# Anyone know of a good sci-fi/mystery?



## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

I like the blend of sci-fi and mystery.  Suggestions on a good read?


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Hmmm ... I think Asimov wrote a couple in his robot books, but don't think they're available for Kindle yet.  While I'm sure there are some, I can't think of any others off hand.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

If you don't mind humor, a guy named Martinez (I can't remember his initials) wrote "The Automatic Detective" -- but it's not really serious sci/fi.  It's more of a futuristic kind of bent with a mystery and humor. 

I assume you aren't looking for fantasy/mystery?  John Levitt writes particularly strong mystery plots in his Urban Fantasy series "Dog Days" (Dog Days is the first in the series.)

Let's see...You might like Mark Van Name.  He's got a series out that has a very strong mystery component in the first book (not so much in the second--it was way too easy).  It's planetary and high tech.  One Jump Ahead is the first in the series.  He's with Baen so if you don't see the Kindle version on Amazon, I know they're available at Baen webscriptions.  In fact, that's a darn good place to check for a mix of sci/fi and mystery.  I used to read their short story mag and I know there were several stories in it (something Universe.  Baen's Universe? Nancy Fulda wrote some REALLY good stories in there... you might find some writers through that too.)

Maria


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## peter darbyshire (Jan 22, 2011)

If I recall correctly, Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon is a SF mystery of sorts.

Jonathan Lethem's Gun with Occasional Music is set in the future and features a Marlowe-like detective. It's a delightfully strange tale featuring bioengineered kangaroo goons, karma points for citizens, cold storage, that kind of thing. It's more quirky than hard SF.

Rob Sawyer has a Sherlock Holmes SF story, I think, called "You See But You Do Not Observe."


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## strether (Dec 15, 2008)

How about Lois McMasters Bujold's book "Memory".  It's one of her Miles books and it's about halfway into her series, but it's definitely a mystery that Miles solves in his inimitable fashion.  One of my favorites, and you'd have the pleasure of filling in all the back story, always assuming you haven't read these books anyway.

Jim


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

A couple things that pop to my mind that might qualify, but may not be an exact fit:

The Alex Benedict books by Jack McDevitt, where Benedict is a sort of archeologist who is typically dealing with some sort of mystery, often seeming more like a detective than an archeologist.

The "Laundry" books by Charles Stross (starting with _The Attrocity Archives_), which are sort of techno-thriller/sci-fi/fantasy stories that are a bit hard to classify, but center around a secret agency trying to protect the world from Lovecraft type powers with a scientific "explanation" instead of supernatural.

And if you don't mind crossing over into fantasy and enjoy a good laugh, too, there are the "City Watch" cycle of books in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series, starting with _Guards! Guards!_.

I'm sure there must be something amongst all the sci-fi I've read that is a better fit, but it's not coming to mind right now.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

It might be more of a suspenseful SF adventure than a mystery, but I'd recommend *Hyperion *by Dan Simmons


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## peter darbyshire (Jan 22, 2011)

NogDog said:


> The "Laundry" books by Charles Stross (starting with _The Attrocity Archives_), which are sort of techno-thriller/sci-fi/fantasy stories that are a bit hard to classify, but center around a secret agency trying to protect the world from Lovecraft type powers with a scientific "explanation" instead of supernatural.


I'm reading Stross' The Fuller Memorandum right now, and it's definitely got mystery angles to it. Fun read. And I think it was the last one that had a whole James Bond thing going on.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Several of John Stith's early SF novels are mystery/detective oriented. They are all on the Kindle.

Mike


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

strether said:


> How about Lois McMasters Bujold's book "Memory". It's one of her Miles books and it's about halfway into her series, but it's definitely a mystery that Miles solves in his inimitable fashion. One of my favorites, and you'd have the pleasure of filling in all the back story, always assuming you haven't read these books anyway.
> 
> Jim


I started the Vorkosigan books a year or so ago and read five or so, enjoyed them hugely, and then they stopped being available for the Kindle. I'm ready for them to come back.


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## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

If you want science and mystery together, I just happen to be reading  - very much like the originally Frankenstein - a Doctor pushing science beyond its ethical bounds with frightening results and written as an unravelling mystery. Pushing your original definition a bit, but an excellent read.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

KMA said:


> I started the Vorkosigan books a year or so ago and read five or so, enjoyed them hugely, and then they stopped being available for the Kindle. I'm ready for them to come back.


http://www.webscription.net/s-13-lois-mcmaster-bujold.aspx

Mike


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Well OK all you authors out there ... here's a ready made audience and a wide open genre: scifi mystery!!


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## libbyfh (Feb 11, 2010)

CAST OF SHADOWS by Kevin Guilfoile. It's more mystery, less sci-fi, but has to do with cloning. And a lot more. Great read!


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## Syria Says... AKA Celia Can Read (Apr 16, 2010)

Falling Star by Philip Chen. 

I gave it 4+ when I reviewed. Fabulous!


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## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

HappyGuy said:


> Well OK all you authors out there ... here's a ready made audience and a wide open genre: scifi mystery!!


Apparently there aren't very many in that genre. But even if there are, the boards prohibit us from touting our own books here. I think KC May's sci-fi thriller Venom of Vipers may come close. It's not a mystery in the true sense (i.e. a who-dunnit), but it's a good book.

Is it the sci-fi part you like best, or the mystery part?


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Sci-fi mystery is a tricky genre. It's easy to fall back on a techno equivalent of "the butler did it!" Another issue is that the setting is so different than a standard mystery, so placing clues can be tricky. It can be done, and can be done quite well.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Maybe what I'm looking for is "sci-fi" suspense/drama. When I say mystery, I'm using the term mystery in a loose context.  Remember Bladerunner?  That's what I like.  I dig a lot of Philip Dick's stuff.


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

jmiked said:


> http://www.webscription.net/s-13-lois-mcmaster-bujold.aspx
> 
> Mike


I LOVE you!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes some good Sci-fi detective mysteries in her Retrieval Artist series:
http://www.amazon.com/Kristine-Kathryn-Rusch/e/B000AP60YK

Her Diving into the Wreck is an excellent standalone which might qualify....
http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/diving-into-wreck.html

by the way the elitist book review is pretty nice...although they tend more towards fantasy, they are pretty funny


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## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

Chad: (Sorry to hijack the thread) Just noticed your profile pic. Brent Weeks is AMAZING. I love that series.


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## Tom Lichtenberg (Oct 7, 2010)

In the comic-sci-fi-mystery vein there's my own "Inspector Mole and the Frozen Stiff" (a.k.a. "Death Ray Butterfly") which you can get for FREE for your Kindle from Feedbooks, here: http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/15622/inspector-mole-and-the-frozen-stiff

_"Inspector Stanley Mole doesn't mind a hard case, but things have gotten out of hand. There's a killer who escapes to a parallel universe, a 20,000 year old murder, a witness to her own death, a toddler assassin, subatomic-particle sniffing butterflies, and much, much more. This time it's not just his reputation that's on the line. This time it's more than personal."_


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## Manley (Nov 14, 2010)

@Patrick - you should check out Derek J Canyon's Dead Dwarves books. Probably exactly what you are looking for.

You can find out more and find links to purchase at his blog: http://derekjcanyon.blogspot.com/


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

jhanel said:


> Chad: (Sorry to hijack the thread) Just noticed your profile pic. Brent Weeks is AMAZING. I love that series.


Thanks! I used to change my icon to the book i was currently reading...that was the one I happened to stop doing that on...and never got around to picking another. I did like that series


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## yogini2 (Oct 27, 2008)

The City and the City, by China Meiville.


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## dixiehellcat (Jan 23, 2011)

Patrick Skelton said:


> I like the blend of sci-fi and mystery. Suggestions on a good read?


If you don't mind some sex tossed in, JD Robb's In Death books are very good. More police procedural type of mystery, set in near-future settings, and quite well done IMHO.


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

HappyGuy said:


> Hmmm ... I think Asimov wrote a couple in his robot books, but don't think they're available for Kindle yet. While I'm sure there are some, I can't think of any others off hand.


'Caves of Steel' was one of Asimov's detective/sci-fi novels. I read it years ago and remember liking it, but can't recall too many of the details other than it was set in a society that lived in big futuristic cities underground and didn't like the outside. There was a sequel but it's name escapes me.


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## kaleissin (Jan 26, 2011)

KMA said:


> I started the Vorkosigan books a year or so ago and read five or so, enjoyed them hugely, and then they stopped being available for the Kindle. I'm ready for them to come back.


Baen won't be selling ebooks on Amazon anymore, they're boycotting. You can get their books (all the Vorkosigan-books now), in mobi, on Webscriptions. While you're there, check out the Liaden books by Lee and Miller  Baen has a lot of other space opera too.


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## peter darbyshire (Jan 22, 2011)

kaleissin said:


> Baen won't be selling ebooks on Amazon anymore, they're boycotting.


Interesting. What's their reason for boycotting?


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## MatrixOutsider (Nov 28, 2010)

Some of Dean Koontz's older books have both elements. I am currently reading "Twilight Eyes", which has elements of sci-fi, horror, and mystery.


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## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

jhanel said:


> Apparently there aren't very many in that genre. But even if there are, the boards prohibit us from touting our own books here. I think KC May's sci-fi thriller Venom of Vipers may come close. It's not a mystery in the true sense (i.e. a who-dunnit), but it's a good book.
> 
> Is it the sci-fi part you like best, or the mystery part?


Thanks for the plug, Jerry!  You're right -- there are some small elements of mystery, far more thriller elements, so I wouldn't classify it as a mystery in the who-done-it sense.

And off the top of my head, I can't really think of any sci-fi mysteries. Hmmm.


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## cftodd (Jan 30, 2011)

PARALLAX by Jon F. Merz


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

kaleissin said:


> Baen won't be selling ebooks on Amazon anymore, they're boycotting. You can get their books (all the Vorkosigan-books now), in mobi, on Webscriptions. While you're there, check out the Liaden books by Lee and Miller  Baen has a lot of other space opera too.


I'm just so thrilled that they are available. My library doesn't have them. Off to shop...


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## a.m.harte (Jan 30, 2011)

For a futuristic scifi thriller you could try The Vector, a dystopian virus-fuelled story. Not for the squeamish but it's a pretty exciting read.


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## kaleissin (Jan 26, 2011)

peter darbyshire said:


> Interesting. What's their reason for boycotting?


They can't set the prices as they like and the books must use DRM. Baen doesn't do DRM as a point of pride.


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## dmspen (Jan 12, 2011)

Larry Niven had several stories featuring Gil Hamilton, a space detective who had a ghost arm. He'd lost his arm in an accident , yet could still use the 'ghost' version of it. He solved mysteries. The tongue in cheek part is that the law enforcement agency he worked for was ARM. The collection of stories is called , The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I just found out that the Jade Darcy books are on Kindle (they are expensive though 9.99). I read and really loved the Jade Darcy and the Zen Pirates years ago (I don't think I knew there were two books.) The authors are Stephen Goldin and Mary Mason. FUN, FUN book.

http://www.amazon.com/Jade-Darcy-Pirates-Rehumanization-ebook/dp/B0049H8WPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296488417&sr=1-1-spell

I don't think the description captures the book well; there's definitely a mystery to be solved and some tough decisions Jade has to make--lots of interesting things about making technology decisions.

Another author you might like is Eric Flint.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

James Everington said:


> 'Caves of Steel' was one of Asimov's detective/sci-fi novels. I read it years ago and remember liking it, but can't recall too many of the details other than it was set in a society that lived in big futuristic cities underground and didn't like the outside. There was a sequel but it's name escapes me.


there were actually four in this excellent series ..all were detective/sci-fi novels pairing human detective Elijah Baley and robot R. Daneel Olivaw
1)Caves of Steel
2)Naked Sun
3) Robots Of Dawn
although Elijah Baley is not in the 4th one (Robots and Empire) it still has a mystery as its backstory. This was also when Asimov started merging the Robot Series with his Foundation series


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

Fuzzy Dunlop said:


> there were actually four in this excellent series ..all were detective/sci-fi novels pairing human detective Elijah Baley and robot R. Daneel Olivaw
> 1)Caves of Steel
> 2)Naked Sun
> 3) Robots Of Dawn
> although Elijah Baley is not in the 4th one (Robots and Empire) it still has a mystery as its backstory. This was also when Asimov started merging the Robot Series with his Foundation series


Excellent info, will have to check those out.
James


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## BlackBeard54 (Jan 7, 2011)

Fuzzy Dunlop said:


> there were actually four in this excellent series ..all were detective/sci-fi novels pairing human detective Elijah Baley and robot R. Daneel Olivaw
> 1)Caves of Steel
> 2)Naked Sun
> 3) Robots Of Dawn
> although Elijah Baley is not in the 4th one (Robots and Empire) it still has a mystery as its backstory. This was also when Asimov started merging the Robot Series with his Foundation series


I actually have all of Asimov's "Foundation and Robots" future history related books on my shelf in the order he suggested they (chronologically) belong in. Actually read them all the way through that way once. An awesome read. The world shall not see the likes of Asimov and Heinlein again...


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

kaleissin said:


> They can't set the prices as they like and the books must use DRM. Baen doesn't do DRM as a point of pride.


They sell individual books at $6 usually on their site with no DRM. They also have a monthly bundle of 5-6 books for $15-18 dollars that can be a very good deal


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## LRGiles (Apr 28, 2010)

I read an ARC for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis recently. It's YA, but was a decent mix of science fiction and mystery.


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## Zackery Arbela (Jan 31, 2011)

Try Downbelow Sration by CJ Cherryh...alien intrigue at it's finest.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

jmiked said:


> http://www.webscription.net/s-13-lois-mcmaster-bujold.aspx
> 
> Mike


Even better, nearly the entire Vorkosigan series was released for free on the CD that came in Cryoburn. You can find it here: http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/24-CryoburnCD/CryoburnCD/

It's more detective than mystery, but I just finished reading _Gun, with Occasional Music_ by Jonathan Lethem. Quite a good sci-fi detective novel.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm late to this particular party, but I have read and recommend Larry Niven's Gil Hamilton book (the title is an excellent pun, by the way) and Asimov's robot mysteries that were mentioned by others.

Love of fantasy and love of science fiction don't necessarily go hand in hand, but if a fantasy mystery series interests you, the "Garrett Files" series by Glenn Cook is excellent.


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## natashalarry (Feb 1, 2011)

I just reviewed _Gods of the Machines_[/i] by Gary Starta...VERY good book, the review will be posted at natashalarry.blogspot.com in a few days.

But its up for purchase at amazon and at www.gypsyshadowpublishing.com

I'm trying to score an autographed copy because I have no shame.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Gentle reminder that this is a book CORNER thread -- self promotion is not permitted -- some posts have been deleted.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I just ordered Graham Brown's Black Rain and Black Sun off of  Amazon
Both were published in 2010
They look pretty interesting and got mostly good reviews


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## G. Henkel (Jan 12, 2010)

Try Scott Nicholson's "Forever Never Ends"



_edit- fixed broken link_


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Gil the ARM by Niven; he wrote a few with Gil as the main character and I liked them loads.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

I second the Derek Canyon "Dead Dwarves" books.  Kind of like "bladerunner"

You might also click the book in my signature for the description.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I read End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood last year and it was fantastic - and has a post-cyberpunk vibe ....


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## nrichn (Dec 4, 2010)

David Brin wrote a sort of a science fiction/detective/mystery called Kiln People. I thought it was pretty good.


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## twhvalentine (Feb 1, 2011)

A recent good one is _Across the Universe_, a YA sci-fi/thriller by Beth Revis. I've also heard great things about _Song of Scarabaeus_ which is more hard sci-fi.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

BlackBeard54 said:


> I actually have all of Asimov's "Foundation and Robots" future history related books on my shelf in the order he suggested they (chronologically) belong in. Actually read them all the way through that way once. An awesome read. The world shall not see the likes of Asimov and Heinlein again...


agreed I really like how he merged the two series together


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## RJMcDonnell (Jan 29, 2011)

Lawrence Sanders, best known for his Deadly Sins, Ten Commandments, and Archy McNally Series, wrote one sci-fi mystery that I found to be an excellent read. It's called: The Tomorrow File.


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## Ottilie (Jan 15, 2011)

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Here's one that I'm reading right now and it's fantastic... by our very own Mike Hicks... just released...


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-troy Castro is definitely sci-fi and a murder mystery. I enjoyed it.


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