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A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers

Victor LaValle, Charlie Jane Anders, A. Merc Rustad, Lizz Huerta, Maria Dahvana Headley, Malka Ann Older, Sam J. Miller, Tananarive Due, Ashok K. Banker, Omar El Akkad, Daniel José Older, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Justina Ireland, Violet Allen, Gabby Rivera, Tobias S. Buckell, Hugh Howey, Jamie Ford, G. Willow Wilson, N.K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Kai Cheng Thom, Daniel H. Wilson, Catherynne M. Valente, Seanan McGuire, Alice Sola Kim

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: marginalized protagonists, resistant characters, queer protagonists, trans characters, women protagonists, people of color protagonists, indigenous protagonists, idealistic characters

Relationships labels used: community solidarity, familial tension, queer couple, mother-daughter, friendship, civic conflict, oppressor-oppressed, cooperation across divides

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

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Viendra le temps du feu

Wendy Delorme · 2021

In a near-future totalitarian state, multiple queer and feminist voices struggle to survive, resist, and imagine freedom.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: women protagonists · lesbian characters · queer characters · trans characters · marginalized characters · resisters · survivors · collective protagonist · maternal characters · revolutionary characters · attachable characters · deep character voices

Relationships labels: sorority · chosen family · women's community · lesbian love · queer solidarity · collective bond · resistance alliance · community care · friendship · mother-child bond

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1368

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The Rock Eaters: Stories

Brenda Peynado · 2021

A debut collection of strange, allegorical stories where speculative twists expose immigration, class, grief, and otherness.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young women · teen protagonists · collective communities · outsiders · immigrant characters · Latina protagonists · marginalized women · strong-willed characters

Relationships labels: family · parent-child · siblings · friendship · romance · same-sex relationship · community tension · cross-cultural relations · class rivalry · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1454

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Straight

Chuck Tingle · 2021

A queer friend group hides out for a deadly annual outbreak that turns straight people into rage-fueled zombies.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: queer ensemble · bisexual protagonist · found family · distinct voices · likable characters · mixed character intelligence · performative allies · vulnerable marginalized protagonists

Relationships labels: friend group · chosen family · queer community · allyship · biphobia · transphobia · performative allyship · community solidarity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1499

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The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020

Diana Gabaldon · 2020 · The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy

An annual, guest-edited anthology of 20 science fiction and fantasy stories spotlighting varied voices and styles.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: antiheroes · female protagonists · queer characters · diverse casts · survivalist protagonist · incarcerated protagonist · feminist protagonists

Relationships labels: family conflict · romance · queer relationships · parent-child conflict · power imbalance · oppression · community conflict · rivalry

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1507

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The Eye of the Heron

Ursula K. Le Guin · 2003

Two exiled communities on an alien prison colony clash over power, labor, and whether nonviolence can hold.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young protagonist · female protagonist · female mentorship · charismatic leader · pragmatic elder · ideological archetypes · morally mixed characters · authoritarian ruler · unlikeable characters · coming-of-age arc

Relationships labels: community solidarity · mentor-student · parent-child · rival communities · class domination · state coercion · gendered power · us-vs-them

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1612

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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

Characterization labels: elder protagonist · queer protagonist · activist characters · witch characters · healer characters · community leaders · wise elders · complex characters · vital heroine · strong women · collective protagonists

Relationships labels: community bonds · collective care · consensual nonmonogamy · polyamory · chosen family · intergenerational ties · romantic plurality · friendship networks · power struggle · resistance solidarity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1686

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Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements

Adrienne Maree Brown · 2015

A multi-author anthology of visionary speculative stories linking social justice movements to imagined futures of liberation.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: activists · organizers · first-time writers · marginalized protagonists · resistance figures · community caretakers · disabled characters · black heroes · poets writing prose · socially engaged characters

Relationships labels: collective liberation · community bonds · interdependence · family ties · ancestor connection · mother daughter relationship · resistance solidarity · mentor inspiration

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1698

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Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones

Torrey Peters · 2016

A trans woman’s personal vendetta collides with a hormone-crisis future where gender becomes a choice, a weapon, and a reckoning.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: trans woman protagonist · charismatic antagonist · toxic character · flawed characters · resentful protagonist · activist character · upper-class protagonist · nameless protagonist · trauma shaped · reclusive community

Relationships labels: toxic relationship · t4t · queer relationship · friendship conflict · romantic rejection · community solidarity · betrayal · power struggle

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1714

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The Free People's Village

Sim Kern · 2023

In an alternate climate-crusader America, a white teacher-musician joins a Black-led fight against gentrification and state violence.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: naive protagonist · white protagonist · teacher protagonist · punk musician · activist organizer · black trans man · nonbinary character · flawed characters · found family · radicalized protagonist · white guilt

Relationships labels: found family · queer romance · interracial friendship · mentor-mentee · activist coalition · bandmates · community solidarity · romantic subplot

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1717

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The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018

N.K. Jemisin · 2018 · Sun Lords of the Principality

A curated anthology of 20 diverse 2017 SFF stories, chosen to spotlight revolution, experimentation, and contemporary concerns.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: anthology protagonists · women-centered · queer characters · trans characters · nonbinary characters · people of color · amnesiac characters · superhero figures · vampire figures · ghost figures · cyborgs · androids · starship characters

Relationships labels: family trauma · mother-daughter · romance · same-sex romance · friendship · caretaking · oppression · power imbalance · community · betrayal · resistance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1748

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Luminous

Greg Egan · 1999

A hard-SF collection of ten concept-heavy stories exploring consciousness, genetics, mathematics, and the ethics of future technology.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientist protagonists · detectives · agents · thieves · biologists · engineers · thin characterization · unmemorable protagonists · morally engaged protagonists · self-reflective protagonists

Relationships labels: family · parenthood · mother-child · romance · sexual politics · gender conflict · tribalism · rivalry · power struggle · corporate conflict · community politics

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1766

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Baby Blue

Bim Eriksson · 2021

In near-future Sweden, a young woman’s grief draws her into a queer resistance against emotion-policing fascism.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: reluctant protagonist · outsider protagonist · young woman · queer women · mysterious rebel · animal-masked figures · bureaucratic enforcers · peacekeepers · robotic authority figures · aimless young adult

Relationships labels: female friendship · queer romance · sapphic relationship · found family · resistance solidarity · mentor-like bond · community care · oppressor-oppressed

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1769

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