Exploring from

The Test

Sylvain Neuvel

Find similar books by

Combine common axes

Similar in premise + setting

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

Premise labels used: citizenship test, immigration test, moral dilemma, life or death choice, state screening, future Britain

Setting labels used: near future, Britain, United Kingdom, government center, immigration office, dystopian future, technological future

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

Exclude same author

Max ratings No limit

The Choice

Claire Wade · 2019

In a near-future Britain, one mother must choose between safety and rebellion under a regime that controls food and fitness.

Why this is here

Premise labels: totalitarian control · food regulation · state surveillance · health regime · rebellion · choice vs compliance · nanny state · public shaming

Setting labels: near-future Britain · near-future England · UK · dystopian future · authoritarian state · surveillance society · familiar-world dystopia

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2321

Continue from here

Examination Day

Henry Slesar · 1958

In a state-run society, a boy’s mandatory intelligence test reveals a terrifying rule about intelligence.

Why this is here

Premise labels: government test · intelligence test · mandatory exam · age-based testing · state control · fear of intelligence

Setting labels: dystopian future · government-controlled society · school-like system · bureaucratic world · near-future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2378

Continue from here

The Seventh Son

Sebastian Faulks · 2023

A surrogate pregnancy becomes a secret bioethical experiment that forces a family to confront otherness, power, and humanity.

Why this is here

Premise labels: surrogacy · IVF · genetic experiment · bioethics · hybrid human · secret experiment · ethical dilemma · otherness

Setting labels: near future · 2030 · 2056 · New York · London · Scottish Highlands · future society · alternate future · post-climate-change · technologically advanced

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2385

Continue from here

Merking

Fríða Ísberg · 2021

In near-future Iceland, an empathy test and looming referendum split society over safety, rights, and who gets to belong.

Why this is here

Premise labels: empathy test · mandatory assessment · social sorting · referendum · predicted antisocial behavior · security vs freedom · rights restriction

Setting labels: near future · future Reykjavik · Iceland · speculative near future · socially divided society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2432

Continue from here

Incompetence

Rob Grant · 2003

In a near-future Europe where incompetence is legally protected, a detective-spy must solve a murder amid absurd bureaucracy.

Why this is here

Premise labels: future bureaucracy · incompetence protection · murder mystery · detective hunt · satirical law

Setting labels: near future · dystopian future · united Europe · European Union · bureaucratic state · urban travel

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2518

Continue from here

Donate

Emma Ellis · 2023

In an overpopulated near-future society, a pregnant woman and her partner race to save their baby from state control.

Why this is here

Premise labels: overpopulation · pregnancy crisis · birth rationing · state control · life sacrifice · illegal pregnancy · family protection · fleeing authority

Setting labels: near future · dystopian future · United Kingdom · England · overpopulated world · oppressive regime · post apocalyptic world · no-tech commune · road journey · county divisions

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2519

Continue from here

Curfew

Jayne Cowie · 2022

In near-future Britain, a women-run curfew system for men is challenged by a murder that shouldn’t be possible.

Why this is here

Premise labels: gender-flipped society · electronic tagging · curfew law · femicide prevention · murder investigation · reverse dystopia

Setting labels: near-future Britain · near-future UK · alternate reality · dystopian society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2542

Continue from here

Off Target

Eve Smith · 2022

A desperate would-be mother makes a dangerous genetic choice, then faces the fallout of a near-future bioethics crisis.

Why this is here

Premise labels: designer babies · genetic engineering · infertility · pregnancy secret · moral dilemma · medical ethics · unintended consequences · cover-up · reproductive technology · perfect child

Setting labels: near future · not-too-distant future · global · UK · medical future · dystopian future · scientific future · worldwide crisis

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2551

Continue from here

Slated

Teri Terry · 2012 · Slated

A memory-wiped teen must survive a controlled new life while eerie flashes of her past suggest the government is lying.

Why this is here

Premise labels: memory wipe · second chance · government control · criminal rehabilitation · identity loss · forced reintegration · surveillance state · mind control

Setting labels: near future · dystopian England · closed UK · future London · futuristic UK · surveillance state · school setting · hospital setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2557

Continue from here

More Perfect

Temi Oh · 2023

In near-future London, two people shaped by opposite views of a brain-linked network confront love, memory, and control.

Why this is here

Premise labels: brain implant · augmented reality · social media · surveillance state · government overreach · technology ethics · memory access · dream control · future crimes · forced adoption

Setting labels: near-future London · future Britain · dystopian future · technology-driven society · virtual reality layer · augmented reality · off-grid island · wilderness encampment · state care

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2558

Continue from here

Gliff

Ali Smith · 2025 · Gliff

In a near-future Britain, two siblings navigate surveillance, exclusion, and a strange horse while language itself becomes resistance.

Why this is here

Premise labels: near-future dystopia · surveillance state · outsiders on the run · sibling survival · horse companion · identity classification · humanity vs data · authoritarian control

Setting labels: near future · future Britain · surveillance society · authoritarian state · unfamiliar town · familiar present

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2594

Continue from here

Gnomon

Nick Harkaway · 2017

In a surveillance-state Britain, an inspector investigates a death in custody and uncovers a mind of nested lives and secrets.

Why this is here

Premise labels: surveillance state · impossible death · interrogation mystery · mind-dive investigation · hidden identity · memory puzzle · systems vs privacy · dissident investigation

Setting labels: near future · future Britain · future London · surveillance state · direct democracy · high-tech society · ancient Carthage · ancient Rome · modern Greece · Ethiopia · distant future · speculative reality

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2613

Continue from here