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The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

Kij Johnson

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Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: missing student, rescue quest, female-centered quest, portal reversal, dream world, college in jeopardy, older heroine

Setting labels used: Dreamlands, waking world, dream realm, secondary world, portal world, academic setting, women's college, mythic landscape, shifting geography, cosmic reality

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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Realm of the Blue Mist

Amy Kim · 2021 · The Rema Chronicles

A grieving girl follows a mysterious boy through a portal into a magical other world, uncovering secrets about her father.

Why this is here

Premise labels: missing parent · portal adventure · other world · mystery quest · homeward journey · destined heroine · light romance · interplanetary travel

Setting labels: Earth to other world · another planet · magical world · portal world · forest setting · mythic world · interplanetary setting · fantastical reality · parallel worlds

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1638

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The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

H.P. Lovecraft · 1955 · Dream Cycle

A dreamer crosses the Dreamlands in search of a forbidden city, weaving fantasy, horror, and myth into one quest.

Why this is here

Premise labels: dream quest · search for a city · forbidden place · alternate world · dreamlands journey · quest narrative

Setting labels: dreamlands · alternate dimension · dream world · fantasy realm · oneiric setting · mythic landscape · cosmic reality · moon · underworld · mountains · forests · cities · ocean · caverns

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1776

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The Fortress of the Pearl

Michael Moorcock · 1990 · The Elric Saga

A poisoned wanderer must enter a dream realm to recover a legendary pearl and outwit the rulers who control his fate.

Why this is here

Premise labels: quest · dream world · poisoned protagonist · blackmail · antidote quest · rescue mission · treasure hunt · surreal journey

Setting labels: desert city · decadent city · dream realm · dreamlands · multiverse · imaginary worlds · alternate planes · fantasy empire · distant world · onieric setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1978

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The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

Stephen R. Donaldson · 1993 · The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever

A bitter leper is pulled into a magical world where he’s expected to save it, while refusing to believe it’s real.

Why this is here

Premise labels: unwilling hero · portal world · antihero protagonist · chosen one · world saving · dream ambiguity · ethical dilemma · redemption arc · leprosy

Setting labels: parallel world · secondary world · magical realm · other world · alternate reality · mythic landscape · epic fantasy world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1980

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The Escapement

Lavie Tidhar · 2021

A grieving father crosses a shifting parallel western dreamscape to find a healing flower for his dying son.

Why this is here

Premise labels: grief quest · rescue mission · parallel world · quest narrative · healing search · father and child · dreamscape journey · escape from grief · alternate reality · mythic quest

Setting labels: alternate reality · parallel world · dreamscape · western landscape · circus world · hospital · mythic world · shifting landscape · timeless world · borderland reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2037

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A Gathering of Gargoyles

Meredith Ann Pierce · 1998 · Darkangel Trilogy

A young heroine sets out on a riddle-led quest to save her world, her husband, and the lost guardians.

Why this is here

Premise labels: quest · riddle · curse reversal · rescue mission · world-saving mission · lost guardians

Setting labels: fantasy world · otherworldly setting · moon setting · futuristic moon · desert sea · multiple kingdoms · island journey · high fantasy · mythic setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2052

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The Fall

Garth Nix · 2000 · The Seventh Tower

A boy from a sunless tower world falls into an icy unknown and must survive to save his family.

Why this is here

Premise labels: missing parent · quest for artifact · family rescue · status loss · forced exile · coming-of-age quest · world-beyond-home · fish out of water

Setting labels: dark world · sunless world · castle setting · tower society · underworld · icy wilderness · arctic setting · parallel world · fantasy realm · hidden realm · light-shadow cosmology · nomadic ice culture

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2053

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White Gold Wielder

Stephen R. Donaldson · 1983 · The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

A guilt-ridden anti-hero returns to a ravaged fantasy world for one last, costly showdown with evil.

Why this is here

Premise labels: quest · final confrontation · return journey · redemption · failed mission · world-saving quest

Setting labels: secondary world · alternate reality · fantasy land · icy landscape · mountains · ruined land · dreamlike world · quest terrain

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2068

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The Naming Song

Jedediah Berry · 2024

In a post-word world, an unnamed courier delivers new names while fleeing danger and searching for her sister.

Why this is here

Premise labels: lost language · naming power · world restoration · identity quest · revolutionary change · outsider protagonist · search for sister · delivery mission · unnamed protagonist · word magic

Setting labels: post-apocalyptic world · future world · train setting · mobile world · borderlands · ghosts · monsters · dream realm · unnamed spaces · named territory · dystopian society · alternate reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2083

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Firelight

Kazu Kibuishi · 2016 · Amulet

Emily and her companions seek lost memories on Algos Island, uncovering secrets that could change everything.

Why this is here

Premise labels: memory retrieval · cliffhanger sequel · quest · coming-of-age powers · family rescue · resistance struggle · secret history · magical artifact

Setting labels: fantasy world · underwater setting · island setting · imaginary places · steampunk world · portal fantasy · ancient forests · fantastic cities · ocean setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2089

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D

Michel Faber · 2020

A girl who alone notices the letter D vanishing must cross into a strange winter world to restore language.

Why this is here

Premise labels: missing alphabet · lost letter · language erosion · quest fantasy · portal fantasy · alternate world · orphan heroine · save the world

Setting labels: modern England · wintery land · alternate world · portal fantasy · small coastal town · invented secondary world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2128

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Ogre, Ogre

Piers Anthony · 1997 · Xanth

A half-ogre and a half-nymph travel through a pun-filled fantasy world, seeking answers while dodging dangers and desire.

Why this is here

Premise labels: quest narrative · identity search · escort quest · magical problem-solving · coming-of-age · misfit protagonist · monster reframe · found family

Setting labels: fantasy world · magical realm · imaginary place · alternate reality · Florida-like setting · map-based setting · series worldbuilding

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2135

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