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Karina Halle

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Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for Vanguard. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: assassin spy, super soldier, deadly kiss, spy infiltration, enhanced human, secret identity, corrupt corporation, government corruption, hero or weapon

Setting labels used: near future, post-dystopian, 2040, London, New York City, near-future America, cyberpunk aesthetic, corporate-controlled society, technologically advanced world

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

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Scion

James Islington · 2026

A genetically enhanced assassin gets an unexpected protection job in a brutal cyberpunk future full of secrets and danger.

Why this is here

Premise labels: assassin · bodyguard job · contract killing · protective mission · mysterious client · immortal elite · wealth inequality · corporate power · cyberpunk future

Setting labels: cyberpunk world · dystopian future · near-future · megacity · immortal society · corporate-controlled world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1271

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The Electric Church

Jeff Somers · 2007 · Avery Cates

A hitman is forced to target a rising cyborg religion in a grim near-future city ruled by a brutal police state.

Why this is here

Premise labels: hitman · assassination mission · killer for hire · cyborg religion · eternal life · oppressive state · forced contract

Setting labels: near future · dystopian future · cyberpunk future · unified world · ruined city · New York · crapsack world · post-collapse society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1556

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Count Zero

William Gibson · 2006 · Sprawl

A mercenary, a hacker, and an art dealer are drawn into a corporate-cybernetic conspiracy in the Sprawl.

Why this is here

Premise labels: corporate espionage · cyberspace hacker · art investigation · mercenary extraction · biochip theft · multiple protagonists · AI intrigue · virtual reality

Setting labels: near future · cyberpunk future · dystopian future · corporate-controlled world · urban megacity · cyberspace · virtual reality · global economy · Sprawl

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1697

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Ghost in the Shell

Masamune Shirow · 2004 · 攻殻機動隊 The Ghost in the Shell

A cyborg special agent hunts cybercriminals in a near-future Japan where minds, bodies, and identity are under siege.

Why this is here

Premise labels: cybercrime · anti-terrorist unit · ghost hacking · AI identity · cyborg agent · mind control · near-future policing · political conspiracy

Setting labels: near future · 21st century · mid-21st century · futuristic Japan · dystopian future · cyberpunk world · networked society · technologically advanced world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1740

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Local Heavens

K.M. Fajardo · 2025

In 2075 New York, a Filipino American corporate hacker is sent to probe a billionaire’s secrets and falls into doomed desire.

Why this is here

Premise labels: corporate hacker · investigation · elite intrigue · class divide · doomed romance · wealth disparity · morality vs desire · American Dream · cyberspace conspiracy · hidden secrets

Setting labels: New York City · 2075 · near future · cyberpunk future · dystopian future · capitalist society · late-stage capitalism · fractured nation · post-war society · technological future · corporate city · futuristic Americas

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1749

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Mona Lisa Overdrive

William Gibson · 1987 · Sprawl

In a cyberpunk future, tangled lives, fake identities, and an AI-driven conspiracy pull several outsiders toward collision.

Why this is here

Premise labels: cyberpunk thriller · corporate espionage · cyberspace · organized crime · AI plot · identity deception · kidnapping plot

Setting labels: near future · dystopian future · cyberspace · globalized world · urban future · Sprawl · London · Japan · New Jersey

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1783

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Die Welt wird brennen

Lena Kiefer · 2019 · Ophelia Scale

A tech-loving rebel infiltrates a royal court in a future anti-technology regime and falls for the enemy’s brother.

Why this is here

Premise labels: technology ban · resistance movement · royal infiltration · assassination mission · forbidden love · identity conflict · loyalty vs betrayal

Setting labels: near-future England · future Europe · royal court · castle setting · post-tech society · technologically restricted world · dystopian future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1833

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Renegades

Marissa Meyer · 2017 · Renegades

A revenge-driven villain infiltrates a superhero order, only to question loyalty, justice, and her growing feelings.

Why this is here

Premise labels: superhero rivalry · villain infiltration · secret identity · revenge mission · moral ambiguity · opposing sides · hidden allegiance

Setting labels: futuristic world · dystopian city · post-anarchy society · superpowered society · urban setting · underground hideout

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1930

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Hard Boiled

Frank Miller · 1993 · Hard Boiled

A hyper-detailed dystopian sci-fi comic where a suburban man, a killer tax collector, and a robot may be one being.

Why this is here

Premise labels: dystopian future · corporate domination · robot rebellion · identity crisis · dual identity · insurance investigator · tax collector · robot assassin · self-aware robot · subjugated machines · corporate assassin · hidden true self

Setting labels: dystopian future · near future · future Los Angeles · urban wasteland · crowded metropolis · suburban home · corporate city · smog-choked city · cyberpunk reality · mechanized society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1931

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Fox Forever

Mary E. Pearson · 2013 · Jenna Fox Chronicles

A young man with a bioengineered body goes undercover for the resistance and falls for the official’s daughter.

Why this is here

Premise labels: secret mission · undercover infiltration · resistance movement · forbidden romance · identity quest · body transfer · biotech future · rescue mission

Setting labels: futuristic Boston · dystopian future · divided country · post-war society · socially stratified future · bioengineered body world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1953

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The Shockwave Rider

John Brunner · 1995 · Club of Rome Quartet

A gifted fugitive uses identity hacks to evade a surveillance state built on data, control, and accelerating change.

Why this is here

Premise labels: identity hacking · state surveillance · information control · fugitive on the run · social systems

Setting labels: near future · dystopian America · networked society · surveillance state · alternate future · post-quake society · information age · computerized world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1955

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Mindwalker

Kate Dylan · 2022 · Mindwalker

A dying teen corporate mindwalker turns fugitive and infiltrates a rebel group to uncover a conspiracy before time runs out.

Why this is here

Premise labels: mind control · corporate espionage · fugitive protagonist · tech countdown · undercover infiltration · rebellion · truth uncovering · race against time

Setting labels: near future · post-apocalyptic · cyberpunk · corporate-controlled · tech-dominated · radiation-scarred world · nuclear aftermath · neon-lit future · future North America · humanity-dependent-on-tech

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1968

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