17th-century a-wild-sheep-chase action action-packed activism adventure ai alien-invasion aliens alternate-history alternate-reality american-west ancient-sumerian apostasy artificial-intelligence authenticity belief betrayal catholicism character character-building character-development child-prodigy christianity classic classic-literature colonialism coming-of-age compassion computer-virus conservation conspiracy contemporary contemporary-fiction conversion corporate-control corporate-power courage cult-classic cults cultural-assimilation cultural-clash culture-clash cyberpunk dark-humor desert desert-landscapes detective determination doubt dreams dystopia dystopian dystopian-future dystopian-society ecology empathy environment environmental-activism environmental-writing environmentalism ethics evolution existential existentialism exploration faith fantasy fiction friendship future future-society futuristic growth hacker hacking haruki-murakami heros-journey historical-fiction honesty human-nature humanity humility identity imagination inner-journey inner-strength integrity internet introspection introspective isolation japan japanese-culture japanese-literature jesuits journey leadership life-lessons linguistic-virus linguistics literature loneliness love loyalty magical-realism manipulation martyrdom memoir metaphysical metaverse military mind-bending mind-control missionaries missionary moral-compass moral-development moral-dilemma moral-values morality mystery mythology national-parks natural-beauty nature neurolinguistics non-fiction nonfiction novel outdoor-living persecution perseverance personal-development personal-growth personal-reflection philosophy post-apocalyptic postmodern preservation progress psychological psychology purpose quest redemption reflection religion religious-conflict religious-persecution resilience romance sacrifice samurai satire science-fiction self-awareness self-discipline self-discovery self-improvement self-reflection sheep shusaku-endo silence silence-of-god social-commentary society solitude southwest space speculative-fiction spirituality strategy success suffering supernatural surreal surrealism survival sword-fighting swordfighting symbolism technological-advancements technology thriller time-travel tokyo transformation unconventional utopia values victorian-era video-games virtual-reality virtue virtues war wilderness wildlife wisdom