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Fiction Filters

Trope tagging and searching for books

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Books

Science fiction

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

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

A Natural History of Dragons

Cover art for A Natural History of Dragons
by Marie Brennan

Series:

Memoirs of Lady Trent

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners

Tropes:

Travel

Characters:

Naturalist

Time Periods:

Victorian Era

Places:

Secondary World

Scales and Sensibility

Cover art for Scales and Sensibility
by Stephanie Burgis

Series:

Regency Dragons

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners, Regency romance

Tropes:

Characters:

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

England

Petty Treason

Cover art for Petty Treason
by Madeleine E. Robins

Series:

Sarah Tolerance

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Characters:

Detective, Swordswoman

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

London

Point of Honour

Cover art for Point of Honour
by Madeleine E. Robins

Series:

Sarah Tolerance

Genres:

Alternate history, Fantasy of manners, Historical mystery

Tropes:

Characters:

Detective, Swordswoman

Time Periods:

Regency Era

Places:

London

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

Infomocracy

Cover art for Infomocracy
by Malka Ann Older

Series:

Infomocracy

Genres:

Near future science fiction, Political thriller, Science fiction

Tropes:

Corporate overreach, Dystopia

Characters:

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

The Devil You Know

Cover art for The Devil You Know
by Kit Rocha

Series:

Mercenary Librarians

Genres:

Post-apocalyptic fiction, Science fiction romance

Tropes:

Corporate overreach, Dystopia, Found family

Characters:

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

American South

The Ministry for the Future

by Kim Stanley Robinson

Series:

Genres:

Science fiction, Social science fiction

Tropes:

Characters:

Time Periods:

Short-Term Future

Places:

Switzerland

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

Leviathan Wakes

Cover art for Leviathan Wakes
by James S.A. Corey

Series:

The Expanse

Genres:

Space opera

Tropes:

Band of misfits, Ensemble cast, Gateways and wormholes, Ghost ship, Mystery plot, Politics

Characters:

Middle-aged characters

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

Places:

Outer space

All Systems Red

Cover art for All Systems Red
by Martha Wells

Series:

The Murderbot Diaries

Genres:

Space opera

Tropes:

Android, Corporate overreach, Dystopia, Found family, Snarky AI

Characters:

Agender main character(s), Asexual main character(s)

Time Periods:

Long-Term Future

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

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

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

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

Alice Isn’t Dead

Cover art for Alice Isn't Dead
by Joseph Fink

Series:

Genres:

Creature horror, Paranormal mystery, Science fiction

Tropes:

Conspiracy, Depressing road trip, Inhuman killer, Missing spouse, Second chance romance, Stranger than fiction, The bad guys aren't human, Woman in a man's world, Women loving women

Characters:

African American main character(s), American main character, Character(s) with anxiety, Character(s) with depression, Characters in their 30s, Lesbian main character(s), Truck driver

Time Periods:

Information Age

Places:

United States

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Search Tips

  • use “quotation marks around a phrase” to search for an exact phrase
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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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