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The Persistence of Vision

John Varley

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Similar in themes

These books are ranked using the themes labels extracted for The Persistence of Vision.

Themes labels used: communication, language, perception, embodiment, identity, otherness, disability, community, sexual liberation, gender fluidity, transgression, alienation, isolation, survival, utopia, social norms, morality, human potential, technology and humanity, memory, consciousness, deception, trust, adaptation, counterculture, personal freedom

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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Soft Science

Franny Choi · 2019

A poetry collection uses cyborgs and Turing tests to probe queer Asian American identity, language, and survival.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · consciousness · gender · femininity · queerness · technology · agency · loneliness · alienation · othering · language · humanity · dehumanization · violence · survival · racism · xenophobia · immigration · objectification · desire · intimacy · tenderness · performative identity · self-definition · body politics · sexuality · consciousness tests

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0878

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When Gravity Fails

George Alec Effinger · 2005 · Marîd Audran

A streetwise fixer in a Muslim future ghetto is pulled into a serial-killer hunt powered by brain implants and revenge.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · selfhood · transhumanism · bodily autonomy · gender fluidity · transgender identity · religion and modernity · morality · violence · addiction · agency · survival · power · choice · colonial aftereffects · cultural adaptation · humanity

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0919

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On the Origin of Species and Other Stories

Kim Bo-young · 2021

A short story collection where robots, humans, dragons, and time travelers probe evolution, identity, and what counts as life.

Why this is here

Themes labels: evolution · posthumanism · humanity · identity · sentience · consciousness · free will · survival · otherness · alienation · language and communication · faith · mythmaking · science and philosophy · knowledge limits · social categorization · bodies and embodiment · gender · disability · environmental collapse · climate change · pollution · transformation · memory · technology and society · ethics · belonging · generation gap · origin stories · anthropocentrism

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0949

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Overgrowth

Mira Grant · 2025

An alien who grew up on Earth warns of an invasion no one believes—until the signal arrives and her warning turns real.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · otherness · belonging · colonization · humanity · choice · acceptance · truth · dehumanization · immigration · trans identity · gender identity · neurodiversity · citizenship · rights · propaganda · fear mongering · xenophobia · love · family · survival · morality · ethics · climate change · environmental collapse · class · patriarchy · mental health

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0957

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Imago

Octavia E. Butler · 1989 · Xenogenesis

A hybrid outsider becomes the first of a new alien-human form and must master dangerous powers before they reshape everyone.

Why this is here

Themes labels: consent · autonomy · coercion · colonialism · assimilation · xenophobia · alterity · identity · belonging · gender · sexuality · transformation · metamorphosis · humanity · survival · morality · free will · body autonomy · genetic engineering · disability · evolution · social justice · hierarchy · codependence

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0967

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Trees, Vol. 1: In Shadow

Warren Ellis · 2015 · Trees (Collected Editions)

A global ensemble of lives shifts in the silent shadow of giant alien structures that changed Earth without explaining why.

Why this is here

Themes labels: alienation · identity · self-discovery · survival · politics · power · freedom · community · acceptance · gender · sexuality · transphobia · homophobia · xenophobia · fascism · war · violence · human nature · social change · class tension · moral ambiguity · normalization of crisis · humanity · mistrust · fear

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0969

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To Marry Medusa

Theodore Sturgeon · 1999

An alien hive mind hijacks a desolate drunk and tries to turn humanity into one collective consciousness.

Why this is here

Themes labels: collective consciousness · individuality · community · cooperation · alienation · human nature · humanism · transcendence · evolution · identity · selfhood · miscommunication · loneliness · fear · violence · hope · optimism · compassion · civilization · social critique · gender and sex · sexuality · class

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0979

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The Glass Scientists: Volume One

S.H. Cotugno, Sabrina Cotugno · 2023 · The Glass Scientists

In Victorian London, a public-facing scientist builds a haven for “rogue” minds while a dangerous secret and new arrivals threaten it.

Why this is here

Themes labels: duality · self-acceptance · repression · identity · morality · societal expectations · otherness · marginalization · public image · acceptance · human nature · secrecy · belonging · class judgment · queer identity · gender identity

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.0998

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The Seeds of Time

John Wyndham · 1956

A varied mid-century SF collection of ten idea-driven stories exploring time, Mars, identity, robots, and human nature.

Why this is here

Themes labels: identity · free will · determinism · ethics · colonialism · racism · misogyny · gender roles · humanity · otherness · survival · adaptation · home · belonging · loneliness · social commentary · class conflict · technological change · human nature · selfhood

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1011

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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: 0.1012

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Apsara Engine

Bishakh Kumar Som · 2020

A graphic short-story collection where queer South Asian lives, myth, and speculative disruptions blur everyday reality into strange futures.

Why this is here

Themes labels: gender · body · identity · transness · queer life · intersectionality · ethnicity · religion · social class · postcoloniality · conformity · femininity · desire · heartbreak · memory · time · future · place · belonging · community · power · microaggressions · representation · existential unease

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1023

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Slug and Other Stories

Megan Milks · 2021

A queer experimental story collection where bodies, desires, and genres mutate into grotesque, funny, and startling forms.

Why this is here

Themes labels: queerness · transness · identity · embodiment · transformation · desire · repulsion · autonomy · restriction · consent · boundary crossing · love · trauma · gender expression · vulnerability · otherness · social norms · communication · girlhood · childhood

Semantic match: ranked by themes

Distance: 0.1036

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