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Distress

Greg Egan

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Similar in themes

These books are ranked using the themes labels extracted for Distress.

Themes labels used: theory of everything, science and mysticism, science and religion, identity, gender, sexuality, transhumanism, biotechnology, anarchy, knowledge and reality, observer effect, metaphysics, epistemology, future society, media ethics, political ideology, technological progress, humanity, self-modification, information theory, freedom vs stability

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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Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy

Robert Anton Wilson · 2003 · Schrödinger's Cat

A satirical multiverse trilogy where shifting realities, sex, politics, and quantum ideas collide in a wildly fractured world.

Why this is here

Themes labels: quantum theory · many-worlds interpretation · reality perception · observer effect · free will · social control · politics · sex and taboo · conspiracy · mysticism · human nature · identity · transformation · utopia · civilization critique · evolution · primate behavior · technology and society · science and belief · consensus reality

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1481

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Luminous

Greg Egan · 1999

A hard-SF collection of ten concept-heavy stories exploring consciousness, genetics, mathematics, and the ethics of future technology.

Why this is here

Themes labels: consciousness · free will · identity · mind · mathematics · physics · genetics · biology · technology ethics · scientific materialism · religion vs science · tribalism · racism · sex and gender · sexuality · homophobia · transhumanism · posthumanism · pandemic anxiety · pandemics · AI · cloning · digital minds · personal identity · emotion · happiness · choice · ethics · epistemology · reality · cosmology · black holes · corporate power · bioethics · drug policy · culture wars

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1509

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Lód

Jacek Dukaj · 2008 · Lód

In an alternate 1924, a gambler-mathematician is sent across a frozen empire to find his father and unravel Ice.

Why this is here

Themes labels: truth and lies · history and determinism · identity · existence and nonexistence · logic · mathematics · philosophy · politics · religion · free will · time · memory · love · human nature · revolution · civilizational change · language · metaphysics · epistemology · science and faith · power

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1600

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Schild's Ladder

Greg Egan · 2004

A far-future physics accident creates an expanding universe-void, forcing posthumans to choose whether to halt it or study it.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · personal change · humanity · posthumanity · immortality · gender fluidity · sexuality · consent · ethics · epistemology · universal laws · scientific responsibility · adaptation · change · transformation · civilizational change · existentialism · communication

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1613

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This Perfect Day

Ira Levin · 1970

In a computer-run future of drugged conformity, one uneasy man begins to question a perfect world built to erase freedom.

Why this is here

Themes labels: freedom · control · individuality · conformity · choice · surveillance · conditioning · drug dependence · genetic engineering · collectivism · propaganda · truth · obedience · equality vs liberty · moral ambiguity · human nature · selfhood · social engineering · utopia critique · political allegory

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1632

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Robot

Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg · 2005

A robot-like investigator in an underground world must solve his identity while uncovering the rules of a reality that won’t stay fixed.

Why this is here

Themes labels: free will · determinism · identity · consciousness · humanity · perception · objective reality · subjective reality · control · surveillance · consumerism · capitalism critique · social critique · technology · evolution · human ego · existentialism · knowledge limits · epistemology · anthropocentrism · alien contact

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1642

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Salvation

Peter F. Hamilton · 2018 · Salvation Sequence

A corporate-led investigation of a crashed alien ship opens into a sprawling mystery across present, past, and far-future timelines.

Why this is here

Themes labels: technology and society · identity · gender fluidity · immortality · religion · ideology · surveillance · capitalism · utopia · mistrust · human expansion · first contact · power and control · war preparation · transhumanism

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1643

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The Annals of the Heechee

Frederik Pohl · 1993 · Heechee Saga

An uploaded man and his allies race to stop an ancient cosmic enemy threatening all intelligent life.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · consciousness · mortality · immortality · posthumanism · evolution · humanity · existential anxiety · cosmology · meaning of life · faith and godhood · alien contact · technology and society · human folly · knowledge and ignorance · theory and speculation

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1676

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The Wind's Twelve Quarters

Ursula K. Le Guin · 1976 · The Wind's Twelve Quarters

A chronological retrospective of Le Guin’s early short fiction, with author notes and stories that seed later worlds.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · cloning · time dilation · utopia · dystopia · anarchism · revolution · politics · gender · environmentalism · ecology · human nature · moral dilemma · philosophy · science vs religion · knowledge · power · isolation · communication · emotion · selfhood · the scapegoat · colonialism · anti-intellectualism · psychology · anthropology

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1699

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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: 0.1701

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The Jesus Incident

Frank Herbert, Bill Ransom · 1987 · The Pandora Sequence

A colonized alien world and a godlike sentient ship force humans and clones to confront worship, survival, and identity.

Why this is here

Themes labels: religion · godhood · free will · determinism · faith · worship · consciousness · self-determination · ecology · human nature · power · manipulation · violence · sacrifice · oneness · communication · identity · technology vs humanity · colonialism · environmentalism · bioethics · racism · sexual politics · cloning · authority

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1712

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Odd John

Olaf Stapledon · 1939

A biographical frame follows a hyperintelligent mutant who seeks others like him and a new order beyond humanity.

Why this is here

Themes labels: human nature · evolution · morality · power · alienation · social criticism · intelligence · utopia · anti-humanism · transcendence · prejudice · intolerance · religion · politics · capitalism · communism · sexual liberation · eugenics · individualism · collectivism · war · class · scientific culture · psychology · identity · consciousness · free will · survival · difference

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1724

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