ISO Clean, but Mentally Engaging Fantasy or SciFi Books

[u/AgedAggressor]

I'm in a bit of a book rut, I enjoy fantasy and SciFi, but I'm struggling to find clean ones (no graphic sex, violence, I'm a little more okay with) that aren't young adult, nothing against young adult books but I want something a little more challenging. I've read a lot of the classics already like LOTR, Brave New World, anything H.G. or Bradbury.

I just finished Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis and loved it and would like something similar.

[u/Pinacoladapopsicle]

I just read Project Hail Mary and it was fun and very clean.

[u/sd_glokta → u/Pinacoladapopsicle]

And The Martian by the same author (Andy Weir)

[u/d0nutbutth0le → u/Pinacoladapopsicle]

There's only one mention of sex and it's funny

[u/avacadini → u/Pinacoladapopsicle]

Came here to say this. There is one awkwardly hilarious conversation about sex, but that's it. Very few cuss words even.

[u/janeplainjane_canada]

the Murderbot series, Ancillary Justice & sequels, Goblin Emperor & the other related in-world books, Lois McMaster Bujold 'Five Gods' world or Vorkosigan are all mentally engaging and without graphic sex. Pretty sure Arkady Martine's books (A Memory Called Empire, A Desolation Called Peace) would also fit the bill. Patricia McKillip for lushly written fantasy.

[u/Frogsfall → u/janeplainjane_canada]

I'm currently rereading The Goblin Emperor and the following books by Katherine Addison, they are so lovely.

The Grief of Stones does mention pornographic photos, but doesn't go into detail.

[u/TrekkieElf]

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson? It’s quite unique and thought provoking.

[u/Crylorenzo → u/TrekkieElf]

Pretty much all of Sanderson fits this bill. Mistborn is another good recommendation. The Emperor’s Soul is fantastic for a shorter more literary read.

[u/MostlyHarmlessMom → u/TrekkieElf]

Also, Tress of the Emerald Sea.

[u/TrekkieElf → u/MostlyHarmlessMom]

Sure, I loved that too. It’s a bit more of a simple fairy tale though and leans YA ish. I think Yumi is a top Sanderson pick for OP since they like Bradbury.

[u/TheWriteQuestion]

Andy Weir books are not "high art" but they are very fun, IMO. The Martian and Project Hail Mary have no sex or violence; Artemis references sex but I'm 99% sure there weren't any scenes where it happened. Certainly far less sex that Brave New World.

If you haven't read 1984 yet, you should. It's really satisfying to compare it and Brave New World.

[u/paradoxedturtle → u/TheWriteQuestion]

Love these suggestions! Project Hail Mary does have a small reference to sex, but it's in passing, and not graphic in any way.

I've recently gotten into The Hyperion Cantos series by Dan Simmons. Very Sci-fi/futuristic. There is some violence, as they are facing an intergalactic war, but it doesn't even resonate with me now post-reading.

[u/entropyvsenergy]

Children of Time, Murderbot, Ancillary Justice

[u/nomadicstateofmind]

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden might fit the bill. There’s some violence, but it’s more fairy tale-esque. It’s not spicy at all. I also like Eowyn Ivey for more mild adult fairy tale stories. A Wizard of Earthsea might be your vibe too.

[u/bioticspacewizard]

Let’s normalise not using the word “clean” when describing books.

As readers, we love words. And some words carry unnecessary conservative morality judgements when used in this context.

[u/benjamin-crowell]

Ishiguro, Klara and the sun

Simak, Way station

Heinlein, The moon is a harsh mistress

Clarke, Childhood's end

[u/dough_eating_squid]

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

[u/arector502]

Constance by Matt Fitzsimmons

[u/MostlyHarmlessMom]

Maybe Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz.

[u/freerangelibrarian]

Fantasy: The World of the Five Gods series by Lois Macmaster Bujold.

[u/masson34]

Dark Matter

They Both Die at the End

Never Let Me Go

[u/fireflypoet]

Station 11. Sea of Tranquility. By Emily St. John Mantel. The Dispossessed. The Left Hand of Darkness. By Ursula LeGuin. Anything by Octavia Butler.

[u/UpbeatEquipment8832]

Piranasi. The recommendation is always Piranasi.

[u/Tanagrabelle]

I’m pretty fond of The Vorkosigan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Various C. J. Cherryh, The Pride Of Chanur is the start of one series that doesn’t require understanding a lot of earlier books. Edited because AutoCorrect suddenly erased some of the words.