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To Hold Up the Sky

Liu Cixin

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for To Hold Up the Sky. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: teachers, engineers, scientists, ambassador, miners, artists, philosophers

Relationships labels used: teacher-student, humanity-universe, individual vs collective, science vs art, rival civilizations, war

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 Star

H.G. Wells

A newly appeared celestial body barrels through the solar system, forcing humanity to confront planetary-scale disaster.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · astronomers · mathematician · ordinary people · crowd behavior · human insignificance · helplessness · rational observer

Relationships labels: science versus public · scientist versus crowd · humanity versus universe · reason versus superstition · observer and observed · mass society

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2417

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The Forge of God

Greg Bear · 1987 · Forge of God

When Earth faces mysterious alien omens and contradictory visitors, scientists and leaders race toward an apparently unavoidable apocalypse.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · geologists · political leaders · president · family focus · ordinary people · competent adults

Relationships labels: friendship · family bonds · scientist friendship · government hierarchy · human solidarity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2481

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Ring

Stephen Baxter · 2001 · Xeelee Sequence

A far-future human expedition races through time and space to uncover why the Sun is dying and save existence.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: engineers · scientists · engineered human · artificial intelligence · virtual human · human survivors · relativistic travelers · ensemble cast

Relationships labels: humanity vs alien forces · crew dynamic · mentor-student · collective survival · interpersonal friction · community survival

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2539

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Judgement Day

Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen · 2013 · Science of Discworld

A Discworld frame story and popular-science essay collection collide in a trial over a created universe and the nature of belief.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: wizards · academics · librarian · ruler figure · supporting cast cameos · religious extremists · scientists · humanist viewpoint

Relationships labels: science vs religion · belief conflict · institutional power · academic rivalry · mentor-like collaboration · community debate · tribunal conflict · human-centered vs universe-centered

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2542

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The Nine Billion Names of God

Arthur C. Clarke · 1974

A monastery uses a computer to finish an ancient sacred task, and the result changes how the sky is seen.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: monks · scientists · engineers · technician · lama · astronauts · aliens · priest

Relationships labels: religion and science · faith and skepticism · monk and scientist · expert and layperson · human and cosmos · human and technology · human and deity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2557

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Nightfall

Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg · 2012

On a multi-sun world that has never known night, an approaching eclipse exposes fear, faith, and fragility.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scientists · astronomer · psychologist · archaeologist · journalist · religious fanatics · cultists · intellectuals · civilized society · one-dimensional characters (mixed)

Relationships labels: science and religion · rationalism and fanaticism · society and authority · scientists and public · journalist and scientists · cult and scientists · fear-driven mobs · community breakdown · institutional distrust

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2561

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The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy

Stanisław Lem · 2005 · Ijon Tichy

A cosmonaut’s futurology conference visit spirals into chemical chaos, hallucination, and a reality-warped future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: cosmonaut protagonist · academic attendees · futurologists · revolutionary · government authorities · anti-hero

Relationships labels: conference community · authority vs populace · state control · scientists and protesters · protagonist and professor · individual vs system

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2562

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Expedition to Earth

Arthur C. Clarke · 1999

A vintage Clarke collection of 11 idea-driven SF stories about space, alien contact, survival, and humanity's future.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: astronauts · spacemen · scientists · explorers · aliens · military personnel · visionary thinkers · dedicated professionals

Relationships labels: survival rivalry · symbiosis · alien contact · civilizational exchange · human-alien encounter · teamwork · duty-bound partnership

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2641

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The New Space Opera

Gardner Dozois · 2007 · Mars

An original anthology of 18 new-space-opera SF tales, ranging from hard-SF ideas to epic interstellar adventure.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: post-human · immortal characters · aliens · human researchers · diplomats · artists · actors · miners · adventurers · resisters · super-science protagonists · large-scale agents

Relationships labels: human-alien contact · diplomacy · war · cold war · conquest · enslavement · civilizational conflict · colony society

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2661

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暗殺教室 7 [Ansatsu Kyōshitsu 7]

Yusei Matsui, 松井優征 · 2013 · 暗殺教室 [Ansatsu Kyōshitsu]

A class of underdogs turns final exams and a summer island trip into a high-stakes assassination campaign against their teacher.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: dedicated teacher · supportive teacher · gifted students · underachieving class · genius teacher · scheming students · rival students · arrogant students · mature teens · multi-talented class

Relationships labels: teacher-student bonds · class rivalry · student teamwork · mentor-mentee · class conflict · peer competition · protective teaching · group solidarity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2695

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The Absolute at Large

Karel Čapek · 2006

A free-energy invention unleashes divine excess on the world, sparking miracles, fanaticism, and escalating global chaos.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: brilliant scientist · inventor · industrialist · businessman · scholar · religious zealot · fanatic crowd · humanist voice · self-effacing satirist

Relationships labels: science and religion · capital and labor · church and state · rival faiths · national rivalries · people vs humanity · individual vs collective

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2708

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Three Moments of an Explosion

China Miéville · 2015

A 28-story collection of eerie, high-concept weird fiction where ordinary worlds are warped by impossible intrusions.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: damaged seekers · curious observers · outsiders · professionals · academics · archaeologists · medical students · therapists · gamblers · screenwriters · actors · card players · children · couples · isolated figures

Relationships labels: family · couple · romance · friendship · rivalry · professional hierarchy · teacher-student · doctor-patient · community isolation · power imbalance · competition

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.2716

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