Top 5 Cozy SciFi/Fantasy

Welcome (back) to my unapologetically casual top-5 series. Follow the tag ‘Top 5 2023’ for more. There are no stars and no metrics. The only criteria is how much I enjoyed the book, and how well its strengths place it primarily in a given category. Yes, books can appear on more than one list if they fit.

I like existing.

But dang, it can be exhausting, can’t it? You’ve got things which demand attention like your job, your family, and your property, all jockying for space with the things you want to do, like deepen your romantic relationship, friendships and spiritual life as you try to keep up with your hobbies. Want a little self-improvement? A little exercise, or a dash of lifelong earning? That’s gonna take time and effort too. If there were 47 hours per day in a 9-day week, we might could get it all done… but, who am I kidding, we would just end up working 32 hours a day.

I’m tired, folks. I bet many of you are as well.

Often, the default tone of speculative fiction is pretty heavy. You’ve got evil people doing evil things, epic challenges, and world-ending stakes. With everything going on in our real lives, our fantasy escapism doesn’t always feel like much of an escape. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been stressed out reading a novel?

Don’t look now, but I think cozy fantasy just entered the chat.

Fantasy doesn’t have to be all swordfights or laser-shootouts. It can be… pleasant. In their own way, each of these delightful novels captures the spirit of a warm cup of tea and a cozy blanket on a rainy day, with a splash of magic to tickle the imagination. I enjoyed the heck out of them, and I think you will too.

Top 5 Cozy SF/F:

5. The Spare Man – Do you like science fiction, romance, and mystery without dark, intense violence? How about cute, scrappy service dogs? If so, you will love this book. 

4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – This book is an incredible accomplishment of voice and perspective. It is a charming mystery told through the narration of a young man on the autism spectrum who just wants to know what happened to his neighbor’s dog.  

3. All Systems Red – This book stretches the definition of ‘cozy,’ but it’s my list, and my primary experience with this sardonic robot was to be charmed. You live in the head of an android programmed to be a mindless security guard, but who just wants to watch their soaps. 

2. Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons – Ah, Miss Percy’s pocket guides. If you love period piece comedies of manners and cute dragon antics, this is the series for you. 

1. Legends and Lattes – Arguably, this book is the poster child for the post-pandemic cozy fantasy movement. Following an orc barbarian who just wants to retire quietly and open a coffee shop, this book is the master of quiet tension and warm feelings. This book is top ten all-time for me, and tops this list. 

Honorable Mention – Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – The brits were doing quirky, quiet fantasy long before it carried the cozy label. A bumbling, eccentric Sherlock Holmes solves a corporate murder with the help of a forgetful wizard and a put-upon everyman.

EDIT: At the time I wrote this list, I had not yet read A Psalm for the Wild-Built, which is a delightful, Cozy, solarpunk novella. It deserves mention as well. Let’s call it Honorable Mention #2, although it probably deserves #2 placement on this list, moving Spare Man to honorable mention, and, sadly, bumping Dirk Gently off the list entirely. Should I have re-written this post? Probably. But, I couldn’t do that to poor Dirk, not at this late hour.

Pleasant, comforting reading, folks.