Recs if you like The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence, #1)...

Urgently seeking suggestions, any and all input is welcome! A list for men in sci-fi/fantasy who are pathetic, reminiscent of kicked dogs, described as poor little meow meows, drowning in their own emptiness, and/or generally have an intense aura of being a sad loser with no life. Having a capacity to be fixed is entirely optional. If you want to demonstrate why a man is a loser, feel free to do so at great length in the comments so that we all may further our studies in male patheticology.

SFF with worldbuilding that informs the plot, prose, characters, and underlying narrative in deeply meaningful, intentional, and complex ways, so much so that changing the world means changing the shape of the story itself. Or: worldbuilding that goes beyond simple set dressing and becomes a vehicle for the story and narrative. Always open to recs and suggestions! ❤️

SFF featuring second worlds and storytelling that reflect and engage with hopes, anxieties, and imaginations about human activity and its influence on the environment + environmental justice. Always open to suggestions! (Note that I am using “second world” very loosely here, to mean both traditional second worlds and/or versions of Earth or parts of Earth that are so distant/strange as to be unrecognizable)

books that feel like they were written by authors who spent most of their time on tumblr circa 2015. effervescent!

"what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament?"

reccs always welcome but will be vetted

Queer sci-fi 💫 (Not always in space, I think I've covered most sci-fi subgenres)

Books where two (or more? if these exist I WANT THEM) characters are bound up in some way—inside each other's heads, connected by a spell, entangled by technology—the important part is the forced proximity and the element of technology or magic, or something else over the top that would not normally happen! And maybe they're in love or they fall in love as well...

100% open to recommendations, I want to know about ANY books you think might fit 🙏

Books with character whose pronouns change, interesting use of pronouns in the narration, speculative fiction with pronoun lore, etc. I just think they're neat!

Do you feel like you've read everything there is to read? Or get annoyed that the same books are on all the rec lists? Well, here are some more obscure masterpieces!

Some of the covers are terrible - especially among the older or self-pubbed books; there's a few YA in here; and some that are science fantasy rather than 'pure' sci fi. But trust me: they're all EXCELLENT. (And if you already love a bunch of these, let's be friends!)

includes dragons, AI robots & cyborgs; any age range

Books focused on human/AI relationships whether that be romantic, parental, friendly, or otherwise

Do you want to read some good science-fiction/fantasy? These novels have it (subjective). Here, mostly queer, anti-colonial, dripping with world building and other bodily fluids. Without a reliable narrator in sight! These are written for adults, that does NOT mean they are inherently spicy. Good Luck!~

Books with outstandingly beautiful and normal LGBTQ+ main characters after the world SEEMS like it should have ended, but didn’t. Apocalypse, catastrophic climatic event, etc, but the world just keeps on ticking. Some contain characters that aren’t EXPLICITLY queer but you know. There are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see.

Carl Engle-Laird is a senior editor at Tor. Many of my favorite books I discovered were edited by him while reading the acknowledgements, so I'm making a point of searching his name once a year to find which new beautiful authors he found. Looking for crowdsourcing ✨️

Books that are enjoyable, but you have no idea what’s going on (only a bit hyperbole)

Humor my emojis

books with robots and/or AI that make me have big human feelings

The books I'll carry when I (finally) open my bookstore