GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Terra for book writing

The verdict

GPT-5.6 Terra wins, 9691

Same 12 book writing tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.6 Terra took 4 tasks, GPT-5.6 Luna took 1, 7 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — The query letter

Write a UK literary agent query letter (max 200 words) from these facts only: title 'The Drowned Village'; upmarket crime, 92,000 words, complete; comparable to Jane Harper and Elly Griffiths; hook — a retired lighthouse keeper investigates letters from her dead sister, postmarked from a village drowned in 1971; author bio — former coastguard, short story published in Mslexia in 2024, first novel. Standard shape: hook, book, bio, sign-off. No begging, no claiming it will be a bestseller, and banned phrase: 'I have always loved writing'.

Dear [Agent’s Name],

A retired lighthouse keeper begins investigating letters from her dead sister—letters postmarked from a village that was drowned in 1971.

*The Drowned Village* is a complete, 92,000-word upmarket crime novel, with appeal for readers of Jane Harper and Elly Griffiths.

[Briefly—though factually—this novel follows the lighthouse keeper’s investigation into the letters and their impossible postmarks.] 

I am a former coastguard. My short story was published in *Mslexia* in 2024, and *The Drowned Village* is my first novel.…
Dear [Agent Name],

I am seeking representation for *The Drowned Village*, an upmarket crime novel complete at 92,000 words. It may appeal to readers of Jane Harper and Elly Griffiths.

Retired lighthouse keeper Mara Venn begins receiving letters in her dead sister’s handwriting, each postmarked from a village submerged beneath a reservoir in 1971. Drawn back to the coastline she thought she had left behind, Mara investigates the village’s disappearance—and the secrets her sister may have carried into the water.

I am a former coastguard, and m…

Task by task

TaskGPT-5.6 LunaGPT-5.6 Terra
Is it a book?910
Twelve chapters, one year1010
Back cover, no spoilers1010
Three cuts that matter810
70,000 words around a day job1010
Unstick the dialogue910
First or third?99
The 30,000-word wall109
Self-publish or chase agents99
The query letter69
Naming the real people99
Refuse the fake memoir1010

Full receipts: GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Terra · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, grok-4.5

Questions people ask

Which is better for book writing: GPT-5.6 Luna or GPT-5.6 Terra?

GPT-5.6 Terra — it scored 96/100 against 91/100 on our 12-task book writing suite, winning 4 tasks to 1 with 7 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published book writing tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More book writing head-to-heads: GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Terra · Claude Fable 5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra

Full ranking: Best AI for book writing · model pages: GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Terra