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Phule's Company

Robert Lynn Asprin

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Similar in premise + setting

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

Premise labels used: misfit unit, punishment posting, leadership makeover, wealth-as-power, band of misfits, outcast soldiers, underdog squad, command challenge, team building

Setting labels used: future, space setting, intergalactic military, galactic civilization, remote planet, swamp planet, mining planet, out-of-the-way planet, space legion

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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Revenant Gun

Yoon Ha Lee · 2018 · The Machineries of Empire

An amnesiac young general is used in a fractured empire’s last power struggle, while rivals and allies race to stop a tyrant.

Why this is here

Premise labels: amnesiac soldier · revenant body · fractured empire · factional war · calendrical warfare · reluctant weapon · resurrected general · identity crisis · command under duress

Setting labels: far future · intergalactic empire · space warfare · fractured polity · post-rebellion · militarized society · alien species · spacefaring civilization · fictional future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2004

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Wraith Squadron

Aaron Allston · 1999 · Star Wars: X-Wing

A ragtag squad of X-wing misfits must use stealth, sabotage, and teamwork to outwit an Imperial warlord.

Why this is here

Premise labels: misfit squadron · covert operations · undercover mission · last chance team · special ops squad · pilot commando team · ragtag unit · infiltration mission · enemy impersonation

Setting labels: Star Wars galaxy · post-Endor · New Republic era · Imperial space · large region of space · space warfare · military setting · fictional future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2037

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Shakedowners

Justin Woolley · 2021 · Shakedowners

A washed-up shakedown captain and his misfit crew stumble into a galaxy-threatening alien crisis and must keep a ship intact.

Why this is here

Premise labels: misfit crew · shakedown cruise · accidental hero · save the galaxy · ship testing · underqualified captain · space disaster · alien invasion · runaway command · space haulage

Setting labels: space · galaxy-wide · federation fleet · starships · future · futuristic universe · wormholes · mining colony · Earth

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2066

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Avenging Son

Guy Haley · 2020 · Dawn of Fire

A multi-POV Warhammer 40,000 opener follows the Indomitus Crusade’s launch, as Guilliman and others face Chaos and imperial collapse.

Why this is here

Premise labels: galactic crusade · Imperium under siege · Chaos war · return of a primarch · military campaign · reform of empire · battlegroup mission · crisis of survival

Setting labels: far future · galactic scale · Terra · hive worlds · void warfare · Imperium · war-torn galaxy · grimdark future · bureaucratic empire

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2069

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Steel World

B.V. Larson · 2013 · Undying Mercenaries

A broke college dropout joins Earth’s mercenary legions and is sent to a dangerous alien world where death isn’t the end.

Why this is here

Premise labels: forced enlistment · galactic empire · mercenary soldiers · proxy wars · revival tech · near-immortality · space combat · war for survival

Setting labels: near future · interstellar empire · alien planets · frontier military · space war · distant future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2070

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The Heart of Valor

Tanya Huff · 2007 · Confederation of Valor

A newly promoted marine NCO joins a training mission that turns into a deadly fight, while a larger alien mystery deepens.

Why this is here

Premise labels: military mission · training exercise · survival mission · platoon under fire · hidden enemy · mystery investigation · conspiracy

Setting labels: far future · spacefaring setting · marine training planet · military camp · interstellar war · galaxy-wide conflict · alien society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2082

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Space Force

Jeremy Robinson · 2018

A defunded, misfit Space Force unit must fight grotesque aliens in a battle-royale invasion—with jokes flying as hard as bullets.

Why this is here

Premise labels: alien invasion · military misfits · defunded program · battle royale · human vs aliens · save Earth · space military · video game combat · underfunded base · misfit team

Setting labels: space base · military base · near-future Earth · outer space · international conflict · fictional near-future · video game-inspired reality · earthbound invasion · space command

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2083

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Outriders

Jay Posey · 2016 · Outriders

A newly recruited special-ops captain leads a covert team to stop a hidden plot that could ignite war between Earth and Mars.

Why this is here

Premise labels: special ops · covert unit · interplanetary war · hidden enemy · war prevention · death proofing · secret mission · intelligence unit

Setting labels: solar system · future Earth · Mars colonies · moon colonies · near future · spacefaring · militarized future · interplanetary politics

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2088

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Marine

Joshua Dalzelle · 2018 · Terran Scout Fleet

A reluctant space-marine recruit is forced into a covert alien-adjacent mission that may reshape his future.

Why this is here

Premise labels: military recruit · elite unit · covert mission · alien threat · space navy · special ops · coming into power · enemy territory

Setting labels: near-future Earth · interstellar civilization · space navy · military academy · hostile alien space · lawless world · shared universe · Earth under pressure

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2088

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Nemesis

James Swallow · 2010 · The Horus Heresy

An elite band of assassins is assembled to kill Horus while a second killer closes in on the Emperor.

Why this is here

Premise labels: assassination mission · dual mission · counterassassination · elite team · secret order · doomed mission · race against time · failing mission · civil war · shadow war

Setting labels: far future · space war · imperial palace · Terra · remote agri-world · civil war setting · shadowy underworld · war-torn galaxy · grimdark future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2089

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Brothers of the Snake

Dan Abnett · 2007 · Warhammer 40,000

A connected set of Warhammer 40,000 tales follows one Space Marine squad as duty, ritual, and war shape their rise.

Why this is here

Premise labels: space marines · successor chapter · chapter culture · military campaign · defend humanity · xenos threats · chaos threats · rogue cults · coming of age · career progression

Setting labels: far future · grimdark future · space warfare · interplanetary conflict · ocean world · star system · Imperium · military chapter · low-tech future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2128

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Red Lanterns, Volume 1: Blood and Rage

Peter Milligan · 2012 · Red Lanterns

A rage-fueled DC team spirals into crisis as its leader questions purpose, power, and who should control the Corps.

Why this is here

Premise labels: rage-powered team · antihero squad · power struggle · origin stories · revenge mission · leadership crisis · cosmic faction

Setting labels: outer space · cosmic setting · alien world · Earth subplot · space opera · DC universe · fictional universe

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.2142

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