Find similar books by
Combine common axes
These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for To Hold Up the Sky. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.
Premise labels used: big idea sci-fi, humanity vs cosmos, future shock, science and art
Setting labels used: near future, far future, China, global, cosmic scale
This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their premise + setting embeddings are close.
A massive Isaac Asimov story collection of idea-driven, twisty science fiction exploring future tech, time, robots, and humanity.
Why this is here
Premise labels: short story collection · future technology · humanity and machines · idea-driven fiction · speculative scenarios · multi-story anthology
Setting labels: near future · far future · parallel worlds · space age · robot future
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1642
Facing a 400-year alien invasion, humanity hides its plans in human minds alone and bets civilization on secret strategists.
Why this is here
Premise labels: alien invasion · human survival · secret strategy · hidden thoughts · cosmic threat · first-contact fallout
Setting labels: Earth · deep space · future Earth · far future · crisis era · cosmic scale · global setting
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1668
A career-spanning mix of Liu Cixin’s short fiction, essays, and interviews on science fiction, science, and the future.
Why this is here
Premise labels: science fiction essays · author reflections · short fiction collection · genre commentary · science and society · ideas-driven fiction · big ideas · future speculation · science fiction fandom
Setting labels: China · Chinese science fiction scene · global science fiction · future speculation · cosmic scale · scientific futures · historical pieces
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1763
Nine near-future stories explore AI, prediction, math, work, and humanity’s changing place in a technological future.
Why this is here
Premise labels: near future · future scenarios · speculative ideas · technological change · humanity and technology
Setting labels: future · near future · Cold War era future · spacefaring future · Earth · other planets · interplanetary
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1796
Under alien rule, humans use a wormhole-linked time gate in a bid to alter their fate across centuries.
Why this is here
Premise labels: time travel · alien occupation · human resistance · wormhole technology · time gate · future humanity · cosmic-scale conflict
Setting labels: far future · deep space · Solar System · Jupiter orbit · Earth occupation · relativistic travel · cosmic scale · end of time
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1812
A mosaic of far-future stories traces humanity’s survival, transformation, and conflict across cosmic time.
Why this is here
Premise labels: future history · humanity across time · far-future civilization · cosmic scale · first contact · alien occupation · end of universe
Setting labels: far future · deep time · solar system · galaxy-scale · universe-scale · space colonies · heat death · alternate realities · outer planets
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1814
An illustrated future-history follows humanity across deep time, until alien meddling turns evolution into punishment.
Why this is here
Premise labels: future history · human evolution · alien conquest · genetic modification · posthuman future · space colonization · terraforming · speculative biology · cosmic punishment
Setting labels: near future · Mars · Earth · galactic scale · far future · deep time · posthuman world · interstellar civilization · speculative future · fictional reality
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1820
Twelve linked stories track humanity's galactic rise and decline as a new science of consciousness reshapes reality.
Why this is here
Premise labels: future history · galactic empire · consciousness science · artificial consciousness · human civilization
Setting labels: far future · galactic scale · interstellar civilization · post-imperial decline · spacefaring society · time span of millennia · distant future
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1833
A Polity agent tracks alien nanotech, rogue AIs, and shifting loyalties as a future civilization nears crisis.
Why this is here
Premise labels: alien technology · AI politics · space war · transhuman future · runcible time travel · technological contagion · civilization threat
Setting labels: far future · interstellar · Polity · Small Magellanic Cloud · spacefaring civilization · U-space · arcology world · Dyson sphere construction · runcible network · posthuman future
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1869
A nameless man’s mind leaves Earth to explore the universe, meeting alien civilizations and a possible creator.
Why this is here
Premise labels: cosmic journey · universe-spanning history · search for creator · collective consciousness · interstellar travel
Setting labels: outer space · galactic scale · multiverse · far future · cosmic time
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1874
A near-future scientific accident and a worsening planet force rival factions to race to save Earth.
Why this is here
Premise labels: artificial black hole · planetary disaster · race against time · ecological collapse · scientific crisis
Setting labels: near future · 2038 · Earth · low Earth orbit · underground lab · global setting · post-industrial future · ecologically degraded world
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1883
A chronological omnibus of Arthur C. Clarke’s short fiction, spanning early pulp pieces to late career SF and humor.
Why this is here
Premise labels: complete short fiction · career-spanning collection · science-and-future speculation · idea-driven stories · humanity and spacefaring
Setting labels: near future · far future · space age · solar system · Earth · Moon · Mars · Venus · undersea · underworld
Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting
Distance: 0.1894
