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The Man Who Fell to Earth

Walter Tevis

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for The Man Who Fell to Earth. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: alien protagonist, fragile protagonist, genius, outsider, introverted, lonely, alcoholic, depressed, sympathetic antihero, scientist, government agents

Relationships labels used: friendship, mentor relationship, scientist relationship, human contact, alienation, isolation, dependence, power imbalance

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

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Relic

Alan Dean Foster · 2018

The last surviving human joins aliens who want to revive humanity while helping him search for the lost Earth.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: lonely protagonist · older protagonist · resigned protagonist · Everyman protagonist · scientific alien · benevolent alien · aggressive alien · specimen protagonist

Relationships labels: caretaker dynamic · specimen relationship · power imbalance · species conflict · rival factions · scientific rivalry · companionship craving · self-determination

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1255

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Truth of the Divine

Lindsay Ellis · 2021 · Noumena

A traumatized alien intermediary and a journalist race to argue for extraterrestrial personhood as Earth destabilizes.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: traumatized protagonist · interpreter · journalist · alien companion · government agent · antiheroic figures · morally ambiguous · vulnerable lead · supportive love interest · estranged father · childlike alien · co-dependent pair

Relationships labels: human-alien bond · age-gap romance · codependency · power imbalance · mentor-student dynamic · romantic tension · friendship to romance · family estrangement · support dependency · interspecies friendship · interspecies love

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1450

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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

Characterization labels: whiny protagonist · neurotic lead · billionaire protagonist · immortal protagonist · stored intelligence · AI companion · alien characters · child viewpoint characters · cynical narrator · therapeutic self-examination

Relationships labels: marriage · human alien relations · human cooperation · mentor mentee · family bond · romantic attachment · community network · partnership

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1472

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Dark Orbit

Carolyn Ives Gilman · 2015 · Twenty Planets

A disgraced exoethnologist joins a deep-space survey and confronts a hidden world, a murder, and radically unfamiliar minds.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: exoethnologist · scientist protagonist · skeptic · independent woman · mischievous protagonist · unstable crewmate · disgraced exile · mystic · political target · competent middle-aged protagonist · flawed characters · strong female characters

Relationships labels: mentor protégé · surveillance relationship · crew dynamics · authority conflict · interpersonal mistrust · scientist group · family separation · cultural misunderstanding · uneasy alliances · friendship

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1485

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Atlas Alone

Emma Newman · 2019 · Planetfall

A traumatized gamer on a colony ship hunts Earth’s killers through VR, uncovering a deadly conspiracy.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: traumatized protagonist · flawed protagonist · isolated protagonist · gamer protagonist · vengeful protagonist · unlikeable protagonist · morally compromised protagonist · complicated protagonist · trust issues · emotionally armored · corporate slave · indentured worker · non-person

Relationships labels: friendship · power imbalance · manipulation · betrayal · co-conspirator · mistrust · dependence · shipboard hierarchy

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1513

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The Werewolf Principle

Clifford D. Simak · 1994

An amnesiac space traveler returns to a strange future Earth and discovers his body hides multiple minds and a buried secret.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: amnesiac · synthetic human · outsider · fractured self · sympathetic nonhuman · philosophical protagonist · scientific mind · lonely protagonist · humanist characters · aliens with distinct temperaments

Relationships labels: shared body · human-alien coexistence · human-machine interaction · family connection · mentor-like support · community suspicion · species contact

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1515

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The Lost Steersman

Rosemary Kirstein · 2003 · The Steerswoman

A truth-seeking steerswoman chases a dangerous mystery into an archive town and an ever stranger, alien world.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: curious protagonist · logical thinker · field scientist · cartographer · archivist · isolated protagonist · competent heroine · morally serious · traumatized character · mysterious outsider · newcomer character · endearing side character

Relationships labels: friendship · mentor-mentee · companion bond · strained alliance · mistrust · separation · order hierarchy · power imbalance · betrayal

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1521

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The Whisperer in Darkness

H.P. Lovecraft · 2016 · Dark Adventure Radio Theatre

A skeptical professor follows letters and reports of strange Vermont sightings into a hidden alien mystery with cosmic stakes.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: academic protagonist · folklore scholar · skeptical narrator · isolated farmer · investigator · alien intelligences

Relationships labels: correspondence · mentor-like exchange · friendship · human-alien contact · mistrust · investigation partnership · power imbalance

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1524

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Motorman

David Ohle · 2023 · Moldenke

A persecuted man navigates a bizarre, surveilled future of fake weather, artificial skies, and body-altered identities.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: persecuted protagonist · fragmented self · emotionally numbed · paranoid · enigmatic antagonist · mad scientist · bureaucrat · mentor figure · physically altered · alienated

Relationships labels: mentor relationship · romantic relationship · rivalry · pursuer and pursued · surveillance power dynamic · friendship · dependency

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1531

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A Visit to the Husband Archive

Kaliane Bradley · 2025 · The Time Traveler's Passport

In a memory-starved dystopia, a woman checks out a husband from an archive and learns what books can restore.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: literal-minded protagonist · memory-impaired protagonist · female protagonist · older male companion · professorial figure · alien rulers · cynical outsider · emotionally distant character · world-weary character

Relationships labels: companion bond · gendered power imbalance · transactional relationship · mentor-protege · sexual relationship · forced pairing · dependent relationship · colonizer-colonized

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1533

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Opening Moves

Cosimo Yap · 2016 · The Gam3

A rookie gamer enters a VR game tied to alien politics, where leveling up could decide Earth’s fate.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: inept protagonist · naive protagonist · overpowered protagonist · gamer protagonist · tech genius · AI-assisted hero · bumbling hero · underprepared newcomer · self-reliant growth

Relationships labels: human and AI · mentor and pupil · benefactor relationship · dependency · teamwork · trust · guidance · power imbalance · bossy AI · lack of romance

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1549

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The Centre

Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi · 2023

A London-based Pakistani translator joins a secret language school promising fluency in 10 days—and discovers a sinister cost.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: adrift protagonist · privileged protagonist · unlikable protagonist · flawed protagonist · translator protagonist · self-absorbed protagonist · frustrated careerist · obsessive narrator · female narrator · complex character

Relationships labels: female friendship · romantic relationship · interracial relationship · interpersonal power imbalance · friendship rivalry · mentorship · workplace hierarchy

Reader-connected: no

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1551

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