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Cover of As Yet Unsent by Tamsyn Muir
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As Yet Unsent

Tamsyn Muir

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Similar in characterization + relationships

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

Characterization labels used: prickly protagonist, injured narrator, secondary cast depth, messy characters, obsessive characters, loyal character, self-denying character, misunderstood character, competent and deranged

Relationships labels used: lesbian yearning, forbidden attraction, unrequited desire, cavalier-necromancer bond, codependency, messy romance, forced proximity, bickering, rivalry, friendship, power imbalance

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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Cover of The Longest Autumn by Amy Avery

The Longest Autumn

Amy Avery · 2024

A herald trapped with the god of Autumn must solve a mirror mystery before famine, mortality, and forbidden attraction consume all.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: passive protagonist · frustrated heroine · ambitious heroine · morally gray characters · scheme-y ally · ruthless character · messy characters · chronically ill protagonist

Relationships labels: forbidden romance · enemies to lovers · love triangle · multiple romances · multiple partners · polyamory · queernormative society · open relationships · toxic relationship · friendship conflict · familial tension

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1676

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Cover of Dead Happy by Josh Silver

Dead Happy

Josh Silver · 2024 · HappyHead

A gay teen is pushed into a deadlier island phase of a manipulative wellness experiment, where survival means staying authentic.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: sarcastic protagonist · traumatized teens · morally gray authority figures · enigmatic hosts · character development · complex side characters · audience surrogate

Relationships labels: forced couple · central romance · same-sex romance · friendship bond · rivalry · power imbalance · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1678

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Cover of I Can Fix Her by Rae Wilde

I Can Fix Her

Rae Wilde · 2025

A queer horror novella where a reunion with an ex turns into a week of obsession, shifting reality, and self-destruction.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: obsessive protagonist · toxic exes · flawed characters · unreliable protagonist · desperate narrator · possessive behavior · mutually destructive pair · messy characters

Relationships labels: toxic relationship · sapphic relationship · queer exes · codependency · obsession · ghosting · emotional abuse · domestic abuse · power imbalance · jealousy · mutual destruction · unrequited love · stalking

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1689

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Cover of The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

The Archive Undying

Emma Mieko Candon · 2023 · The Downworld Sequence

A traumatized, unkillable relic is dragged back into a ruined world of AI gods, mechs, devotion, and dangerous secrets.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: traumatized protagonist · queer disaster · self-destructive · immortal · reluctant hero · pathetic man · messy characters · secretive characters · flawed protagonist · self-loathing · stubborn protagonist

Relationships labels: toxic codependency · complicated relationship · forbidden hookup · one-night stand · romantic tension · found family · power imbalance · devotion bond · betrayal · protective relationship · parental figure conflict · merging consciousness

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1722

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Cover of The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

The Teleportation Accident

Ned Beauman · 2012

A self-absorbed Berlin set designer chases sex, art, and a teleportation mystery across 1930s Europe and America.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: self-absorbed protagonist · unlikable protagonist · antihero · hedonist · misogynist · obsessive · dissatisfied young man · eccentric cast · drunken characters · deplorable characters · comic grotesques · socially oblivious

Relationships labels: obsessive pursuit · romantic obsession · failed romance · sexual chasing · friend betrayal · rivalry · community of artists · power imbalance · love-lust confusion · casual acquaintances

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1750

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Cover of Monster by A. Lee Martinez

Monster

A. Lee Martinez · 2009

A slacky monster-catcher and a grocery clerk are swept into a bizarre hidden-magic crisis that could reshape reality.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: slacker protagonists · unwilling hero · antihero · grumpy protagonist · overworked · disaffected · creative side characters · moral sidekick

Relationships labels: hostile partnership · romantic tension absence · dysfunctional romance · workplace partnership · unwanted alliance · mutual annoyance · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1780

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Cover of Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots

Villain

Natalie Zina Walschots · 2026 · Hench

Anna, now the Auditor, escalates her war on superhero institutions while navigating power, grief, and a dangerous boss-romance.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: morally compromised · antihero · villain protagonist · disabled protagonist · intelligent protagonist · sarcastic protagonist · unreliable morals · control issues · emotionally complex · grief-stricken · alienated · calculating · messy characters

Relationships labels: toxic romance · abusive relationship · power imbalance · boss romance · coercive control · sexual tension · messy relationships · workplace relationship · found family · friendship · rivalry · loyalty conflict · betrayal · codependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1796

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Cover of Ultrasound by Conor Stechschulte

Ultrasound

Conor Stechschulte · 2022 · Generous Bosom

A stranded traveler accepts help from a strange couple, then tumbles into a mind-bending web of memory, control, and conspiracy.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flawed characters · depressed characters · ordinary people · believable characters · manipulated characters · conflicted protagonists · uncomfortable hosts · realistic dialogue · character-driven

Relationships labels: strained marriage · sexual tension · interpersonal drama · power imbalance · manipulation · dependency · connection seeking · belonging · marital dysfunction · trust issues

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1815

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Cover of Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock

Behold the Man

Michael Moorcock · 1969 · Karl Glogauer

A troubled man time-travels to biblical Palestine and becomes entangled in the origins of Christianity.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: troubled protagonist · neurotic protagonist · misfit · outcast · unlikable protagonist · messiah complex · self-loathing · intellectual protagonist · psychologically damaged · antihero

Relationships labels: failed romance · toxic relationships · love-hate relationship · family tension · parental abandonment · girlfriend conflict · mentor influence · community belonging · romantic dissatisfaction

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1852

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Cover of Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Harrow the Ninth

Tamsyn Muir · 2020 · The Locked Tomb

A damaged necromancer on a haunted space station must survive war, secrets, and her own fractured mind.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: necromancer · cavalier · lyctor · underdog · unreliable protagonist · reserved protagonist · snarky characters · morbid protagonist · mentally ill protagonist · traumatized protagonist · academic prodigy · body-limited protagonist · powerful but vulnerable

Relationships labels: frenemies · homoerotic tension · queer longing · mentor-student · rivalry · dependency · sacrifice · haunted attachment · codependency · unresolved desire · power imbalance · found family

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1855

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Cover of Daisy's Decision by Ruby Dixon

Daisy's Decision

Ruby Dixon · 2022 · Icehome

A scarred, lonely woman on an ice planet stops waiting for fate and tries to engineer her own mate bond.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: traumatized heroine · pampered heroine · self-conscious heroine · protective hero · broody hero · pining hero · stubborn characters · unlikable to sympathetic arc · character redemption

Relationships labels: friends to lovers · mate bond · pining · power imbalance · romantic tension · chosen partnership · tribal community · past relationship trauma

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1857

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Cover of The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley

The Loosening Skin

Aliya Whiteley · 2018

In a world where skin-shedding erases love, a woman with a rare condition is pulled into a stolen-skins mystery.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: female protagonist · bodyguard · actor · director · private investigator · polyamorous group · damaged characters · flawed characters · moral ambiguity · self-reinvention · obsessive character · disconnected character · heroine

Relationships labels: romantic love · lost love · ex-lovers · friendship · familial bonds · polyamory · relationship decay · attachment · betrayal · dependency · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1861

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Cover of The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

The Monster Baru Cormorant

Seth Dickinson · 2018 · The Masquerade

A traumatized imperial cryptarch navigates espionage, rebellion, and a widening war while wrestling grief and power.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: morally gray · antihero · antiheroine · ambitious · traumatized · grieving · vulnerable · calculating · cunning · powerful women · female cast · unreliable narrator · monster self-image · self-destructive · smart protagonist · political operators · cryptarchs · vengeful adversaries · nonbinary character · lesbian protagonist · bi characters

Relationships labels: lesbian love · sapphic yearning · lost lover · grief · betrayal · foils · rivalry · mentor and mentee · old allies · forced cooperation · found connection · hostile collaboration

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1870

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Cover of Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia by Samuel R. Delany

Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia

Samuel R. Delany · 1996

In a future moon society of radical freedom, an alienated outsider’s identity crisis collides with war, sex, and gender.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unlikable protagonist · misogynist protagonist · self-centered · self-delusional · psychologically dense · socially maladjusted · outsider · immigrant · sex worker · metalogician · artist

Relationships labels: romantic pursuit · unrequited desire · gendered power dynamics · friendship · lover conflict · social alienation · communal living · same-sex desire · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1884

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Cover of Terminal Boredom: Stories by Izumi Suzuki

Terminal Boredom: Stories

Izumi Suzuki · 2021

Seven bleak, prescient sci-fi stories trace alienation, gender, and numbness in futures that feel eerily present.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: disaffected youth · apathetic protagonists · alienated characters · emotionally numb · nihilistic · detached · addicts · loners · antiheroes · restless adolescents · cynical characters · listless drifters · queer characters · female-led ensemble

Relationships labels: queer relationships · lesbian relationships · romantic estrangement · familial tension · interpersonal disconnect · friendship rupture · gendered power dynamics · interplanetary romance · toxic friendship · community alienation

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1884

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Cover of Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

Homesick for Another World

Ottessa Moshfegh · 2017

Fourteen darkly funny, unsettling stories follow alienated misfits, bodily disgust, and failed attempts at connection.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: misfits · loners · antiheroes · antiheroines · unlikable characters · flawed characters · grotesque characters · alienated characters · self-loathing · morally compromised · unsympathetic protagonists · disturbed characters · pathetic characters · delusional characters · cruel characters · ordinary people · lonely characters · drunk characters · drug-addled characters · teachers · married couples · older couples · young adults · twins · peripheral lives

Relationships labels: estranged family · marital conflict · couples who hate each other · loneliness · failed intimacy · sexual tension · power imbalance · neighbor tension · community exclusion · unrequited desire · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1885

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Cover of The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe

The Claw of the Conciliator

Gene Wolfe · 1981 · The Book of the New Sun

An exiled executioner continues through a far-future, myth-laced world with a mysterious relic and a story full of hidden clues.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: ambiguous protagonist · executioner · torturer · exile · antihero · morally flawed · cold narrator · questing hero · youthful protagonist · enigmatic secondary characters

Relationships labels: love triangle · unsteady romance · mentor figure · travel companions · rivalry · power imbalance · betrayal · family echoes · complicated attraction

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1886

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Cover of Broken by Robert J. Crane

Broken

Robert J. Crane · 2013 · The Girl in the Box

A betrayed metahuman young woman embraces revenge while the voices in her head push her toward darker choices.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: traumatized heroine · antihero turn · vengeful protagonist · young protagonist · relentless fighter · manipulated protagonist · morally darkening arc · internal voices · conflicted heroine · hardening character

Relationships labels: lover loss · friend betrayal · mentor betrayal · power imbalance · internal companionship · found-in-head companions · romantic relationship · friendship rupture

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1892

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Cover of Killing Time by Della Van Hise

Killing Time

Della Van Hise · 1985 · Star Trek: The Original Series

A Romulan time experiment throws Star Trek’s crew into a twisted alternate reality where identities, loyalties, and history shift.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: flawed hero · embittered protagonist · role reversal · alternate selves · intense characterization · out of character (mixed) · supporting cast · telepathic character · female villain · original characters

Relationships labels: friendship · bonded duo · soulmates · romantic subtext · same-sex subtext · rivalry · unrequited love · mind link · telepathic bond · brothers (reader-imagined) · chosen loyalty

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1894

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Cover of Taivas by Piia Leino

Taivas

Piia Leino · 2018

In a sealed future Helsinki, a numb researcher awakens through virtual reality and is pulled toward dangerous real-world feeling.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: apathetic protagonist · waking protagonist · researcher protagonist · strong female character · morally gray characters · insecure characters · possessive male character · passive male lead · ideological contrast · complex characters

Relationships labels: romantic connection · forbidden attraction · power imbalance · gendered dynamics · heteronormative pairing · paired protagonists · trust issues · social divide · dependency · family influence

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1899

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Cover of Darker Space by Lisa Henry

Darker Space

Lisa Henry · 2015 · Dark Space

Back on Earth, Brady and Cam try to build a life with Lucy while the military and the aliens keep pulling them back in.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: self-loathing protagonist · angry protagonist · pessimistic narrator · protective sibling · patient love interest · returning secondary cast · character study · traumatized character · resilient character

Relationships labels: male/male romance · established couple · brother-sister bond · found family · family unit · parenting · telepathic bond · power imbalance · ex relationship

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1912

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Cover of Brave New World: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham

Brave New World: A Graphic Novel

Fred Fordham, Aldous Huxley · 2022

Fred Fordham’s graphic adaptation of Huxley’s dystopian classic renders a controlled future in vivid color and stark unease.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: sympathetic outsider · moral conflict · conditioned citizens · rebellious misfit · antipathetic characters · underdeveloped characters · fanaticism

Relationships labels: romance · sexual freedom · social conformity · power imbalance · family absence · community control

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1923

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Cover of The Compound by Aisling Rawle

The Compound

Aisling Rawle · 2025

A reality TV contestant enters a desert compound where luxury, survival, and desire are all on the line.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: vapid protagonist · unlikable characters · antiheroine · passive heroine · shallow cast · young adults · beautiful contestants · vain characters · materialistic · cutthroat

Relationships labels: romantic competition · forced coupling · group rivalry · jealousy · power dynamics · alliances · betrayal · intimacy under pressure · heterosexual pairing · cohabitation

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1926

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Cover of The Escapement by K.J. Parker

The Escapement

K.J. Parker · 2007 · Engineer Trilogy

An engineer’s long-built war machine reaches its final stage amid sieges, betrayals, and bleak choices.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: antihero · amoral characters · manipulative protagonist · complex character · miserable characters · morally gray · unlikable cast · character-driven · scheming characters · broken people · human weakness · rigid thinker · cynical worldview · female characters marginalized · male-dominated cast

Relationships labels: love triangle · romantic betrayal · marital conflict · marriage politics · power marriage · betrayal · dependency · tactical alliance · family motive · love as motivation · coercive partnership · rivalry

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1926

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