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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Pacing

This is the preferred term. Synonyms are included. You can turn off synonyms.

Narrower terms: Fast-paced, Slow-paced, Consistent pacing, Irregular pacing

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

Esmeraldas Blick

Cover art for Esmeraldas Blick
by Karoline Toso

Series:

Esmeraldas Blick

Genres:

Historical fiction

Tropes:

Baby acquisition, Doorstop baby, Framed for a crime, Rape, Surprise baby acquisition

Characters:

Adult characters, Child characters, Priests and Clergy

Time Periods:

Medieval

Places:

France, Paris

The Missing Page

Cover art for The Missing Page
by Cat Sebastian

Series:

Page and Sommers

Genres:

Cozy mystery, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Complicated inheritance, Dysfunctional family, Secret relationship

Characters:

Doctor, Spy, Transgender side character(s), White/European main character(s)

Time Periods:

1940s, Post WWII

Places:

Cornwall

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

Pride and Prejudice

by Anna Quindlen, Jane Austen

Series:

Genres:

Brit Lit, Comedy of manners, Humor, Literary Classics

Tropes:

Enemies to lovers

Characters:

White/Western European main character(s)

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

British Isles, Domestic, England, Europe

Red, White & Royal Blue

Cover art for Red, White & Royal Blue
by Casey McQuiston

Series:

Genres:

Contemporary romance, New adult fiction

Tropes:

Celebrity relationships, Coming out, Enemies to lovers, Epistolary, Fake relationship, Long distance relationship, Men loving men, Politics, Secret relationship

Characters:

Bisexual main character(s), Characters in their 20s, Gay main character(s), Gay side character(s), Latine/Latin American main character(s), Royalty

Time Periods:

2010-2020

Places:

Austin, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Washington, D.C.

Gyo: The Death-Stench Creeps

by Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki

Series:

Genres:

Cosmic horror, Creature horror, Horror Graphic Novel, Science fiction horror

Tropes:

Anyone can die, Apocalypse, Last man standing, Science caused the apocalypse, Science goes wrong, Stranger than fiction, Survivor by coincidence

Characters:

Characters in their 20s, East Asian main character(s), Heterosexual main character, Japanese main character

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

Beach, City, Japan

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

Strange the Dreamer

by Laini Taylor

Series:

Genres:

High fantasy

Tropes:

Characters:

Adult characters, Ageless or immortal characters, Characters aged over 50, Characters in their late teens, Librarian, Magic user, Teen main character(s)

Time Periods:

Iron Age (Fantastical)

Places:

City, Fantastic world, Unnamed

Search books…

Include:

Genres

Tropes

Character Traits

Setting: Time Period

Setting: Location

Sex Ratings

Language Ratings

Violence Ratings

Ending Type

Content Notes or Warnings

Appeal

Publication Date

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

Appeal

Authors

Publishers

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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