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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Books

Detailed world building

Synonyms are not being included. Include synonyms?

The Warrior’s Apprentice

Cover art for The Warrior's Apprentice
by Lois McMaster Bujold

Series:

The Vorkosigan Saga

Genres:

Science fiction and fantasy, Space opera

Tropes:

Coming of age, Cons and swindles, Fealty, Madcap adventures, Politics

Characters:

Character(s) with ADHD

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Military, Outer space

The Hands of the Emperor

Cover art for The Hands of the Emperor
by Victoria Goddard

Series:

The Lays of the Hearth-Fire

Genres:

Fantasy, Fantasy of manners

Tropes:

Fealty, Found family, Playing the long game, Politics, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Asexual main character(s), Characters in their 50s, Characters in their 60s, Politician, Royalty

Time Periods:

Places:

Africa inspired setting, Pacific Islands inspired setting, Secondary World

His Majesty’s Dragon

Cover art for His Majesty’s Dragon
by Naomi Novik

Series:

Temeraire

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners

Tropes:

Telepathic companion animals

Characters:

Dragon characters, Dragon rider, Ship captain

Time Periods:

1800-1810, Napoleonic War, Regency Era

Places:

England

The Goblin Emperor

Cover art for The Goblin Emperor
by Katherine Addison

Series:

The Goblin Emperor

Genres:

Fantasy, Fantasy of manners, Gaslamp fantasy

Tropes:

Assassination, Dysfunctional family, Fealty, Forgotten heir, Mystery plot, Politics

Characters:

Character(s) with PTSD, Characters in their late teens, Introverted main character(s), Royalty, Straight main character

Time Periods:

Places:

Secondary World

The Left Hand of Darkness

Cover art for The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin

Series:

Hainish Cycle

Genres:

Science fiction, Science fiction and fantasy

Tropes:

Characters:

Adult characters, Envoy

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Fictional planet

Feed

Cover art for Feed
by Mira Grant

Series:

Newsflesh

Genres:

Dystopian fiction, Political thriller, Zombie horror

Tropes:

Character blog, Dystopia, Pandemic, Politics, Road trip, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Blogger, Characters in their 20s, Journalist

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

America, California

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas

Series:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Genres:

Fairy tale retelling, Fantasy

Tropes:

Beauty and the Beast retelling, Enemies to lovers, Feelings realization, Fish out of water, Forced proximity, Kidnapping

Characters:

Ageless or immortal characters, Artist, Fantasy species characters, Human characters, Huntress

Time Periods:

Places:

Fantastic world

A Memory Called Empire

Cover art for A Memory Called Empire
by Amy Landon (Narrator), Arkady Martine

Series:

Teixcalaan

Genres:

Science fiction and fantasy

Tropes:

Conspiracy, Possession, Women loving women

Characters:

Time Periods:

Places:

Outer space

Mass Effect: The Complete Comics

by Jeremy Barlow, John Jackson Miller, Mac Walters

Series:

Genres:

Science fiction

Tropes:

Ensemble cast, Evil AI, Heist, Snarky AI, Spaceship crew

Characters:

Time Periods:

Places:

Outer space

The Monster Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

Series:

The Masquerade

Genres:

Fantasy

Tropes:

Deadly game, Fish out of water, Road trip, Unreliable narrator

Characters:

Femme fatale, Lesbian main character(s), Morally grey main character, Nonbinary main character(s)

Time Periods:

Places:

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

Series:

The Masquerade

Genres:

Fantasy, Historical fantasy, Speculative fiction

Tropes:

Feelings denial, Feelings realization, Rivals to lovers, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Character with substance abuse issues, Character(s) with TBI, Lesbian main character(s), Morally grey main character

Time Periods:

Places:

Beartown

by Fredrik Backman, Neil Smith

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary fiction

Tropes:

Athletes are untouchable, Close-knit community protects their own, Ensemble cast, Slice of life

Characters:

Adult characters, High school student, Student athlete, Teen main character(s)

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

Residential, Small town, Sweden

Harrow the Ninth

Cover art for Harrow the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir

Series:

The Locked Tomb

Genres:

Science fiction, Science fiction and fantasy, Sword and sorcery

Tropes:

Amnesia, Dysfunctional family, Everyone is gay, Found family, God is just a person, Men loving men, Tragic backstory, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Bisexual side character(s), Lesbian main character(s), Necromancer

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Outer space, Space ship

Gideon the Ninth

Cover art for Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir

Series:

The Locked Tomb

Genres:

Occult mystery, Science fiction, Speculative fiction, Sword and sorcery

Tropes:

Anyone can die, Dysfunctional family, Everyone is gay, Tragic backstory, Unreliable narrator, Women loving women

Characters:

Characters in their late teens, Cisgender woman main character(s), Lesbian main character(s), Loner, Necromancer, Orphan, Queer side character(s), Warrior

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Castle, Fictional planet, Outer space

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Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

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Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Exclude:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

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Publication Date

Note that we don't have dates for all the books in our database.

Search Tips

  • use “quotation marks around a phrase” to search for an exact phrase
  • use – in front of a word or quoted phrase to exclude it from the search results, e.g. -“enemies to lovers”
  • right now, the checkbox options aren’t narrowed down as you search, but stay tuned! We’re working on it.

This is an academic research project on crowdsourced tagging and building a vocabulary for fiction.

How does this work?

  1. Add books to our database, if the book you want to tag isn’t already there. You can import your books from StoryGraph or Goodreads if you want to save time.
  2. Add tags to the books. Your tag set is your own, and you’ll be able to come back and edit it if you want. Other taggers can’t view your tag set or overwrite your tags.
  3. View the book, and use the tags to see what other books share your favorite tropes and characters!
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