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The Elephants' Graveyard

Lawrence M. Schoen

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Similar in characterization + relationships

These books are ranked using the characterization + relationships labels extracted for The Elephants' Graveyard. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Characterization labels used: historian, Speaker, outcast, child seer, precognitive child, physically challenged child, albino character, matriarchal authority, villainous senator, quiet brilliance, curious child, heroic protagonist, scholar, best friend

Relationships labels used: mentor-mentee, parent-child, friendship, found family, political oppression, inter-species prejudice, class exclusion, community isolation, power dependency, betrayal

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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D

Michel Faber · 2020

A girl who alone notices the letter D vanishing must cross into a strange winter world to restore language.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young heroine · observant child · orphan · outsider · adopted child · resourceful heroine · witty heroine · morally brave heroine · shape-shifting companion · authoritarian ruler · mysterious teacher · minor depth

Relationships labels: adoptive family · mentor-student · companion bond · friendship · outsider status · protector role · community pressure · power and oppression

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1739

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Dragon's Fire

Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey · 2006 · Pern

A mute young tracker and other outcasts race to expose theft, mine danger, and a threat to Pern before Thread returns.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: mute protagonist · gifted tracker · orphan protagonist · young protagonists · Harper apprentice · outcast children · redeemable son · corrupt villain · grumpy mentor · morally good heroine · survivalist child

Relationships labels: adoption · mentor apprentice · parent-child · found family · community exile · romance · rivalry · power imbalance · social belonging · betrayal

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1789

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The Memory of the Ogisi

Moses Ose Utomi · 2025 · Forever Desert

A historian leaves a desert oasis to uncover a buried truth, only to find history is more unstable—and angrier—than expected.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: scholar · historian · truthseeker · young boy · oppressed child · hopeful protagonist · naive protagonist · traumatized survivor · moral protagonist · antagonistic viewpoint

Relationships labels: family duty · community obligation · mentor-like pursuit · oppressor-oppressed · cross-cultural encounter · generational conflict · collective identity

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1821

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Odd John

Olaf Stapledon · 1939

A biographical frame follows a hyperintelligent mutant who seeks others like him and a new order beyond humanity.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: child prodigy · supergenius · mutant · amoral · arrogant · contemptuous · alienated · cynical · manipulative · inscrutable · faithful narrator · devoted observer · devotee · undeveloped body · hyperintelligent mind · socially estranged

Relationships labels: mentor-like bond · friendship · dependency · worship · power imbalance · family tension · community formation · colonial group · us versus them · superior/inferior dynamic

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1834

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Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America

Robert Charles Wilson · 2009

A loyal friend narrates the rise of a bookish heir in a low-tech, theocratic 22nd-century America.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: naive protagonist · idealistic narrator · loyal friend · aristocratic heir · philosopher hero · agnostic protagonist · bookish character · mentor figure · murderous ruler · power-hungry uncle · young male friendship · coming-of-age characters · clueless observer · moral innocent · political actor

Relationships labels: friendship · boyhood friends · mentor-protégé · uncle-nephew · parent-child · political rivalry · class-crossing friendship · loyal companionship · family betrayal · power and dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1846

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Against the Fall of Night

Arthur C. Clarke · 2003

A curious young man in Earth’s last city uncovers buried truths that could shatter a stagnant immortal civilization.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: young hero · curious protagonist · rebellious youth · brash protagonist · explorer · observer · wise elder · keeper of records · tutor · telepath · immortal citizens · flat characters · paper-thin characters · archetypal characters

Relationships labels: mentor-student · youth vs elders · protagonist vs society · civilizational divide · cultural isolation · power imbalance · community conformity · two societies · rival societies

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1858

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Cyteen

C.J. Cherryh · 1995 · Cyteen

A cloned genius must grow up inside a power-hungry future society built on genetic engineering and control.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: genius · political operator · clone protagonist · child development · morally ambiguous · unsympathetic characters · powerful woman · traumatized character · cunning characters · brilliant but ruthless

Relationships labels: mentor-mentee · parent-child · clone original · companion bond · power imbalance · abusive relationship · political rivalry · loyalty conflict · master-servant

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1863

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More Than Human

Theodore Sturgeon · 1979

Misfit children with psychic gifts form a shared consciousness and must decide what power, identity, and humanity mean.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: outcasts · misfits · children · young adults · disabled characters · psychic characters · genius child · simpleton · caregiver figure · morally compromised character · damaged characters · lonely characters · abused children · gifted outsiders · sympathetic antagonists

Relationships labels: found family · group bonding · dependency · psychic link · parent-child conflict · caretaking · community formation · collective identity · betrayal · power imbalance

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1869

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The Clockwork Three

Matthew J. Kirby · 2010

Three struggling children in a late-1800s city discover that helping one another may be the key to freedom.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: orphan · street musician · busker · hotel maid · clockmaker's apprentice · young inventor · child laborer · immigrant child · breadwinner · invalid parent · curious child · determined child · soft-hearted · strong-willed · intense · guarded · brave children · damaged protagonists · villainous adults · abusive guardian · kind mentor · mysterious adult · medium · fortune teller

Relationships labels: friendship · found family · sibling duty · parent-child responsibility · mentor-apprentice · oppression · abuse · dependency · cooperation · mutual aid · trust · community support

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1874

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Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

Eliezer Yudkowsky · 2015 · Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

A science-minded Harry Potter retools magic with logic and rationality in a sprawling alternate-universe first year.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: child prodigy · hyperintelligent child · rationalist protagonist · manipulative protagonist · arrogant protagonist · know-it-all · science nerd · social manipulator · cynical mentor · smart rival · out of character cast · villain intelligence uplift · character growth · morally ambiguous

Relationships labels: mentor-student · friendship · rivalry · romantic tension · parent-child · found family · power imbalance · manipulation

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1885

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Songmaster

Orson Scott Card · 2002

A gifted orphan singer is trained to sway emotions, then sent to an emperor where music, love, and power collide.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: boy prodigy · gifted child · orphan · singer · emotional repression · beautiful youth · martyred hero · sympathetic emperor · complex characters · morally mixed characters · manipulated child · preternaturally mature child

Relationships labels: mentor student · parent loss · found family · romantic love · same-sex relationship · power imbalance · dependency · patron client · friendship · loyalty · betrayal · care and protection

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1892

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The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

Sofia Samatar · 2024

A boy lifted from a mining ship’s underclass and a professor from within the system uncover the chains binding them both.

Why this is here

Characterization labels: archetypal characters · unnamed protagonists · boy · woman · professor · prophet · mentor-mentee dynamic · artistic outsider · marginalized student · careerist academic · symbolic characters

Relationships labels: mentor-mentee · teacher-student · class divide · solidarity · community · power imbalance · oppressor-oppressed · family legacy · collegial rivalry · dependency

Semantic match: ranked by characterization + relationships

Distance: 0.1895

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