Trying to figure out what to read next can be overwhelming, especially with the number of excellent science fiction and fantasy books that come out each year. But dozens of BookTokers – TikTokers who focus on books, from sharing favorites to critiques of classics – are here to help.
We’ve made a list of some of our favorite BookTokers that are either SFF focused or have a broad flavor that includes many speculative books. No fear; This list goes beyond the much-hyped books like Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six or the numerous fantasy titles by Sarah J. Maas. This isn’t an exhaustive list either – the wide world of BookTok is full of developers doing a great job. We’ll add to this list as we find new favorites.
@fayestephenson
To kick things off, Faye has SFF recommendations galore — mostly Books with queer portrayal — along with plenty of light-hearted comedy about genre tropes and the inevitable haze that comes with reading a long fiction. Come for the books and stay for the incredibly radical 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-esque feel‘ – to jokes about their own literal habits or something above classical literature
@book_reviews_kill
Evan focuses on SFF, although his tastes are more fantasy. His TikToks range from thoughtful analysis of individual titles, such as VE Schwabs The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s older breed, the best books of the year, all-time favorites and book transports. Its videos can be a little longer since they’re analysis-heavy — but they’re very accessible and a great choice for those just starting out in SFF, or seasoned readers who want to dig deeper.
@aresreads
Ares recommends tons of SFF like intense fantasy series, graphic novels and comics (like saga and monster) and manga. Ares also shares resources to help readers diversify authors on their shelves. (And if I see someone who loves Ken Liu’s Dandelion DynastyI to have to introduce them.)
@thoughtsontomes_
If you love SFF tropes and want to extend that to-read stack, you’ve come to the right place. Sam makes a lot of specific recommendations based on tropes and themes like female rage, hero to villainor dark academy – along with sharing queer readings of SFF.
@chaptersofchi
Adannia’s tastes are wide and fairly omnivorous, including literary fiction O Gyasis Transcendent Kingdom as well as romance and YA. Of course, it also offers a lot of science fiction and fantasy, with an emphasis on comprehensive reading – featuring many SFF hitters like Octavia E. Butler and Nnedi Okorafor. Adannia’s TikToks also touch on topics like Anti-blackness in BookTok (and when publishing and criticism in a broader sense).
@books.with.lee
Lee’s tastes are also very broad, but with a focus on international authors – particularly with her current 2022 focus, the Reading Across Africa Challenge. (See her storygraph Books she read organized by the country the book is set or the country the author is writing from.) During the year she also shared her favorite speculative books by African authors as well as books published in America inspired by African mythology
@melissas.bookshelf
Melissa Blair, who is also the author of A broken bladerecommends and frequently highlights a wide range of books, including science fiction and fantasy indigenous writers (as Karen McBride wrote crow winter, a speculative literary work). I would recommend checking them out Tour of your local bookstorewhere she points to great books by Indigenous authors from Canada and the United States.
@libraryofclaire
If you have searched strange recommendations, Then you are exactly right here. Claire champions books of all genres – with a frequent focus on sci-fi – but they do an excellent job of emphasizing queer SFF as well as Sapphic books of all kinds. (Hi, Gideon the Ninth.) They also have an excellent list of Books to read if you like D&D.
@johannawithbooks
If you’re looking to add more Latinx writers to your shelf, you can’t go wrong with Johanna’s recommendations. This book collection alone has a lot of excellent books to offer (fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia Gods of Jade and Shadow
@limmadi8
Madi Lim recommends books from different genres, but science fiction and fantasy alternate regularly. She also does “BookTok NewsTikToks is devoted to news — and BookTok tea — from movie adaptation announcements to conventions gone awry. Some of her recommendations include those of Sue Lynn Tan daughter of the moon goddess and Aiden Thomas’ graveyard boys.
@asthebookends
If you’re in the mood to dig through lots of SFF lists that particularly focus on granular topics – like urban fantasy or fallen heroes – or simply books with a degree of “spice” (BookTok speaks to it as explicit or hot a book is), Erin Fehres’ account is for you. Peppered with lists and individual recommendations, the selection is large.
@amivireads
Amivi runs a book club called Sapphic and Proud, featuring queer favorites from a variety of genres including sci-fi and fantasy. They share tons of Sapphic must-reads and Fantasy Recommendations by Black Writerswith favorites included Ayana Grays predators and NE Davenports The blood samples.
@bookwormbullet
Ayushi champions a series of books that have not been successful on BookTok but still deserve readers’ love and attention. She also highlights YA fantasies written by women of color, and represents many desi authors – both SFF and non-genre. (If you’re also a romance novel reader, Ayushi has you covered.)
@sayde_reads
Last but not least, Sayde’s tastes are also very diverse, and SFF books are in regular succession (often while Sayde wears those cool elf ears). The titles featured range from popular books for the mythology kids, such as Circle and Ariadneto “Existential horror manga‘ That would shock even the most loyal reader. Sayde also has excellent recommendations for readers who have enjoyed and want to enjoy many popular BookTok titles Jump to similar adult fantasy books.
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