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1669

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