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Making History

Stephen Fry

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for Making History. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: history student, graduate student, PhD candidate, physicist, professor, physicist scientist, Holocaust survivor, elderly, young adult, flawed protagonist, irritating protagonist, unsympathetic lead, wunderkind, hubristic, immature, self-deprecating, brutal antagonist, well-rounded characters

Relationships labels used: romance, gay romance, heterosexual relationship, breakup, mentor-student, collaboration, academic partnership, friendship, familial guilt, parental trauma, power imbalance, partnership

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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The End of Mr. Y

Scarlett Thomas · 2006

A PhD student finds a cursed rare book and is pulled into a mind-travel mystery about reality, time, and thought.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: female academic · PhD student · curious heroine · flawed protagonist · intellectual heroine · obsessive reader · messy protagonist · sexually active protagonist · poor student · strong-willed · mentally complex

Relationships labels: mentor relationship · academic hierarchy · unhealthy romance · sexual relationship · love interest · rival pursuit · obsessive attachment · community of readers

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1614

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Quantum Night

Robert J. Sawyer · 2016

A psychologist who can spot psychopaths uncovers a missing six months of his own life and a theory that could alter humanity.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: experimental psychologist · quantum physicist · professor · expert witness · utilitarian protagonist · flawed hero · psychopath · mentor figure · ex-girlfriend · scientist protagonists · academic characters · politically opinionated characters

Relationships labels: romantic reunion · ex-girlfriend · mentor-mentee · spouses · parent-child · friendship · collegial relationships · family conflict

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1652

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Fire Watch

Connie Willis · 1985 · Oxford Time Travel

A 12-story Connie Willis collection mixing time travel, horror, humor, and haunting speculative setups.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: history student · time traveler · grad student · researcher · priestess · reporter · mother · daughter · female protagonist · unprepared protagonist · hapless protagonist · unreliable child narrator · mutant · orangutan · clergy · boarding school student · dim-witted character

Relationships labels: parent child · mother daughter · romance · ex girlfriend · rivalry · mentor student · clergy congregation · community conflict · family strain · power imbalance · marital tension · friendship · human animal bond · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1671

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The Accidental Time Machine

Joe Haldeman · 2007

A MIT researcher accidentally builds a one-way time machine and keeps jumping deeper into the future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: grad student · research assistant · dropout student · everyman protagonist · slacker hero · brilliant but hapless · flat protagonist · likable flawed protagonist · minimal character development · naive companion · AI character · religious figure

Relationships labels: girlfriend breakup · travel companion · mentor-student · romantic relationship · family tension · power imbalance · rescuer dynamic · friendship · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1673

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Rappaccini's Daughter

Nathaniel Hawthorne · 2004

A student in Padua falls for a mysterious woman raised in a deadly garden of poisonous plants.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young student · beautiful heroine · mad scientist · rival scholar · morally ambiguous characters · naive protagonist · monomaniacal father · toxic heroine · scientific obsessor

Relationships labels: love triangle · father-daughter relationship · mentor-protégé · rivalry · toxic relationship · forbidden romance · obsessive attraction · parental control · betrayal · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1694

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The Rose Field

Philip Pullman · 2025 · The Book of Dust

Lyra and Malcolm race through a cross-world mystery toward a desert redoubt, chasing Dust, Pan, and answers.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: adult protagonist · traumatized protagonist · searching protagonist · spy · academic · witches · scientists · scholars · spies · military leader · radical faction · new threat · underused characters · inconsistent characterization · morally ambiguous

Relationships labels: companion bond · human-daemon bond · separation · reunion · romance tension · teacher-student power imbalance · family ties · allied factions · rival factions · protective bond · unresolved relationship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1705

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Are You Happy Now

Hanna Jameson · 2023

At a New York wedding, four young adults watch a strange catatonic crisis spread worldwide while their lives, loves, and doubts unravel.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flawed characters · young adults · millennials · self-destructive · unlikeable characters · ambitious journalist · struggling musician · professor · ballet student · self-doubting · cynical · emotionally guarded

Relationships labels: romantic relationships · friendship · workplace relationships · family pressure · queer relationships · dating · friendship-to-romance · intimacy · relationship drama

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1712

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Rise: A Newsflesh Collection

Mira Grant · 2016 · Newsflesh

A collection of Newsflesh shorts and novellas expands the zombie apocalypse from its origins to its aftermath.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: bloggers · journalists · reporters · scientists · mad scientist · teachers · survivors · minor characters · side character focus · traumatized characters · broken characters · morally ambiguous adults · familial grief · heroism · survivalist

Relationships labels: romance · marriage · parent-child · family trauma · mentor-student · colleague bonds · community survival · rivalries · friendship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1719

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Assassin of Reality

Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko · 2023 · Vita Nostra (English)

A gifted student returns to an eerie magical institute where language shapes reality and failure could remake the world.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: stubborn protagonist · older protagonist · intellectual curiosity · transcendent being · ambitious student · alienated protagonist · dark mentor · fascinating protagonist · humanity vs concept

Relationships labels: student-teacher rivalry · mentor-protégé · romance · pilot love interest · classmate distrust · peer support · familial leverage · protective friends · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1722

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The Sleep Experiment

Jeremy Bates · 2019 · World's Scariest Legends

A psychology professor recreates a notorious sleep-deprivation experiment, and the lab slowly turns into a nightmare.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: psychology professor · mad scientist · narcissistic protagonist · student assistants · test subjects · young tourists · villain protagonist · oblivious victims · unlikeable characters

Relationships labels: student-teacher · mentor-mentee · professional hierarchy · romantic obsession · sexual obsession · power imbalance · research team · friendship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1744

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We Are the Ants

Shaun David Hutchinson · 2016 · We Are the Ants

A bullied, grieving queer teen must decide whether to save the world when aliens give him 144 days and a red button.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: troubled teen · nihilistic protagonist · witty narrator · depressed protagonist · scientific thinker · flawed characters · bullying victim · abusive sibling · grieving teen · popular bully · mysterious new boy · supportive friend · teacher figure · dementia-afflicted grandparent · suicidal bereavement

Relationships labels: family dysfunction · friendship · romance · bully-victim dynamic · queer relationship · best-friend betrayal · sibling conflict · parent-child tension · grief bond · supportive friendship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1745

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The Mercy of Gods

James S.A. Corey · 2024 · The Captive's War

After an alien conquest, a human research team is forced into a deadly trial to prove their species is useful.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · researchers · academic ensemble · assistant protagonist · mixed personalities · flawed characters · traumatized characters · reluctant survivor · collaborator · de facto leader

Relationships labels: found family · team dynamics · romance · crushes · interpersonal drama · power imbalance · captor-captive · rivalry · friendship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1748

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