I know I’ve asked y’all for a lot of recommendations and I have a mountain of books to get through in my room as well as a stack of like 30 books in my hallway to get through immediately (currently reading Revelation from Star Wars legends series).
As a fan of sci-fi and murder mystery/cop drama has anyone ever read a book that combines the two? I read A Scanner Darkly last year which is set in the future but any cop stories or detective stories that take place in a space colony or far future as well? Thanks.
I've got quite a few books. Almost entirely Fiction.
Space Opera Sci-Fi and Comedic Fantasy.
Number of books: 216 (In no particular order):
Barry Sadler
Casca 1: The Eternal Mercenary (1979)
Casca 2: God of Death (1979)
Casca 3: The War Lord (1980)
Casca 4: Panzer Soldier (1980)
Casca 5: The Barbarian(1981)
Casca 6: The Persian (1982)
Casca 7: The Damned (1982)
Casca 8: Soldier of Fortune (1983)
Casca 9: The Sentinel (1983)
Casca 10: The Conquistador (1984)
Casca 11: The Legionnaire (1984)
Casca 12: African Mercenary (1984)
Casca 13: The Assassin (1985)
Tony Ballantyne
Recursion Trilogy
Recursion, Macmillan, 2004
Capacity, Macmillan, 2005
Divergence, Macmillan, 2007
Julie E. Czerneda
Web Shifters
Beholder's Eye (1998)
Changing Vision (2000)
Hidden in Sight (2003)
Robert A. Heinlein
Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)
Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984)
Mostly Harmless (1992)
Eoin Colfer
And Another Thing... (2009)
H. P. Lovecraft
Necronomicon (2008)
Ursula K. Le Guin
Earthsea Quartet (1993)
Gayle Greeno
Ghatti's Tale
Finders Seekers (1993)
MindSpeaker's Call (1994)
Exiles' Return (1995)
S. L. Viehl
Stardoc
Stardoc (ROC, 2000)
Beyond Varallan (ROC, 2000)
Endurance (ROC, 2001)
Shockball (ROC, 2001)
Eternity Row (ROC, 2002)
Rebel Ice (ROC, 2006)
Plague of Memory (ROC, 2007)
Omega Games (ROC, 2008)
Crystal Healer (ROC, 2009)
Blade Dancer (ROC, 2003)
Bio Rescue (ROC, 2004)
Afterburn (ROC, 2005)
Toby Frost
Space Captain Smith (2008)
Howard L. Myers
A Sense of Infinity (2009)
Frederik Pohl
Heechee
Gateway (1977)
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (1980)
Heechee Rendezvous (1984)
Robert Reed
Marrow
Marrow (2000)
The Well of Stars (2004)
Down the Bright Way (1991)
Sister Alice (2003)
Charles E. Gannon
Fire with Fire (2013)
David Weber
A Beautiful Friendship (October 2011)
Fire Season with Jane Lindskold (October 2012)
Treecat Wars with Jane Lindskold (October 1, 2013)
Dani Kollin & Eytan Kollin
The Unincorporated Man (2009)
The Unincorporated War (2010)
The Unincorporated Woman (2011)
The Unincorporated Future (2012)
H. Beam Piper
Little Fuzzy (1962)
Stephen Baxter
The Long Earth (2012)
The Medusa Chronicles (2016)
Elizabeth Moon
Familias Regnant universe
Heris Serrano trilogy
Hunting Party (July 1993)
Sporting Chance (September 1994)
Winning Colors (August 1995)
The Serrano Legacy: Omnibus One (December 2006)
Esmay Suiza continuation
Once a Hero (March 1997)
Rules of Engagement (December 1998)
The Serrano Connection: Omnibus Two (September 2007)
Suiza and Serrano
Change of Command (December 1999)
Against the Odds (December 2000)
The Serrano Succession: Omnibus Three (February 2008)
Vatta's War
Trading in Danger (October 2003)
Marque and Reprisal (October 2004)
Engaging the Enemy (March 2006)
Command Decision (February 2007)
Victory Conditions ( February 2008)
George R. R. Martin
Tuf Voyaging (1986)
Jamie Sawyer
Lazarus War
Artefact (2015)
Peter F. Hamilton
The Night's Dawn Trilogy
The Reality Dysfunction (1996)
The Neutronium Alchemist (1997)
The Naked God (1999)
The Confederation Handbook (2000)
Commonwealth Saga
Misspent Youth (2002)
Pandora's Star (2004)
Judas Unchained (2005)
Void Trilogy
The Dreaming Void (2007)
The Temporal Void (2008)
The Evolutionary Void (2010)
The Chronicle of the Fallers
The Abyss Beyond Dreams (2014)
Night Without Stars (2016)
Fallen Dragon (2001)
Great North Road (2012)
A Second Chance at Eden (1998)
Manhattan In Reverse (2011)
Gary Gibson
The Shoal Sequence
Stealing Light (Tor, 2007)
Nova War (Tor, 2009)
Empire of Light (Tor, 2010)
Marauder (Tor, 2013)
Alastair Reynolds
Revelation Space
Revelation Space (Gollancz. 2000)
Chasm City (Gollancz, 2001)
Redemption Ark (Gollancz, 2002)
Absolution Gap (Gollancz, 2003)
Poseidon's Children
Blue Remembered Earth (Gollancz, 2012)
On the Steel Breeze (Gollancz, 2013)
Poseidon's Wake (Gollancz, 2015)
Century Rain (Gollancz, 2004)
Pushing Ice (Gollancz, 2005)
House of Suns (Gollancz, 2008)
Terminal World (Gollancz, 2010)
The Medusa Chronicles (with Stephen Baxter) (Gollancz, 2016)
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (Gollancz, 2003)
Zima Blue and Other Stories (2006)
Galactic North (Gollancz, 2006)
Beyond the Aquila Rift (Gollancz, 2016)
Michael Cobley
Humanity's Fire
Seeds Of Earth (2009)
The Orphaned Worlds (2010)
The Ascendant Stars (2011)
Ancestral Machines (2016)
Ben Jeapes
Phoenicia's Worlds (2013)
Terry A. Adams
The D'neeran Factor (2013)
Markus Heitz
The Dwarves
The Dwarves (2009)
The War of the Dwarves (2010)
The Revenge of the Dwarves (2011)
The Fate of the Dwarves (2012)
Robert Jordan
The Wheel of Time
New Spring (2004)
The Eye of the World (1990)
The Great Hunt (1990)
The Dragon Reborn (1991)
The Shadow Rising (1992)
The Fires of Heaven (1993)
Lord of Chaos (1994)
A Crown of Swords (1996)
The Path of Daggers (1998)
Winter's Heart (2000)
Crossroads of Twilight (2003)
Knife of Dreams (2005)
The Gathering Storm (2009) coauthored by Brandon Sanderson
Towers of Midnight (2010) coauthored by Brandon Sanderson
A Memory of Light (2013) coauthored by Brandon Sanderson
Terry Pratchett
Discworld
The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Equal Rites
Mort
Sourcery
Wyrd Sisters
Pyramids
Guards! Guards!
Eric
Moving Pictures
Reaper Man
Witches Abroad
Small Gods
Lords and Ladies
Men at Arms
Soul Music
Interesting Times
Maskerade
Feet of Clay
Hogfather
Jingo
The Last Continent
Carpe Jugulum
The Fifth Elephant
The Truth
Thief of Time
The Last Hero
Night Watch
Monstrous Regiment
Going Postal
Thud!
Making Money
Unseen Academicals
Snuff
Raising Steam
The Wee Free Men
A Hat Full of Sky
Wintersmith
I Shall Wear Midnight
The Science of Discworld (1999)
The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (2002)
The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch (2005)
The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day (2013)
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
The Carpet People
The Dark Side of the Sun
Good Omens
Nation
A Blink of the Screen
The Long Earth
The Nome Trilogy
Truckers
Diggers
Wings
&
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction (2007)
Reach for Infinity (2014)
I'd definitely recommend Alastair Reyonolds for Space Opera. As well as Micheal Cobley, Gary Gibson, and Peter F Hamilton. Throw in Robert Reed and Elizabeth Moon too. Oh, and Julie E Czerenada.
Thank you so much! I have some of those but I need to chip away at this list. Earthsea is like blend of sci fi and fantasy right?
Earthsea is probably the last I would recommend. Much too Fantasy, and vague magic Deus Ex Machina. Depends on what you like I guess.
Ok but I copied the list you gave me and downloaded it on my phone. I read the wheel of time series during Covid. From what I hear the show is garbage
I was interested in the show when it first announced. I shouldn't have been. It does look to be trash now, yeah. I won't even hate-watch it (I rarely do either).
I am very skeptical of any adaptation because they have zero interest in adapting anything now
I'd be wary of getting too into Earthsea. The original trilogy is pretty solid, though much of what made it good has been done better since it came out, but the author is an open feminist who wrote the later series as a direct soapbox for that as well as trying to "fix" her former sins by turning the world almost cartoonishly "men exist to hate women and oppress them."
Whoa, that's a list. What do you use to track/record, out of curiosity?
Nothing really, I just did this as a write-up for another forum. Comes in handy now and then ;)
Ah, gotcha. Thanks.
Fantasy instead of sci-fi but the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher are pretty solid hard-boiled detective stories; basically a wizard turned detective (whose magic buggers electrical technology) solves mysteries involving vampires, fairies, angels, demons, and other fantasy creatures in contemporary Chicago.
Each book stands pretty well on it's own but there's continuity and growth (and loss) as well, sorta like an ongoing DnD campaign.
I have one of those books. Bought it at a yard sale. Thanks!
Sci-fi comedy rather than sci-fi mystery, but I clicked your headline and I'm not giving up now. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is not woke at all, genuinely hilarious, and widely considered a classic. Can't recommend it enough.
I’ve read the whole series. Loved it! First one is my favorite and one of my favorite parts is when the Vogons say that the plans have been in your local sector office in Alpha Centauri and it’s not my fault you don’t take an interest in local affairs. I know the BBC had an adaptation years ago which I only saw one episode of but I liked it. Did you like the 05 movie?
I love Adams' asides. The importance of carefully choosing your words, lest you spark a pointless interdimensional war, had me rolling.
The movie was okay. Guide is one of those properties that sounds like it would make an amazing movie, but it never seems to work out nearly as well as the book. That said, I had a mildly enjoyable time watching it. Obviously that means I like it quite a bit more than some.
Totally agree. That was a fun read and Adams had a great sense of humor. I did buy that detective agency book but haven’t read it yet. I really hope they never try to update Hitchhikers Guide series for a modern audience
Agreed completely. Oddly, I once owned that book as well, and also never got around to reading it. Maybe I should see if it's still around.
All Philip K. Dicks books are great
Agreed. He is one of my favorites
I assume you read the first books in The Expanse series already. It has a little bit of that.
Did you ever watch Space Precinct? Sorry not a book but your question reminded me of watching that on late night TV after Hercules The Legendary Journeys.
I vaguely remember that show but it sounds like I’d like it
Try the Johannes Cabal series. The first book is about a necromancer running a demonic carnival to get his soul back from the devil. Lots of magic and victorian style science elements in it.
The second book in the series is a straight up who done it murder.
Peter F Hamiltons Great North Road comes to mind. But like mosy of his stuff it clocks in at over 1k pages.
His Pandoras Star and Void novels also share some of the themes you mentioned, a decent amount of detective work.
I have Pandora’s Star. Thanks!
Check out Octagonal Raven. Not an exact match, but pretty close as I recall, and it was the first thing that popped into my head. It's by L.E. Modesitt Jr. who, in my opinion, does great but somewhat repetitive books, and they are often a bit slow, but usually have intriguing themes and are generally pretty wholesome. Octagonal Raven is a thriller/mystery set in a future society where, similar to something like Gattaca, the rich can edit their DNA pre-birth, so you end up with an elite class controlling society. There's all kinds of issues regarding power dynamics and wealth, libertarianism, individualism, economics, conspiracy...deadly viruses, globalism, media and government corruption, the works.
It's been probably over a decade since I read it, so hopefully it's based and not commie propaganda, since the description could go either way, but I remember enjoying it, and Modesitt seems like a wholesome dude who uses themes of personal improvement, discipline, and struggle...all things that are anathema to commies.
Radio Freefall touches on some similar story themes, but is also completely different. Goes the AI/tech direction. Also been years. I need to read more...
Thanks! Will look for it
If you do read them, I'd be curious to hear what you thought.
Will do
It's Lovecraftian murder mystery but try the Nightside
Cool. Thanks
I'm sure there's some cyberpunk-type books that merge the sci-fi and detective genres. I can't think of any specifics though.
I also read that book that William Shatner had ghostwritten for him to slap his name on years ago: Tek War, or something like that. I don't necessarily recommend it because I read it when I was much younger but I seem to recall part of the story was unraveling who killed his wife and using cyber implant technology to do it.
I have some Tekwar books but haven’t read any yet. I also have an anthology series called “Sideways in Time” and every story is a mystery that takes place in a parallel earth. I’ll check out cyberpunk stuff to see. I really haven’t read much but I’m sure I’d enjoy that genre along with steampunk.
Shadowrun is my favorite tabletop setting, and I know there is a whole line of pulpy novels out there. Many of them are probably mysteries.
Thanks, will check it out.
My favorite fantasy series of all time is The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
What’s it about. And thanks. I’ll look it up
It's about a Leper whose disease goes into remission. It will never be made into movie because he rapes a young woman very early on.
I have not. What’s it about?
I’ve been meaning to read and watch. I hear the show and books are great but become woke later on. Is that true?
Sounds interesting. Asimov has the Caves of Steel trilogy about a human detective with an Android partner.