In the (failed) pursuit of finding a literary agent to represent my novel, I quickly learned that citing comparable media is a great way to illustrate what a story is about while avoiding spoilers. Usually, literary agencies asked for similar books to reference when querying, though I have found songs, shows, and movies that reflect the themes and plot points of Sirens as well.
Below are some pieces of media that I think paint a picture of what Sirens is about without revealing too much too soon.
Stories
In my first blog post, I said that Black Mirror heavily influenced and inspired Sirens from the start, so any parallels that can be drawn between these are not surprising. Specifically, concepts from the “Striking Vipers” episode made me consider what a virtual romance might look like.
How would it look to fall in love with something that is just pixels? What happens when we find a love that isn’t tangible and only lives in our heads? Sirens explores some of these ideas by using video games as a means to investigate these concepts.
It should be noted that the first draft of Sirens was completed in 2020, back when Don’t Worry Darling was largely unknown and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow had yet to be crowned as 2022’s Book of the Year. Both of these pieces of media have a lot of similarities to Sirens.
For example, Don’t Worry Darling explores the dangers of incel culture and patriarchal ideals for women. Alice’s story of being restrained by the fantasies of the man in her life reflects some of the larger commentary throughout Sirens about the relationships between people, their views on women, and sex.
I feel like the story Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an easy comparison to Sirens as well. They’re both about video games that are made in the midst of the creators’ personal dramas, after all. Gabrielle Zevin’s story also explores similar criticisms about technology and creative disputes.
Songs
After I had finished my first draft of Sirens, I sent it to some friends in the fall of 2020. I remember driving back to college after being away for the weekend and “She” by Harry Styles came on my driving playlist. With nothing left to do but stare at the nearly vacant highways of Southern Ohio, I found myself really paying attention to the lyrics. I realized that a lot of the lyrics in “She” reflect some plot points in Sirens.
Specifically, “She” seems to outline a story about an idealized woman. The below quote most accurately describes one of the primary conflicts the main character, Michael Ken, considers in Sirens.
Lives for the memory
Harry Styles
A woman who’s just in his head (just in his head)
And she sleeps in his bed (his bed)
While he plays pretend (pretend)
So pretend (pretend)
Though that wasn’t necessarily intentional, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for Harry Styles to have had a subconscious influence on me.
Sirens
It’s no secret that authors seek out and pull from inspiring pieces of media. While some comparable pieces have directly affected the writing of my story, others seem to have worked their way into my head and helped out along the way. There are also notable stories that have similar plot points by happy circumstances.
Whether it was intentional or not, the media that Sirens can be compared to excites me every time I notice similarities. I hope that when Sirens is published you will let me know what it reminded you of!
Chloe Ruffennach's Stories 