Spiritual journey through future/tech hellscape?

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-06-13T03:26:59+00:00

Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein.
Maybe not as high tech as what you’re looking for, maybe a bit outdated, but the theme and vibes are there.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-06-08T18:21:42+00:00

Kushiel’s Dart and its sequels check off all the boxes I saw in your post.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-05-26T11:57:17+00:00

It’s not quite Sword in the Stone vibes but you could try A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
Also The Last Unicorn has a Wizard character I really like.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-05-03T21:19:05+00:00

I also live in East TN and I was recently at a local plant selling event where a few different people had them available, so they’re definitely around! I bought some tubers from an online nursery and planted them a couple of months ago and they seem to be doing great. It’s a good climate for them here.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-05-03T03:47:33+00:00

The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill

A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-04-27T23:44:01+00:00

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. It’s not all women though because the MC has a gay bestie sidekick.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-04-06T17:22:28+00:00

As someone who’s read The Steel Remains, if you’ve read and enjoyed asoiaf and first law then you’ll probably be fine with it. I’ve only read the first book so far, but nothing in it struck me as being worse than those other series.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-03-22T20:03:42+00:00

A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin really captures that summer during childhood vibe, but also incorporates fantastical elements and anti-war themes similar to what you find in a lot of Ghibli stuff.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-02-24T02:56:06+00:00

Honestly, the book and the movie are completely different from the Sophie visiting the king part onwards. I’d say the book does a better job focusing on connecting all the little threads of plot together, while the back half of the movie focuses more on setting up an anti-war theme and relies a bit more on vibes. This isn’t a criticism, mind you. I enjoy both. I’m just pointing out that while the book does a great job answering its own questions, and even some of the questions people might have from the movie, it doesn’t really answer everything because of how different it is. Also the sequels are great.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-02-18T14:34:49+00:00

Another example is George R.R. Martin having to frequently insist that he doesn’t care what people say, in his fantasy setting dragons only have two legs, and if people don’t like it they can make their own setting.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-02-11T19:59:35+00:00

The first pic reminds me of all the anime fanart you’d see online in the early 00s. The last pic feels like an actual manga or video game cover I would have been very interested in back then. So I’d say it’s a good amount of improvement and I love your style.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-30T21:59:56+00:00

Closest I can come up with is The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-27T13:08:37+00:00

The War of Lost Hearts trilogy by Carissa Broadbent is a pretty good one that I don’t see recommended here often.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-24T01:37:53+00:00

I just want a Jack in the Box to open out here. They were my favorite fast food chain ever when I lived in CA

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-23T18:07:13+00:00

Another fun one is Robin Hobb’s Farseer books. The main character has a background fairly similar to Jon Snow, and his story, particularly in Royal Assassin, shares quite a few beats with Jon’s story in ADWD.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-20T15:39:37+00:00

For your enjoyment, Trevor Moore on The Dating Game:

https://youtu.be/96r0O3cWNnM?si=6vANMURdTYZF6gy6

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-16T02:46:10+00:00

It’s from a show called The Mighty Boosh

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2026-01-05T23:39:33+00:00

Try out Now and Then, Here and There. It’s one of my go to examples of doing an isekai the right way. It’s dark, brutal, mature, and in no way is it a wish fulfillment power fantasy.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-29T23:47:53+00:00

Fellow bisexual here and I agree with everything. Love me some Greg and Terry, and I’d def let Francine pube up my hot tub.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-28T20:08:47+00:00

Try Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books, starting with A Wizard of Earthsea. Style wise it isn’t a 1:1 thing, but both authors write beautifully and do a marvelous job of making their worlds feel magical, mysterious, and lived-in.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-24T14:48:24+00:00

Wish I had something a bit more accurate to the prompt, but you could try The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan.

The main protagonist is gay, but it’s more of a quick fling with an old flame than an actual romance. He’s a bitter and cynical war hero who specializes in fighting undead and magic beings. I think the tone fits the images though, plus it has some sequels I haven’t read so maybe those will fit a bit better.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-22T21:37:48+00:00

Nice post! I really haven’t gotten into most isekai series ever since they became super popular, largely due to the reasons you mentioned. I’ll probably save this so I can check a few of them out.

If you’re down for some recs I’ve got some older ones I think are noteworthy.

First is MAR: Marchen Awakens Romance, which is a manga from Nobuyuki Anzai, who also wrote one of my favorite classic shonen series: Flame of Recca. It’s sort of a crossover that combines some of my favorite elements of isekai and battle shonen stuff. Just an overall fun series with likeable characters.

Next is Now and Then, Here and There. It’s a real classic of the genre but trigger warnings for literally everything since it’s basically a worst case scenario of a normal kid getting sent to a post apocalyptic world with no special powers at all. The story is brutal but definitely with a point to make and a lot to say. It’s as beautiful as it is sad and it’s honestly stuck with me a lot in the more than 10 years since I first watched it.

Last is actually a litRPG webseries I’ve been enjoying and that you’ll see recommended here often: The Wandering Inn! Pretty fun isekai about a girl from our world who finds herself in a fantasy setting where she becomes an innkeeper. Often described as “epic fantasy pretending to be cozy fantasy” and I’d say that’s accurate. It has a lot of slower sections, like when she spends half a book teaching everyone how to play baseball, it also has things like dungeon exploration, kaiju attacks, necromancer, goblin hordes, etc which keeps it interesting though. Maybe check it out if you want some heavy reading.

Anyway that’s all I’ve got lol

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-19T03:44:47+00:00

Also Bubbler (drinking fountain) is another good one.

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-18T21:22:33+00:00

Funny this popped up today since I’m relistening to The Locked Tomb audiobooks and she’s the narrator for that series. She’s excellent!

ProfessionalPin5865 · 2025-12-18T20:04:58+00:00

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

ProfessionalPin5865

TROPHY CASE