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Soft Science

Franny Choi

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Similar in themes

These books are ranked using the themes labels extracted for Soft Science.

Themes labels used: identity, consciousness, gender, femininity, queerness, technology, agency, loneliness, alienation, othering, language, humanity, dehumanization, violence, survival, racism, xenophobia, immigration, objectification, desire, intimacy, tenderness, performative identity, self-definition, body politics, sexuality, consciousness tests

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

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The Persistence of Vision

John Varley · 1978

A 1970s SF collection of linked futures, from memory transfer and time travel to an unforgettable deaf-blind commune.

Why this is here

Themes labels: communication · language · perception · embodiment · identity · otherness · disability · community · sexual liberation · gender fluidity · transgression · alienation · isolation · survival · utopia · social norms · morality · human potential · technology and humanity · memory · consciousness · deception · trust · adaptation · counterculture · personal freedom

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0878

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Apsara Engine

Bishakh Kumar Som · 2020

A graphic short-story collection where queer South Asian lives, myth, and speculative disruptions blur everyday reality into strange futures.

Why this is here

Themes labels: gender · body · identity · transness · queer life · intersectionality · ethnicity · religion · social class · postcoloniality · conformity · femininity · desire · heartbreak · memory · time · future · place · belonging · community · power · microaggressions · representation · existential unease

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0904

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The Membranes

Chi Ta-wei · 2021

In an undersea future, a celebrated body-care technician’s reunion with her estranged mother unravels her identity and reality.

Why this is here

Themes labels: gender identity · sexuality · queerness · trans identity · memory · selfhood · reality · bodily autonomy · embodiment · climate change · ecology · capitalism · technology · surveillance · privacy · medical ethics · consent · alienation · interiority · free will · human vs machine · parenthood · transhumanism · posthumanism · social control · beauty standards · youth obsession · loneliness

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0915

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Overgrowth

Mira Grant · 2025

An alien who grew up on Earth warns of an invasion no one believes—until the signal arrives and her warning turns real.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · otherness · belonging · colonization · humanity · choice · acceptance · truth · dehumanization · immigration · trans identity · gender identity · neurodiversity · citizenship · rights · propaganda · fear mongering · xenophobia · love · family · survival · morality · ethics · climate change · environmental collapse · class · patriarchy · mental health

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0917

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36

Nieves Delgado · 2017

A newly awakened AI questions identity, gender, and belonging while trying to live among humans in a near future.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · selfhood · consciousness · humanity · difference · conformity · social integration · labels · gender · sex and gender · trans identity · transfobia · feminism · discrimination · otherness · prejudice · ethics · personhood · anthropocentrism · free will · language and naming · body autonomy · purpose · rebellion · technology and society · philosophical inquiry

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0946

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Half Life

Shelley Jackson · 2006

A conjoined twin in a post-nuclear alternate America seeks separation, only to confront a destabilizing mystery about her past.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · selfhood · duality · otherness · individuation · body autonomy · minority rights · gender politics · queer politics · sexual politics · assimilation · stigma · embodiment · consciousness · madness · memory · trauma · reality vs perception · ethics · euthanasia · abortion · environmental degradation · nuclear guilt · monstrosity · community · self-interest

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0951

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Volatile Memory

Seth Haddon · 2025 · The Volatile Memory Duology

A scavenger finds a sentient animal mask, and the two are pulled into a revenge-fueled, queer sci-fi chase.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · personhood · gender identity · bodily autonomy · consent · transphobia · queerness · feminine rage · revenge · humanity · consciousness · self-acceptance · freedom · control · capitalism · misogyny · body-mind divide · survival · self-determination · embodiment · memory · privacy · dehumanization

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0953

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The Face of Another

Kōbō Abe · 2003

A disfigured scientist builds a lifelike mask and discovers it may free, split, or destroy his sense of self.

Why this is here

Themes labels: Identity · Selfhood · Alienation · Isolation · Persona · Masking · Appearance · Social roles · Human nature · Social acceptance · Perception · Self-deception · Authenticity · Embodiment · Beauty standards · Sexuality · Existentialism · Psychological fracture · Otherness · Modern alienation · Discrimination · Social contract · Technology and fear

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0969

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Whoever You Are, Honey

Olivia Gatwood · 2024

In gentrified Santa Cruz, two guarded women form a friendship that exposes buried secrets, control, and possible artificiality.

Why this is here

Themes labels: womanhood · femininity · identity · memory · trauma · loneliness · patriarchy · the male gaze · beauty standards · perfection · authenticity · selfhood · autonomy · control · technology · AI · gentrification · desirability · forgiveness · shame · queer identity · female solidarity · power dynamics · ownership · real vs fake · humanity · social isolation

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0979

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Walking Practice

Dolki Min · 2023

A stranded shapeshifting alien uses dating apps to survive, and their hunt becomes a queer horror of belonging and identity.

Why this is here

Themes labels: gender roles · gender performance · queer alienation · disability and access · loneliness · belonging · humanity · otherness · social conformity · beauty standards · identity and authenticity · survival · alienation · sexuality · love and acceptance · marginalization · social prejudice · performance of self · body politics · human dehumanization

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1014

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Every Day: The Graphic Novel

David Levithan · 2023 · Every Day

A teen wakes each day in a different body, until one unexpected connection threatens their careful routine.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · gender identity · body image · perspective · love and attachment · loneliness · ethics · agency · mental health · diversity · prejudice · acceptance · selfhood · continuity · relationship power dynamics

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1020

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The Prey of Gods

Nicky Drayden · 2017

In near-future South Africa, a drug-fueled power shift sparks gods, robots, and misfits into a chaotic fight for survival.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · self-discovery · belonging · love · acceptance · family · power · worship · fear · technology and humanity · tradition vs modernity · race · class · gender · sexuality · chronic illness · pain · memory · agency · dehumanization · community

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1039

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