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Middlegame

Seanan McGuire

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Similar in premise + setting

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

Premise labels used: twins, alchemy, godhood, human experiment, world control, power of words, power of math, secret siblings, telepathic bond, impossible city

Setting labels used: New York, United States, impossible city, urban fantasy world, alternate reality, time-shifted timeline, modern world, hidden magical system

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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The Box and the Dragonfly

Ted Sanders · 2015 · The Keepers

A curious boy follows a sign with his name to a hidden warehouse and is drawn into a dangerous conflict over magical objects.

Why this is here

Premise labels: chosen one · hidden world · magical artifact · secret society · ancient conflict · power bond · kid hero · dual powers · quest

Setting labels: contemporary Chicago · hidden magical world · secret warehouse · underground setting · school-age world · parallel reality · urban fantasy · time travel

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2079

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Hovergirls

Geneva Bowers · 2024

Two cousins in an alternate LA gain water powers and try to balance fame dreams, monster fights, and family baggage.

Why this is here

Premise labels: magical powers · monster attacks · superhero fame · cousin duo · big city move · secret identity · coming of age · heroic double life

Setting labels: alternate earth · alternate Los Angeles · city setting · rainy city · modern day · present day · fantasy world · urban fantasy

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2115

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Promethea, Vol. 1

Alan Moore · 2000 · Promethea

A college student researching a mythic heroine becomes the next avatar of imagination in a futuristic New York.

Why this is here

Premise labels: college student · living story · imagination power · avatar inheritance · mythic heroine · secret identity · occult education · alternate reality

Setting labels: weirdly futuristic New York · alternate timeline · 1999 · near-future city · Immateria · world of imagination · material vs immaterial worlds · mythic reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2132

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The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite

Gerard Way · 2008 · The Umbrella Academy (collected editions)

Seven adopted superpowered siblings reunite after years apart when their father's death and an apocalypse threat collide.

Why this is here

Premise labels: dysfunctional family · superpowered siblings · save the world · mysterious births · adopted children · reunited team · apocalypse threat · eccentric guardian

Setting labels: alternate reality · pseudo-Victorian · steampunk · urban fantasy · retro-futurist · worldwide setting · global scale · world-ending crisis · time travel

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2140

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So You Want to Be a Wizard

Diane Duane · 1983 · Young Wizards

Bullied library kid Nita finds a wizard manual and joins another novice in a secret, science-inflected quest to save reality.

Why this is here

Premise labels: young wizard · wizard training · mysterious book · school bullying · world-saving quest · alternate world · scientific magic

Setting labels: New York City · Long Island · library · alternate New York · parallel world · urban contemporary · cosmic fantasy · secret wizard world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2140

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The World We Make

N.K. Jemisin · 2022 · Great Cities

New York’s living avatars must unite other cities to stop a multiversal threat and a very human political takeover.

Why this is here

Premise labels: living city · city avatars · cosmic threat · political resistance · multiverse conflict · anti-bigotry · urban struggle

Setting labels: New York City · modern day · contemporary urban setting · global cities · multiverse · alternate reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2169

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The Change

Teyla Branton · 2016 · Unbounded

After a deadly accident, Erin discovers a hidden immortal gene and is dragged into a war for her life and loyalty.

Why this is here

Premise labels: immortal gene · hidden supernaturals · faction war · chosen by rivals · forced allegiance · secret society · family in danger · superhuman abilities

Setting labels: urban setting · contemporary setting · secret world · hidden society · near-present day · supernatural reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2178

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The Named

Marianne Curley · 2005 · Guardians of Time

A teen Guardian must train a new apprentice while battling a secret force that tries to rewrite history.

Why this is here

Premise labels: time travel · history protection · chosen one · secret organization · guardians · training mentor · apprenticeship · prophecy · good vs evil · altered history

Setting labels: modern day · historical travel · past and present · alternate history · hidden world · interdimensional · urban fantasy setting · worlds collide

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2185

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The Lost Colony

Eoin Colfer · 2006 · Artemis Fowl

A teenage genius races to stop a hidden demon colony from returning as a rival prodigy and time distortions complicate everything.

Why this is here

Premise labels: genius versus genius · missing person rescue · time-spell collapse · hidden world exposure · race against catastrophe · covert operation · mythic return · secret species

Setting labels: modern world · hidden faerie world · underground civilization · alternate dimension · limbo · time travel · Europe · Sicily · Taiwan · outer space · magic and technology

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2185

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Shadows

Robin McKinley · 2013

A teen girl in a magic-banned alternate world investigates her eerie stepfather and the cracks in reality around them.

Why this is here

Premise labels: science vs magic · illegal magic · alternate world · creepy shadows · hereditary magic · family conflict · hidden powers · reality rifts

Setting labels: alternate Earth · modern-ish setting · near-future feel · contemporary fantasy · Newworld · Oldworld · magic-suppressed society · parallel world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2201

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The Law of Nines

Terry Goodkind · 2009 · Sword of Truth

A young artist inherits land and a dangerous legacy as a mysterious woman pulls him into a cross-world conflict.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alternate worlds · hidden inheritance · coming of age · prophecy · cross-world threat · reluctant hero · saving a world · mysterious woman · family legacy

Setting labels: modern day · midwestern United States · Nebraska · Maine · other world · magicless world · magical world · contemporary fantasy · two-world system

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2227

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The Last Adventure of Constance Verity

A. Lee Martinez · 2016 · Constance Verity

A world-saving adventurer tries to quit destiny by killing her fairy godmother and claiming an ordinary life.

Why this is here

Premise labels: chosen one · reluctant hero · destiny vs free will · normal life · identity crisis · fairy godmother curse · one last mission · save the world · break the spell · kill the fairy godmother

Setting labels: contemporary fantasy · urban setting · alternate realities · outer space · time travel · multiverse · Earth · fantastical reality · secret conspiracies

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2235

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