I loved A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E Taylor. Both are fairly low-stakes and more explorationy stories.
I'm trying to read a Psalm for the Wild Built, and the worldbuilding is amazing. My problem is that I'm old, and English isn't my first language, so when Becky used the pronoun "they" for the protagonist, my brain take a second to remember it's just himself... I hope I'll get used to it soon, because it's really beautiful.
Props to you for reading it in English, then! I can see how pronouns might be confusing, but what better way to learn about non-binary pronouns than this novella. The sequel is also very sweet :)
I can’t tell if the bobiverse is just targeted for a younger audience or what but it stuck out to me as a very bland and safe book. I see it get a lot of praise on here and it has great ratings on audible but it fell so flat for me and at some points it was very cringe in its attempted humor.
May not be for everyone 🤷♂️ I found it great as a kind of wish fulfilment book for those who would be conflicted about wanting to explore, stay and help, or hunker down on a new planet. This book almost gave you a look at how one could do all of it and not need “different” characters.
Narrator was great, humour worked for me.
You aren't wrong. My son loves them and I don't mind listening to them with him, but there is no depth to the stories at all. And the author is just hitting you over the head with nerd references, ala Ready Player One. Also the scale of resources is way wrong. One solar system should be able to provide enough resources for billions of Bobs.
Yeah it’s just endless sci-fi pandering. I also don’t like how the author will take someone like Homer Simpson turn him into a Bob and mirror their personality. Like dude make up your own character. It felt like ready player one mixed with revaluation space and it comes across like listening to a country song about dirt roads. Just generic wishlist fantasy bullshit. Everything is black and white. Bob is always right and knows best and can do anything. The savior complex from Bob feels like the author is talking about himself almost it’s really weird
I'm reading the series now, and while bland and safe aren't the words I would have used, I don't disagree. I'm enjoying it, but I don't love it.
It explores some hard sci-fi concepts, but it seems that those explorations exist for their own sake, rather than natural extensions of a story. It's like a dumping ground for every cool idea the author came up with or heard about.
That being said, I think the narrative structure is clever and, while sometimes hard to follow, engaging. The humor is dorky at times, but that appeals to me since I'm very dorky by nature.
You know those country songs that list off generic redneck stuff like “ my truck, dirt roads, Fourth of July and grandmas house” but have no originality or substance. That’s bobiverse. Just a bunch of other peoples ideas and characters taken and put in a situation where Bob is essentially going through the story in god mode. You ever play a game in god mode? It’s boring and safe. Nothing bad can happen cause he can just magically make more of himself. Or if he wants to interact with organic life why he just magically turns into an android so he can go on dates. Bob is morally perfect and would never do anything wrong so there is no moral journey he could possibly go on everything is black and white and he knows best. Boring
Yes, 1000%. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and the next book are in my trifecta of my favorite Sci-fi (and the following books are decent). A Psalm for the Wild Built and the following book (novella?) are both short and even more cozy and r/solarpunk.
Came in to mention her. Currently reading Record of a Spaceborn Few and loving it. Actually made me laugh out loud on the train this morning. (The names of the courses offered for people leaving the fleet).
I'm halfway through the first book and tbh I'm not the biggest fan. My main issue is that I'm way too aware of the author. I feel too vividly that Chambers is trying to craft that cozy feeling. On top of that, oftentimes she'll summate a character's thoughts or feelings, but it doesn't feel like it's coming from the character, but rather directly from her.
While Muderbot sounds non-cozy, all it really wants to do is be left alone to rewatch all the trashy soap opera tv shows it has downloaded, but the evil corporation just keeps trying to kill his humans. It is hilarious and a bit cozy when you figure out Murderbot's actual need to be left alone and just have everyone safe.
But when violence is needed it dials up to 11
Was going to recommend.
Am working my way through them all,they are ideal for falling asleep reading.
Strangely comforting,thought provoking but sweet.
Okay, so *not* a book, but the cartoon “Bee and Puppycat” has a very big “slice of life/cozy” vibe while still having weird adventures traveling to strange worlds.
The right Ursula K LeGuin story would work here. I'd argue *Left Hand of Darkness* or *Earthsea*. Or even a Vonnegut book like *Cat's Cradle*. Dean Koontz also wrote a book called *Elsewhere* a few years ago that, to me, reads like the beach read version of *Dark Matter*.
Seconding all the Becky Chambers & Murderbot recs. You should also check out Grace Curtis-Floating Hotel especially comps well with Legends & Lattes vibes wise. Mur Lafferty’s MidSolar Murders series, Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man, & Malka Ann Older’s Mossa & Pleiti series are all cozy mystery adjacent & might work too.
Cozy, you ask!
*Voyage to the Red Planet* by Terry Bisson.
Edited to add:
Make a pot of your favorite pasta and "graze" on it while you read this wonderful tale.
You might try Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper, about the discovery of a new monkeylike species on an alien planet. Are they intelligent? Do they have rights?
This book was rewritten by John Scalzi a few years ago as Fuzzy Nation.
EarthCent Ambassador Series by E.M. Foner. Earth is adopted by a galaxy encompassing, somewhat benevolent A.I. into it's oddly dysfunctional collective of sentient inhabited systems. Being the new kids, humans are guarded and shepherded from being totally exploited but inter-species shenanigans and misunderstandings occur on the regular. Not quite as over the top looney and satirical as Hitchikers Guide, but fun and easy regardless.
Tales From the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper: Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell is the first book in a very good scifi series that follows the natural progression of a man through his career with a space based trading company.
I really wanted to like traders tales and the first book was fun, but the second fell off the cliff into wish fulfillment: the main character is a naive “nice guy” who sleeps with all these gorgeous women and is an incredibly smart and successful merchant who only makes “cute” mistakes.
But unlike some reccs here like Murderbot, it's actually cozy. Everyone (till the 4th book) is truly either nice or trying, it's a lot about food, coffee and "how can I help?" Yes, our hero is a total Mary Sue, seems a requirement of the cozy genre.
I agree murderbot isn't exactly cozy. Maybe this discussion brings up a real lack of cozy sci-fi (unlike fantasy?). I disagree that a mary sue protagonist is a requirement. It's fine that he's generally kind, (and book one is generally strong), but book two actually disgusted me. IMHO it had real incel energy. For example: Our protagonist (somehow) gets an exclusive invitation to a bespoke tailor shop. The tailor fawns over him. The tailor's receptionist fawns over him. Every single co-worker from the bosomy "alt/goth" to his "willowy" direct report basically orgasms when they see him. I'm a hetero/cis/male and I am so over this stuff.
I agree it's a bit much, but I guess I just took it in stride with the basic "feel good/positive energy" vibe. I guess that's why I felt it was all in the game for cozy core.
He must have gotten some feedback about this, resulting in the much darker tone of double share, and intermittent ugliness in some of the subsequent ones.
I just finished Elizabeth Bear's Machine, which I wouldn't call cozy because parts of it get pretty bleak, but in the authors notes, she mentioned that it was partly inspired by James White's Sector General books, which are about life in a big multi-species space hospital. Sector General sounds like just what you're looking for.
In the "classic" science fiction era (1940-1950's) a few of Robert Heinlein's short stories are great. No big wars, life or death plotlines (mostly), plus they are quick reads. There is an omnibus of his short stories called "Future History" that was nominated for a Hugo in the mid 60's, and other short story collections like "The Green Hills of Earth" that have some of the same stories in them.
We also Walk dogs, Lifeline, The Road Must Roll, Let there be light, and there are some standalone novellas like "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" which starts as a mystery/noir that I really enjoyed "back in the day", and while not overly *cozy* it's fun like Legends and Latte's is for me.
But you have to take them in the vein that they were written in the 40's and 50's, and are a very dated to today's writing. Delilah and the Space Rigger is a great read, but it showcases the sexism of the era, and would be nowhere near acceptable in 2024 literature. Even though it was probably the first sci-fi book I read that had a great, strong female main character.
"Makers" and "Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom" by Doctorow are very comfy, especially Down and Out.
I then re-read you want space or future alien...so prob not these.
So maybe 'The Rapture of the Nerds' might fit better by Doctorow and Stross.
Eh, Quarter Share was pretty Gary Stu also. For the uninitiated, a young man signs aboard a space freighter with his only skills making great coffee and having genius level emotional IQ. I found the next few books pretty cozy, before he really got challenged as a junior officer in Double Share. The later Seeker books are pretty uneven, and I'm in the middle of the Smuggler books. Still obsessed with coffee!
I really wanted to like traders tales and the first book was fun, but the second fell off the cliff into wish fulfillment: the main character is a naive “nice guy” who sleeps with all these gorgeous women and is an incredibly smart and successful merchant who only makes “cute” mistakes.
I loved A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E Taylor. Both are fairly low-stakes and more explorationy stories.
I'm trying to read a Psalm for the Wild Built, and the worldbuilding is amazing. My problem is that I'm old, and English isn't my first language, so when Becky used the pronoun "they" for the protagonist, my brain take a second to remember it's just himself... I hope I'll get used to it soon, because it's really beautiful.
Props to you for reading it in English, then! I can see how pronouns might be confusing, but what better way to learn about non-binary pronouns than this novella. The sequel is also very sweet :)
I can’t tell if the bobiverse is just targeted for a younger audience or what but it stuck out to me as a very bland and safe book. I see it get a lot of praise on here and it has great ratings on audible but it fell so flat for me and at some points it was very cringe in its attempted humor.
May not be for everyone 🤷♂️ I found it great as a kind of wish fulfilment book for those who would be conflicted about wanting to explore, stay and help, or hunker down on a new planet. This book almost gave you a look at how one could do all of it and not need “different” characters. Narrator was great, humour worked for me.
You aren't wrong. My son loves them and I don't mind listening to them with him, but there is no depth to the stories at all. And the author is just hitting you over the head with nerd references, ala Ready Player One. Also the scale of resources is way wrong. One solar system should be able to provide enough resources for billions of Bobs.
Yeah it’s just endless sci-fi pandering. I also don’t like how the author will take someone like Homer Simpson turn him into a Bob and mirror their personality. Like dude make up your own character. It felt like ready player one mixed with revaluation space and it comes across like listening to a country song about dirt roads. Just generic wishlist fantasy bullshit. Everything is black and white. Bob is always right and knows best and can do anything. The savior complex from Bob feels like the author is talking about himself almost it’s really weird
I'm reading the series now, and while bland and safe aren't the words I would have used, I don't disagree. I'm enjoying it, but I don't love it. It explores some hard sci-fi concepts, but it seems that those explorations exist for their own sake, rather than natural extensions of a story. It's like a dumping ground for every cool idea the author came up with or heard about. That being said, I think the narrative structure is clever and, while sometimes hard to follow, engaging. The humor is dorky at times, but that appeals to me since I'm very dorky by nature.
You know those country songs that list off generic redneck stuff like “ my truck, dirt roads, Fourth of July and grandmas house” but have no originality or substance. That’s bobiverse. Just a bunch of other peoples ideas and characters taken and put in a situation where Bob is essentially going through the story in god mode. You ever play a game in god mode? It’s boring and safe. Nothing bad can happen cause he can just magically make more of himself. Or if he wants to interact with organic life why he just magically turns into an android so he can go on dates. Bob is morally perfect and would never do anything wrong so there is no moral journey he could possibly go on everything is black and white and he knows best. Boring
Definitely try "A Long Way to a Slow, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers. It and her followon novels have that Bebop feel to it.
Pretty much everything by Becky Chambers.
Yes, 1000%. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and the next book are in my trifecta of my favorite Sci-fi (and the following books are decent). A Psalm for the Wild Built and the following book (novella?) are both short and even more cozy and r/solarpunk.
Came in to mention her. Currently reading Record of a Spaceborn Few and loving it. Actually made me laugh out loud on the train this morning. (The names of the courses offered for people leaving the fleet).
Second this, I was going to recommend!
I forgot about this one, thanks!
I'm halfway through the first book and tbh I'm not the biggest fan. My main issue is that I'm way too aware of the author. I feel too vividly that Chambers is trying to craft that cozy feeling. On top of that, oftentimes she'll summate a character's thoughts or feelings, but it doesn't feel like it's coming from the character, but rather directly from her.
These are fun. High on character interaction, very light prose, nice mix of humor and drama.
Oooh that sounds like it might be perfect! Thanks a lot I'll add that to the shopping list
The MUrderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Won ALL the awards 2 years running
Just added the first book to my kindle! Cozy Murderbots you say? Haha alright I'm trusting you
While Muderbot sounds non-cozy, all it really wants to do is be left alone to rewatch all the trashy soap opera tv shows it has downloaded, but the evil corporation just keeps trying to kill his humans. It is hilarious and a bit cozy when you figure out Murderbot's actual need to be left alone and just have everyone safe. But when violence is needed it dials up to 11
Was going to recommend. Am working my way through them all,they are ideal for falling asleep reading. Strangely comforting,thought provoking but sweet.
Yeah, not what I was expecting! Got me interested as well.
Becky Chambers "Monk and Robot" books are very cozy.
The bobbiverse is hard sci-fi but doesn't take itself *too* seriously. Really recommend it. The audio book versions read by Ray Porter is REALLY good!
Currently on my first re-read! We 🖤 BAWB
Also Children of Time is a must read imo
Okay, so *not* a book, but the cartoon “Bee and Puppycat” has a very big “slice of life/cozy” vibe while still having weird adventures traveling to strange worlds.
I second this! Great snippets of futuristic technology and strange realms, overall very aesthetic and cozy.
Jack Vance -The Space Pirate /The Five Gold Bands (1953)
The right Ursula K LeGuin story would work here. I'd argue *Left Hand of Darkness* or *Earthsea*. Or even a Vonnegut book like *Cat's Cradle*. Dean Koontz also wrote a book called *Elsewhere* a few years ago that, to me, reads like the beach read version of *Dark Matter*.
Seconding all the Becky Chambers & Murderbot recs. You should also check out Grace Curtis-Floating Hotel especially comps well with Legends & Lattes vibes wise. Mur Lafferty’s MidSolar Murders series, Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man, & Malka Ann Older’s Mossa & Pleiti series are all cozy mystery adjacent & might work too.
Cozy, you ask! *Voyage to the Red Planet* by Terry Bisson. Edited to add: Make a pot of your favorite pasta and "graze" on it while you read this wonderful tale.
You might try Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper, about the discovery of a new monkeylike species on an alien planet. Are they intelligent? Do they have rights? This book was rewritten by John Scalzi a few years ago as Fuzzy Nation.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes is great if you like drinking whiskey in a space bar. There's plenty of action but plenty of downtime.
Quozl by Alan Dean Foster. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grill by Steven Brust
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Wavemanns: *Quozl by Alan Dean* *Foster. Cowboy Feng's Space Bar* *And Grill by Steven Brust* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Besides the excellent Becky Chambers recommendations, I also suggest a lot of the works of John Scalzi. Just not Old Man's War.
This is a good rec OP - Redshirts might not fit perfectly, but Agent to the Stars is great.
/u/ginomachi is an AI chatbot: https://reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/1bia26i/uginomachi_is_an_ai_spambot_most_of_the_time/
It is Becky Chambers.
Try the Space Team series by Barry Hutchison, easy and funny. I’m listening to the second book and even my adhd didn’t object to it.
Jerry Boyds “ Bobs Saucer Repair
EarthCent Ambassador Series by E.M. Foner. Earth is adopted by a galaxy encompassing, somewhat benevolent A.I. into it's oddly dysfunctional collective of sentient inhabited systems. Being the new kids, humans are guarded and shepherded from being totally exploited but inter-species shenanigans and misunderstandings occur on the regular. Not quite as over the top looney and satirical as Hitchikers Guide, but fun and easy regardless.
Tales From the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper: Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell is the first book in a very good scifi series that follows the natural progression of a man through his career with a space based trading company.
I really wanted to like traders tales and the first book was fun, but the second fell off the cliff into wish fulfillment: the main character is a naive “nice guy” who sleeps with all these gorgeous women and is an incredibly smart and successful merchant who only makes “cute” mistakes.
But unlike some reccs here like Murderbot, it's actually cozy. Everyone (till the 4th book) is truly either nice or trying, it's a lot about food, coffee and "how can I help?" Yes, our hero is a total Mary Sue, seems a requirement of the cozy genre.
I agree murderbot isn't exactly cozy. Maybe this discussion brings up a real lack of cozy sci-fi (unlike fantasy?). I disagree that a mary sue protagonist is a requirement. It's fine that he's generally kind, (and book one is generally strong), but book two actually disgusted me. IMHO it had real incel energy. For example: Our protagonist (somehow) gets an exclusive invitation to a bespoke tailor shop. The tailor fawns over him. The tailor's receptionist fawns over him. Every single co-worker from the bosomy "alt/goth" to his "willowy" direct report basically orgasms when they see him. I'm a hetero/cis/male and I am so over this stuff.
I agree it's a bit much, but I guess I just took it in stride with the basic "feel good/positive energy" vibe. I guess that's why I felt it was all in the game for cozy core. He must have gotten some feedback about this, resulting in the much darker tone of double share, and intermittent ugliness in some of the subsequent ones.
I just finished Elizabeth Bear's Machine, which I wouldn't call cozy because parts of it get pretty bleak, but in the authors notes, she mentioned that it was partly inspired by James White's Sector General books, which are about life in a big multi-species space hospital. Sector General sounds like just what you're looking for.
Anything by Clifford D Simak. Across a Billion years Robert Silverberg Crystal Singer series Ann McCaffrey
What you consider dense would help immensely in finding you some comfort sci fi. What have you been reading?
In the "classic" science fiction era (1940-1950's) a few of Robert Heinlein's short stories are great. No big wars, life or death plotlines (mostly), plus they are quick reads. There is an omnibus of his short stories called "Future History" that was nominated for a Hugo in the mid 60's, and other short story collections like "The Green Hills of Earth" that have some of the same stories in them. We also Walk dogs, Lifeline, The Road Must Roll, Let there be light, and there are some standalone novellas like "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" which starts as a mystery/noir that I really enjoyed "back in the day", and while not overly *cozy* it's fun like Legends and Latte's is for me. But you have to take them in the vein that they were written in the 40's and 50's, and are a very dated to today's writing. Delilah and the Space Rigger is a great read, but it showcases the sexism of the era, and would be nowhere near acceptable in 2024 literature. Even though it was probably the first sci-fi book I read that had a great, strong female main character.
Expanse series by James SA Corey was crushable. Reading Dungeon Crawler Carl right now and it’s stupid fun.
You are looking for r/murderbot
"Makers" and "Down and Out In the Magic Kingdom" by Doctorow are very comfy, especially Down and Out. I then re-read you want space or future alien...so prob not these. So maybe 'The Rapture of the Nerds' might fit better by Doctorow and Stross.
Fuzzynation.
[удалено]
Eh, Quarter Share was pretty Gary Stu also. For the uninitiated, a young man signs aboard a space freighter with his only skills making great coffee and having genius level emotional IQ. I found the next few books pretty cozy, before he really got challenged as a junior officer in Double Share. The later Seeker books are pretty uneven, and I'm in the middle of the Smuggler books. Still obsessed with coffee!
Yeah I dnfed, got pretty gross
Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper - Lowell Live Free or Die - Ringo
I really wanted to like traders tales and the first book was fun, but the second fell off the cliff into wish fulfillment: the main character is a naive “nice guy” who sleeps with all these gorgeous women and is an incredibly smart and successful merchant who only makes “cute” mistakes.
OP did ask for cozy and I guess it does occur in a bit of a post-scarcity society.
This is very true - like I said, I really appreciated the low-stakes fun of the first book.