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Lives of Bitter Rain

Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Similar in tone + premise

These books are ranked using the tone + premise labels extracted for Lives of Bitter Rain. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Tone labels used: dark, serious, wry, subtle, morally complex, intimate, thoughtful, tragic, bittersweet, darkly funny

Premise labels used: backstory, origin story, character study, career rise, diplomatic intrigue, imperial expansion, colonial occupation, state machine, political infiltration

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

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Days of Shattered Faith

Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2024 · The Tyrant Philosophers

A Palleseen envoy and her new aide navigate a succession crisis as imperial “perfection” creeps toward conquest.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · grim · tragic · wry · ironic · funny · playful · serious · bleak · tender · catastrophic

Premise labels: imperial expansion · colonial takeover · succession crisis · diplomatic intrigue · political intrigue · occupation · cultural conflict · religious conflict · factional conflict

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1275

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The Butcher of Anderson Station

James S.A. Corey · 2011 · The Expanse

A short Expanse prequel reveals how Fred Johnson earned the name “The Butcher of Anderson Station.”

Why this is here

Tone labels: somber · tragic · heartbreaking · tense · atmospheric · grim · melancholic · reflective

Premise labels: backstory · origin story · military backstory · nickname origin · political defection · moral reckoning · hidden truth · character backstory

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1620

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Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 15

Hiromu Arakawa · 2007 · 鋼の錬金術師 [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi]

A flashback-heavy volume reveals the genocide that shaped key soldiers, alchemists, and their path to redemption.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · grim · heartbreaking · brutal · somber · intense · depressing · tragic · unflinching

Premise labels: war backstory · genocide aftermath · military conspiracy · moral reckoning · origin story · character backstory

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1696

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The Ascent to Godhood

Neon Yang · 2019 · Tensorate

A dying regime’s most hated woman recounts the rise of its feared ruler—and the love that became its undoing.

Why this is here

Tone labels: tragic · dark · poignant · intimate · gripping · melancholic · introspective · brooding · dramatic · bittersweet

Premise labels: villain origin story · rise to power · enemy perspective · love and betrayal · political intrigue · revolution backdrop · backstory

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1717

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The Arbitrator

Max Nowaz · 2019 · Arbitrator Jim Brown

An aging, drug-addicted imperial enforcer is sent to crush a rebellion on a colony world and must survive the fallout.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · gritty · morally grimy · wry · serious · thoughtful · edgy · tense · adventurous · gripping

Premise labels: colonial empire · space mission · rebellion suppression · second chance · regeneration quest · prisoner protagonist · antihero lead · power and survival · planetary conflict · forced authority

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1731

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The Expanse: Origins

James S.A. Corey, Hallie Lambert, Georgia Lee · 2018 · The Expanse graphic novels

A five-part graphic prequel gives the main crew of The Expanse quick origin snapshots before they come together.

Why this is here

Tone labels: bittersweet · emotional · touching · gritty · dark · somber · nostalgic · fun · quick · minimal

Premise labels: origin stories · backstory · character origins · crew backstories · defining moment · prequel stories · character history

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1747

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Night Flights

Philip Reeve · 2018 · Mortal Engines Quartet

Three illustrated prequel tales trace Anna Fang’s rise from captive to daring aviatrix in a dangerous city-eats-city world.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · bleak · atmospheric · nostalgic · thrilling · exciting · gritty · adventurous · suspenseful · eerie · heartwarming · disturbing

Premise labels: character backstory · origin story · prequel stories · aviatrix · spy mission · slave escape · airship adventure · rebellious heroine · world expansion · framing narrative

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1795

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Night Watch

Terry Pratchett · 2011 · Discworld

A city watch commander is flung into his own past, where he must preserve history and mentor his younger self.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · funny · wry · satirical · somber · poignant · heartbreaking · hilarious · emotional · gritty · serious · hopeful · tragic · biting

Premise labels: time travel · murder investigation · mentor self · revolution · civil unrest · past revisiting · historical crisis

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1805

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Phoenix Extravagant

Yoon Ha Lee · 2020

A nonbinary painter in an occupied homeland is forced to animate war machines, then risks everything with a dragon.

Why this is here

Tone labels: somber · bittersweet · tender · dark · funny · humorous · emotionally tense · atmospheric

Premise labels: artist protagonist · occupying empire · collaborator under coercion · art as power · revolution · mecha dragon · reluctant revolutionary · political intrigue · colonial resistance

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1818

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Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan

J. Michael Straczynski · 2013 · Before Watchmen

Three Watchmen prequel stories follow Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, and Moloch through backstory, time, and fallout.

Why this is here

Tone labels: dark · grim · depressing · somber · brooding · philosophical · trippy · tragic · violent · intense · melancholic · thoughtful

Premise labels: prequel · origin story · character backstory · multiple protagonists · alternate possibilities · crime investigation · superhero mythos

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1821

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Pretenders to the Throne of God

Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2026 · The Tyrant Philosophers

A besieged crab-city becomes the latest battleground in a long war between magic, faith, and an empire of “Perfection.”

Why this is here

Tone labels: wry · sardonic · dark · bleak · melancholic · intense · emotionally heavy · thought-provoking · tragic · humorous · cynical · satirical · poignant · satisfying

Premise labels: city under siege · imperial conquest · resistance alliance · colonial occupation · ideological empire · demon bargain · lost power · multiple factions

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1842

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Valdor: Birth of the Imperium

Chris Wraight · 2020 · The Horus Heresy: Characters

At the end of Terra’s unification, Valdor is drawn into a secretive power struggle over the Imperium’s violent future.

Why this is here

Tone labels: somber · cerebral · atmospheric · haunting · foreboding · measured · grim · tense · reflective

Premise labels: imperial origins · unification era · political intrigue · palace coup · transhuman warfare · state formation · cover-up · power transition

Semantic match: ranked by tone + premise

Distance: 0.1843

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