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Cover of Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick
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Stations of the Tide

Michael Swanwick

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Similar in characterization

These books are ranked using the characterization labels extracted for Stations of the Tide.

Characterization labels used: nameless protagonist, bureaucrat protagonist, outcast, spy-like agent, wizard figure, shapeshifter, rogue scientist, magician, witch, cynical official, cipher protagonist, enigmatic antagonist, supporting-character opacity

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their characterization embeddings are close.

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Cover of Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

Brian K. Vaughan · 2003 · Y: The Last Man

After a plague kills every male mammal but one man and his monkey, he races to learn why before the world reshapes itself.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unemployed protagonist · escape artist · magician · slacker hero · likable protagonist · clueless protagonist · bodyguard · scientist · spy · mother figure · brainwashed sibling · extremist antagonist · militant faction leader · corpse collector · pet monkey

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.1771

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Cover of My Name is Legion by Roger Zelazny

My Name is Legion

Roger Zelazny · 1976

A nameless freelance agent outside a total data system takes on three strange future cases involving sabotage, dolphins, and AI.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: nameless protagonist · clever protagonist · spy-like hero · private investigator · freelance agent · hard-boiled hero · moral grayness · witty protagonist · enigmatic hero · resourceful operative · technician background

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.1781

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Cover of Pines by Blake Crouch

Pines

Blake Crouch · 2012 · Wayward Pines

A federal agent wakes in a strange Idaho town with no ID, no exit, and a mystery that keeps deepening.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: secret service agent · federal agent · investigator · amnesiac protagonist · unlikeable protagonist · flawed protagonist · reactive protagonist · determined protagonist · supporting ally · mysterious authority figures

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.1912

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Cover of The Godmakers by Frank Herbert

The Godmakers

Frank Herbert · 1987

A planetary agent hunting warlike worlds uncovers hidden powers, religious engineering, and a path toward godhood.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: charismatic hero · secret agent · government operative · deductive protagonist · genius outsider · everyman agent · pacifist hero · overpowered hero · prophet figure · godlike figure · bildungsroman · young male protagonist · female power brokers · matriarchal power · sympathetic fellow · flat characters · unsympathetic characters

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.1965

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Cover of Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks

Consider Phlebas

Iain M. Banks · 1988 · Culture

A shape-shifting spy hunts a runaway AI across a galaxy-wide war between a utopian machine civilization and zealots.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: shape-shifter · spy · mercenary · antihero · unlikable protagonist · resourceful · introspective · ruthless · cynical · AI minds · sentient machine · fanatic soldiers · pirate crew · outcast crew

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2063

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Cover of Memoirs Found in a Bathtub by Stanisław Lem

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub

Stanisław Lem · 1986

An unnamed agent enters an underground bureaucracy to learn his mission, only to find a maze of codes, spies, and paranoia.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: unnamed protagonist · agent · new recruit · everyman · confused protagonist · paranoid protagonist · identity-seeking · self-alienation · madness · misdirected obedience · bureaucrats · double agents · triple agents · officials

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2087

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Cover of Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance

Tales of the Dying Earth

Jack Vance · 2000 · The Dying Earth

A far-future Earth’s last magicians and rogues scheme, quest, and betray each other beneath a dying red sun.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: antihero · rogue · wizard · sorcerer · scoundrel · trickster · scam artist · thief · selfish protagonist · amoral character · clever fool · pompous magician · eccentric magician · misanthropic

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2091

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Cover of China Dream by Ma Jian

China Dream

Ma Jian · 2018

A corrupt Chinese official tasked with selling a state dream is haunted by Cultural Revolution memories that wreck his sanity.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: corrupt bureaucrat · sleazy official · antihero · unlikeable protagonist · morally compromised · womanizer · corrupt official · party loyalist · traumatized protagonist · repellent character · guilty conscience · psychologically unraveling · elderly protagonist · pathetic man

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2156

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Cover of The Descent of Monsters by Neon Yang

The Descent of Monsters

Neon Yang · 2018 · Tensorate

A state investigator pieces together a massacre at a secret research facility while buried evidence exposes a larger conspiracy.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: investigator · bureaucrat · foul-mouthed protagonist · snarky protagonist · competent investigator · underappreciated official · rebel · terrorist leader · prisoner · new protagonist · side-character focus · morally compromised system insider · ordinary-person viewpoint · nonbinary characters

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2161

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Cover of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953 by Mike Mignola

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1953

Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson · 2016 · Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.

Young Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. tackle folkloric horrors, occult mysteries, and early Cold War shadows across 1950s England and America.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young protagonist · impulsive hero · rookie agent · mentor figure · father figure · supporting ensemble · field agent · cryptozoologist · black scientist · competent investigator · wisecracking hero · monster puncher · maturing protagonist · cynical ally · endearing side character

Semantic match: ranked by characterization

Distance: 0.2166

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