15 BookTok Creators Recommend Great Sci-Fi Books To Read

Trying to figure out what to read next can be overwhelming, especially with the number of excellent sci-fi and fantasy books coming out every year. But dozens of BookTokers — TikTokers that focus on books, from sharing favorites to reviewing classics — are here to help.

We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite BookTokers that focus on SFF or have a broad taste including plenty of speculative books. Fear nothing; this list extends beyond high-profile books like Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six or the many fantastic titles of Sarah J. Maas. This isn’t an exhaustive list either – the vast world of BookTok is full of creators doing great work. We’ll add to this list as we find new favorites.

@faystephensonn

To kick things off, Faye has plenty of SFF recommendations – in particular books with queer representation — plus plenty of light comedy about genre tropes and the inevitable haze of coming out of reading a long fic. Come for the books, and stay for the incredibly radiant rotation of hair colors and styles (but also for the books, of course).

@camilletealatte

Camille Kelly’s TikToks range from recommendations — like this list of books with a “fanfiction feel” — to jokes on their own bookish habits or pieces on classical literature and fantasy. Sci-fi and fantasy books are sprinkled throughout these videos. They’re great to follow not only to expand reading recommendations, but also to add more humor to your feed.

@book_reviews_kill

Evan focuses on SFF, although his taste leans towards fantasy. His TikToks range from thoughtful analysis of individual headlines, like VE Schwab’s The Unseen Life of Addie LaRue and by Adrian Tchaikovsky Race of the Ancients, best books of the year, all-time favorites and book raffles. His videos can tend to be longer, as they’re analysis-heavy — but they’re very accessible and a great choice for those just getting started with SFF, or seasoned readers looking to dig deeper.

@aresreads

Ares recommends tons of SFF like heavy fantasy series, graphic novels and comics (like Saga and Freak), as well as manga. Ares also shares resources to help readers diversify the authors featured on their shelves. (And when I see someone who loves Ken Liu’s Dandelion DynastyI have to introduce them.)

@thinksontomes_

If you love SFF tropes and are looking to add to that pile to read, you’ve come to the right place. Sam makes many specific recommendations based on tropes and themes such as female rage, hero to villainWhere dark academia — as well as sharing queer reads from SFF.

@chaptersofchi

Adannia’s taste is broad and quite omnivorous, including literary fiction like by Yaa Gyasi transcendent realm as well as romance and YA. Of course, it also features tons of sci-fi and fancy, with a focus on an inclusive lineup of reads – featuring plenty of SFF heavy hitters like Octavia E. Butler and Nnedi Okorafor. Adannia’s TikToks also cover topics like anti-darkness in BookTok (and in the edition and criticism more broadly).

@books.with.lee

Lee’s taste is also very broad, but with a focus on international authors – especially with his current 2022 target, the “Reading Across Africa” ​​challenge. (In his Storygraph, you can find books she has read, listed by country the book is set or the country the author is writing from.) Throughout the year, she also shared her favorite speculative books written by African authors, as well as books published in America that were inspired by African mythology. She is also behind a trend where BookTokers share images of their favorite books in the thumbnail – browsing through them is a great way to quickly find other creators to follow.

@melissas.bookshelf

Melissa Blair, who is also the author of A broken bladerecommends a wide range of books, including science fiction and fantasy, often highlighting indigenous authors (like Karen McBride, who wrote Raven Winter, a work of speculative literary fiction). I would recommend watching it visit his local bookstorewhere she points out excellent books by native authors from Canada and the United States.

@bibliothequeclaire

If you were looking strange recommendations, You have come to the right place. Claire champions books of all genres – with a frequent focus on sci-fi – but they do a great job of highlighting queer SFF as well as Sapphic books of all types. (Hello, Gideon the ninth.) They also have a great list of books to read if you like D&D.

@johannawithbooks

If you’re looking to add more Latinx authors to your bookshelf, you can’t go wrong with Johanna’s recommendations. This book collection alone has a ton of great books to dig into (Silvia Moreno-Garcia fans Gods of Jade and Shadow rise up!!!).

@limmadi8

Madi Lim recommends books in a variety of genres, but science fiction and fantasy are in regular rotation. She also doesBookTok News“TikToks dedicated to news – and BookTok tea – from movie adaptation announcements to conventions gone wrong. Some of his recommendations include those of Sue Lynn Tan Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Aiden Thomas’ Cemetery Boys.

@asthebookends

If you’re in the mood for browsing plenty of SFF lists, especially ones centered around granular themes – like urban fantasy or fallen heroes – or just books with some level of “pizza” (BookTok talks about how a book is explicit or hot is), Erin Fehres’ account is for you. Dotted with individual listings and recommendations, there’s plenty to choose from.

@amivireads

Amivi runs a book club called “Sapphic and Proud” with queer favorites in all genres, including sci-fi and fantasy. They share tons of must-read Sapphic readings and fantastic black writers recommendationswith favorites that include Ayana Gray’s beasts of prey and NE Davenport The Blood Trials.

@bookwormbullet

Ayushi champions a number of books that haven’t taken off on BookTok, but still deserve readers’ love and attention. It also highlights YA fantasies written by women of color, and represents many Desi authors – both SFF and outside the genre. (If you’re also a romance reader, Ayushi has you covered.)

@sayde_reads

Last but not least, Sayde’s taste also runs the gamut, and SFF books are in regular rotation (often while Sayde is sporting those cool elven ears). Featured titles range from beloved children’s books to mythology, like Circe and Ariadneat “existential horror mangathat would scare even the most loyal readers. Sayde also has some great recommendations for readers who have enjoyed many popular BookTok titles and want switch to adult fantasy books that are similar.