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Looking for Sci-Fi / Mystery Crossovers
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LOL, I was just going to suggest Asimov. . . you mention the short stories. . . have you read the full-fledged mystery novels featuring Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw? (The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn)Other than that. . . try Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan; Wrapt in Crystal, by Sharon Shinn (though there's fewer SF concepts in this one -- it's more about religion, the mystery, and a romance); and if you like alternate history try Farthing, by Jo Walton -- it's a British country house mystery set in an alternate 1949 England that made peace with Hitler.
The Asimov novels already mentioned are the most obvious ones.If you can stand some romance novel aspects (not bodice-ripper, more medium/light level romances) you could try the J.D. Robb (i.e., Nora Roberts) In Dead series (starts with Naked in Death), which are science-fiction/mystery/romances.
The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold is a mystery novella set in the Miles Vorkosigan saga.
The Thursday Next series (starting with The Eyre Affair) by Jasper Fforde are kind of mysteries and kind of science fiction (they're really hard to categorize).
Greenthieves by Alan Dean Foster is a science fiction mystery.
The Turing Hopper mystery series (starting with You've Got Murder) by Donna Andrews is sorta-science fiction. It takes place in modern times, but the primary detective is an artificial intelligence.
While not quite what you asked for, Bimbos of the Death Sun is a murder mystery set at a science fiction convention.
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan is what you are describing.Bryan wrote: "I'm curious if anyone can suggest stories which are both sci-fi and mystery in genre. I know that sci-fi stories often contain elements of mystery, but I am looking for a full blown whodunit in a s..."
The City & The City by China Miéville is a science fiction mystery.Also, check out this page on science fiction mysteries. It is part of a resource page for school librarians, but it doesn't appear to have a bias towards young readers.
That's a good website! I thought of a couple others:Chasm City and The Prefect, both by Alastair Reynolds. They're set in the same universe as his major trilogy, but stand-alone mysteries. Chasm City is better than The Prefect, and Reynolds' style is a little dense, but he can craft some pretty interesting set pieces and the mysteries are pretty convoluted (but fair).
I can suggest my own book, Under the Amoral Bridge: A Cyberpunk Novel. Though the main character isn't a detective, it takes a lot from noir style detective fiction. It's a cyberpunk tale about an election in a corporate-controlled Los Angeles of 2028. Bridge is an acerbic character with a sharp wit, and there is a bit of mystery as well, though it's not a whodunit so much as a why? You can grab the Kindle version ( http://www.amazon.com/Under-Amoral-Br... ) or other eBook versions ( http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/... ) for only $.99 cents.
The Surrogates by Robert Venditti is a graphic novel/detective story. I found it really interesting how with the surrogates, the detectives have become outmoded and how they cope when they are suddenly needed... Of course Watchmen is another graphic novel/sci-fi/fantasy whodunnit classic.And then there's another sci-fi detective classic: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
Cool topic!!
Thanks for the great suggestions. By coincidence, I happened to pick up Chasm City at a used book store yesterday, just hours before it was suggested here!I found another possibility while reviewing my to-read list: Queen of Angels by Greg Bear.
Oh yeah, I've read Queen of Angels & Slant. Would certainly fit the bill - the lead detective is a pretty fascinating character.There's also Bear's new Quantico series, but I'm not sure how much Sci is in the sci-fi since I haven't read them.
An *excellent* SF/mystery series is the Retrieval Artist series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, beginning with the title story in The Retrieval Artist and Other Stories, and then the series continues with the books starting with The Disappeared.
If you are okay with humor and tongue in cheek writing, the Hair Color books by John Zakour are really fun sci fi takes on old hard boiled detective novels. I love them.
A fairly light "cozy" fantasy-mystery would be Mercedes Lackey's "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" in the Bardic Voices series.
I've got the Alex Benedict novels on my TBR stack. . . but I was under the impression that, yes, they're mysteries. . . but they're more archaeological mysteries than murder mysteries. . . ;)
Hmmm...murder and dead bodies. Well, it's more of a SF spoof, but The Sheriff of Yrnameer: A Novel by Michael Rubens does start out that way.
The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton - Larry Niven This was always one of my favorites in the Known Space stories. This is a collection of shorts. There's also a novel called The Patchwork Girl, but they both look to be very out of print. Both are worth searching for, however.
Try Douglas Adams Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - BBC did a fun audio version of this one.There are a number of science related, fantasy thrillers out there like the Preston / Child books example - Relic. Or the James Rollins books ex - Map of Bones. However they tend to be more Indiana Jones like.
A classic who-dunnit and a Sci Fi Classic is The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.More up to date, you could try the Arabesk trilogy by Jon Courtenay Grimwood that starts with Pashazade.
In the same vein, When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger is a gripping atmospheric mystery thriller.
I've got to throw in my personal favourite, Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem, not to everyone's taste, but a fantastic weird take on the Raymond Chandler Detective Noir.
Bryan, I just thought I'd bring to your notice that one of the books I mentioned has just been reviewed here on Goodreads, should you be interested..
Check out Night Train to Rigel. Along with writing Star Wars sagas, Timothy Zahn has some mysteries in the Quadrail series. He's a GR Author, too.Almost forgot Jack McDevitt Alex Benedict books, e.g. The Devil's Eye: An Alex Benedict Novel
I recently completed Time Out by Pat Whitaker -- definitely scifi mystery. Pat also has two other similar books, Bad Blood and Raw Spirit.
Arthur C Clarke and Paul Preuss Venus Prime series - not murder mystery, but I think they qualify.There is a dormant group Sci-Fi Mysteries - maybe this discussion could transfer there?
If you are looking for something with a bit more humor, you can read about intergalactic con-man Slippery Jim DeGritz in Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series. They are pretty classic mysteries, sort of Chandlerian, only with a wry sense of humor and a lot lighter touch. I think there are 8-10 books in the series, none of them very long, and there are omnibus editions. I ripped through them a few years ago like going through a bag of popcorn.I'll also throw a second on Kiln People, which is one of the best books I've read in the last few years. Brin supposedly has a sequel for it (since it really does end with some big threads flapping) but as yet I haven't seen it.
Lee Killough wrote three mysteries in the Brill/Maxwell series of mysteries. Set in the near future, about 2090, they are a blend of SF and mystery. Each novels stands by itself and can be read in any order.They are :
The Doppelganger Gambit
Spider Play
Dragon's Teeth.
I have read and enjoyed all three.
Some of Loid McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series would fall into a Mystery/SF mix. Specifically Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, and Diplomatic Immunity.
Thadd Evans says: My sci fi novel, MPStation-4, a story about a detective in homicide is available online at Devine Destinies. There is some mystery and a lot of sci fi content. Cheers
Deep Quarry by John Stith is a detective story set on an alien world where humans and an alien race coexist. I prefer some of his straight up science fiction better, particularly Manhatten Transfer, but this wasn't bad and combines both the SF and the mystery elements. I think he wrote some other SF mysteries, but I haven't read those.
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned already, but I would recommended Nick Sagan's "Idlewild" which I have recently reviewed on my blog at http://newsbook.hostoi.comYou can also read the presently completed chapters of my own SF-cum-whodunnit at http://newsbook.hostoi.com/?p=90
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Wrapt in Crystal (other topics)The Robots of Dawn (other topics)
The Naked Sun (other topics)
The Caves of Steel (other topics)
Farthing (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Richard K. Morgan (other topics)Sharon Shinn (other topics)
Jo Walton (other topics)
Donna Andrews (other topics)
J.D. Robb (other topics)
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The closest thing I can think of is a few of the stories from Asimov's robot short stories. I appreciate any suggestions!