what to read that’s cozy sci-fi | Stephanie Flint

So you’ve heard of Legends & Lattes, the self-proclaimed novel of “High fantasy and low stakes” that absolutely lives up to the hype. (And will make you really, really want a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee).

Perfect book for cozying up on the couch or under a heated blanket on a snow day. Today would be a perfect day for it, considering the gusting snow outside. ❄️

(I have recently discovered the wonder of heated blankets and I don’t know why I didn’t latch onto them sooner. They are amazing when you live in an apartment where the heater can’t quite keep up when temperatures dip below the teens.)

Anyway, cozy fantasy has wrapped the fantasy world in heated blanket fashion, and the new-ish genre is pretty easy to spot on the bookshelf.

But what about cozy sci-fi?

I recently realized that cozy sci-fi exists, and, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as popular. (Yet).

But it does exist, and I’m about to make a few recommendations to prove it.

For me, cozy sci-fi leans on the same premise as cozy fantasy. Sci-fi trappings in this case, or maybe even science fantasy trappings, but low stakes. Your main characters aren’t out to save the world. Their stakes are more personal, more local, more community based. You’re likely to see the found family trope in spades, especially delightfully, unabashedly queer found family, a growing connection to community, and the process of building, or rebuilding. Things are smaller (cafes and bookshops instead of corporate empires, towns instead of countries), and there’s a strong sense of comfort.

There’s also usually tasty treats and good food, brought about by community effort.

It is, as the name says, cozy.

With that in mind, a cozy sci-fi should leave you with warm feelings, satisfaction, and a sense of being safe.

Now, I’d say there is a spectrum on which cozy sci-fi rests, some books being cozier than others. To explain that, let’s get into my recommendations!

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#1. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers – This is the epitome for cozy sci-fi.

The world is genuinely beautiful, hopeful, nature-focused and any war and strife is long gone. The stakes come from a restless tea monk who has everything they need but can’t figure out what they’re still missing in life.

It’s thoughtful (meet the wild-built robots who want to understand what humans want), poetic (lovely descriptions), and slow, but in a peaceful way rather than a struggle to read.

(Be warned… there is one scene in which the tea monk first starts their new job and gets blindsided when they try to help someone having a terrible time of it, and if you’ve recently lost a beloved pet and/or are going through a breakup with a long-time partner, maybe wait a little to read this one. It’s a short scene, and it serves a solid purpose, but it blindsided me as much as it did the monk.)

I’d put A Psalm for the Wild-Built as solidly cozy sci-fi.

#2 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz – This one hits many of the cozy sci-fi marks while being a little more fast-paced.

A group of robots have built a found family and decide to open a noodle shop in order to stay afloat after coming online again after a major war. While we see the aftermath of the war (and the resulting trauma), and there’s plenty of commentary on late-stage capitalism, human/robot rights, the acidity of trolling, and the importance of community, the overall feeling from this book is about strengthening friendships and building something good even amidst messy life.

Compared to A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Automatic Noodle has more bite. But it still feels solidly cozy as the robots figure out how to piece together their new noodle shop, forge scrappy alliances, and make delicious food. (You will crave noodles while reading this book. I craved noodles just writing about this book. Noodles got made for lunch).

Their stakes are a bit higher, but still extremely personal. Cozy sci-fi but faster paced.

#3 All Systems Red by Martha Wells – This one is cozy-adjacent rather than cozy.

A lot more action (we’re dealing with a self-proclaimed murderbot acting as security, after all), and more of a focus on survival as a murderbot tries to keep its crew alive on a hostile planet, but… this same murderbot really just wants to lock itself in its bunk and watch soap operas all day.

Meanwhile, its crew is determined to make it feel like part of the family. And because of all that, somehow, this book just feels… comfy. A quick read, but it still leaves you feeling cozy and satisfied at the end.

So it’s not technically a cozy sci-fi, but it still meets many of the feelings that you get from the genre, which is why I recommend it.

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Those are all novellas, too, so they’re quick, satisfying reads you can enjoy over a couple sittings.

And thanks to my recent fascination with the genre, I wrote a cozy sci fi short story, “The Singing Coil.”

Unlike the stories I’ve mentioned above, which generally focus on robots in the future, “The Singing Coil” is more of a space fantasy set on an ancient, retrofitted space station.

A salvage seller, Harte, is trying to figure out why their favorite food synthesizer has started making strange noises (which is scaring away their customers). As they interact with the other station regulars, they realize that its distorted noises might actually be an ancient lullaby… one that leads them to an unexpected connection to their past.

On the cozy scale I’d rate it closer to A Psalm for the Wild-Built, with slice of life vibes, but at a pace closer to Automatic Noodle. So if you liked those books but want more space station trappings, give “The Singing Coil” a try!

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Get your copy of “The Singing Coil” from your favorite online retailer:

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Happy reading! 📚

P.S. Are there any cozy sci-fi books you’d recommend?