Based on curated lists from BookBub, Crime Reads, Book Riot and more, suggestions from readers on Goodreads, Quora and Reddit, and recommendations from authors like Jasper Fforde, Sharon Shinn and David Brin, here is a roundup of the 81 best sci-fi crime novels ever written.
To compile the final rankings, I assigned a weighted score to each book appearing on a previous list and combined these scores with votes from readers and authors to produce a cumulative score that distinguished 81 books as the best sci-fi crime novels from the pack of more than 800 candidates.
(In the event of a tie, books were ranked according to a combination of Amazon and Goodreads reviews. Books in a series were considered a single entity and are listed by the highest-ranked book in the series.)
As a bonus feature, I’ve produced two downloads:
- The best sci-fi crime novels according to eleven authors featured on this list
- A one-page PDF shopping guide to The Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels
You can access both of these free resources below. And now, on with the list!
The Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels
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Honorable Mention
These books made one of the lists from which I compiled my rankings but did not earn enough points on my rating scale to crack the top 81 sci-fi crime novels. They are listed alphabetically by the author’s last name.
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015), The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel (2016), Machinehood by S.B. Divya (2021), Socrates and the Sentinel by Thomas Fay (2014), Man in the Empty Suit by Sean Ferrell (2013), Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman (2015), Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway (2012), The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart (2022), Replay by Marc Levy (2012), The Sleepless by Victor Manibo (2022), Genesis Code by Jamie Metzl (2014), Mai Tais for the Lost by Mia V. Moss (2022), Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (2017), 10,000 Bones by Joe Ollinger (2019), Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter (2020), Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (1995), Angel of Europa by Allen Steele, Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski (2010), All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017), Yesterday by Felicia Yap (2017)
Click here to download sci-fi crime recommendations from Carolyn Ives Gilman, Joe Ollinger, Jon Richter, Duane Swierczynski and other authors on this list.
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81. Nova Swing by M. John Harrison (2006)
On an unnamed planet, a disturbance in the space-time continuum has altered the appearance and physics of an area known as the Event Site. There, a travel agent who leads people in and out of the Site finds himself caught up in the smuggling of unsettling biological artifacts and pursued by a detective and a gangster. Nova Swing won the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick Awards for the best science fiction novel.
80. Wrapt in Crystal by Sharon Shinn (1999)
79. After Atlas by Emma Newman (2016)
78. Voice of the Whirlwind by Walter Jon Williams (1987)
77. Noir by K.W. Jeter (1998)
76. Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan (2018)
75. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)
Marooned after an attack on his spaceship and abandoned by a rescue vessel, Gulliver Foyle seeks vengeance on the crew that left him to die. The Stars My Destination received mixed reviews upon its release but has since become a favorite of many science fiction writers (including some of the authors on this list) and has been adapted for comics and radio, with rumors of a film adaptation.
74. Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan (2007)
An imprisoned genetically engineered soldier is given a chance to earn his freedom by capturing another engineered soldier accused of mass murder. Originally published under the title Black Man, this novel won the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
73. Night Train to Rigel by Timothy Zahn (2005)
72. Clean by Alex Hughes (2012)
71. Nightside City by Lawrence Watt-Evans (1989)
61-70
70. Pashazade by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (2001)
In this alternate history set in a twenty-first century liberal Islamic Ottoman North Africa, genetically engineered, drug-addled Raf doesn’t know who he is or how to save himself from the consequences of a brutal murder he didn’t commit. The first installment in Grimwood’s Arabesk trilogy was nominated for the for the 2002 Arthur C. Clarke Award, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel and John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
69. The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison (1961)
68. The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (2018)
67. The Buried Life by Carrie Patel (2015)
66. The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo (2023)
65. The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel (2021)
In a future of rampant corporate power and cybernetic body enhancements, a baseball scout investigates the murder of his baseball star brother. Esquire listed The Body Scout as one of the Top 50 Sci-Fi Books of All Time, and the New York Times named it the Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novel of 2021.
64. Liminal States by Zack Parsons (2012)
63. Normal by Warren Ellis (2016)
62. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Ann Older (2024)
61. The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (2020)
51-60
60. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
This novel of six nested stories that move from the remote nineteenth-century South Pacific to a distant, post-apocalyptic future combines historical fiction, mystery/thriller and science fiction. It was named one of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, won the British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award and was adapted into a 2012 film starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.
59. Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge (1986)
A time-displaced small group of survivors—either of a technological singularity or alien invasion—try to solve a murder that threatens the existence of the human race. Vinge’s follow-up to The Peace War won the 1987 Prometheus Award for best libertarian science fiction novel and was also nominated for the World Science Fiction Society’s 1987 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
58. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi (2010)
57. Red Dust by Yoss (2004)
56. Europe in Autumn by David Hutchinson (2014)
55. Lost in Time by A.G.Riddle (2022)
54. The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard (2018)
Technically a novella, this story about a conscious mindship and a scholar unraveling the murder of a research cadaver won the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella and was a finalist for the 2019 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novella.
53. Spin State by Chris Moriarty (2003)
52. The Plutonium Blonde by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem (2001)
51. Finch by Jeff VanderMeer (2009)
41-50
50. Halting State by Charles Stross (2007)
49. Dead Space by Kali Wallace (2021)
A scientist working to pay off her medical debt by working for an asteroid belt mining corporation investigates the death of a former colleague. Dead Space won the 2022 Philip K. Dick Award.
48. Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney (2021)
47. The Real-Town Murders by Adam Roberts (2017)
46. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (1985)
A mind-bending book whose chapters alternate between a cyberpunk, science fiction narrative and a parallel, surreal, virtual fantasy narrative. Murakami’s fourth novel won the 1985 Tanizaki Prize, one of Japan’s most prestigious literary awards.
45. Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds (2004)
44. Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
Many consider this novel about a crippled computer hacker hired for one last job to be the book that launched the cyberpunk genre. The first installment in Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy was the first to win the Nebula Award (1985), the Philip K. Dick Award (1984), and the Hugo Award (1985), the so-called “triple crown” of science fiction.
43. Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow (1989)
In a future world where the line between humans and robots has become increasingly blurred, a cyborg superagent tracks a master hacker capable of reprogramming humans to become criminal puppets. Shirow’s manga has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations.
42. Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (2023)
41. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb (1987)
Professor James O. Mega (pseudonym Jay Omega) is a VIP guest at a speculative fiction convention after writing a novel based on his real-life research. But when a fellow author turns up dead, Omega hatches an ingenious trap for the killer. Bimbos of the Death Sun won the Mystery Writers of America’s 1988 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original and was nominated for the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention’s 1988 Anthony Award.
31-40
40. Places in the Darkness by Christopher Brookmyre (2017)
39. Kiln People by David Brin (2002)
In a future where anyone can make a cheap, clay copy of themselves, a private investigator’s case against a bootlegger ring making illegal copies of a famous actress explodes into open warfare. Kiln People was shortlisted for the 2002 Hugo, Locus, John W. Campbell and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.
38. A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt (1989)
37. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold (2002)
36. Made to Kill by Adam Christopher (2015)
35. The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach (2019)
34. The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead (1999)
A black female elevator inspector goes underground to investigate an elevator crash that happened on her watch. Whitehead’s debut novel was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for the best American debut novel and was named one of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years.
33. Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson (2021)
32. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (2013)
A serial killer discovers a house in Depression-era Chicago that opens onto other times and wants him to kill a group of young women, but one would-be victim is determined to bring him to justice. The Shining Girls won the British Fantasy Society’s August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel and was adapted into an Apple TV+ series starring Elisabeth Moss.
31. Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan (1998)
21-30
30. KOP by Warren Hammond (2007)
29. Kingdom of Heroes by Jay Phillips (2013)
28. Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh (2014)
A garbage man turned assassin is hired to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist in a near-future New York City divided between the wealthy and their virtual reality and the poor stuck in the miserable real world. Shovel Ready was shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in 2015 and is slated for a film adaptation starring Denzel Washington.
27. A Philosophical Investigation by Philip Kerr (1992)
26. Carlucci’s Edge by Richard Paul Russo (1995)
25. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (2001)
24. The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn (1999)
23. The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal (2022)
An inventor and heiress is arrested for murder on her interplanetary space liner honeymoon and endeavors to find the true killer. The Spare Man was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2023.
22. Mindstar Rising by Peter F. Hamilton (1993)
21. Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer (2013)
11-20
20. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (2017)
19. The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters (2012)
With a civilization-ending asteroid hurtling toward Earth, a New Hampshire police detective investigates a suicide he believes was a murder. The first installment in Winters’s trilogy of the same name won the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.
18. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (2019)
An ambassador to the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that threaten that society. Both A Memory Called Empire and its sequel, A Desolation Called Peace, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel.
17. Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (2022)
16. Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton (2012)
15. Aurora Rising by Alastair Reynolds (2007)
14. The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (2002)
13. Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (2001)
A security expert seeks to avenge the death of his former client’s wife in a once-utopian city which has succumbed to a virus that melted the city’s towering skyscrapers into a wretched slum. This standalone novel in Reynolds’s Revelation Space universe (which also includes Aurora Rising) won the 2002 British Science Fiction Association Award.
12. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)
A businessman murders his rival and struggles to stay ahead of the law in a future world policed by telepaths. The Demolished Man won the inaugural Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1953.
11. Lock In by John Scalzi (2014)
1-10
10. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (1987)
9. Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem (1994)
In a futuristic Oakland of evolved, talking animals and mind-numbing drugs, a hard-boiled private investigator is hired by a man framed for the murder of a prominent doctor. Lethem’s debut won the 1995 Locus Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novel.
8. The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez (2008)
7. When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger (1986)
6. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (2011)
A spaceship captain, his crew and a detective discover a secret in an asteroid mining station that leads to a terrifying conspiracy involving the entire solar system. The first installment of Corey’s Expanse series was nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and was adapted for a Syfy television series in 2015.
5. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (2007)
4. The City & the City by China Miéville (2009)
A pair of detectives investigate a murder in two side-by-side cities, each of which forbids its citizens to travel to or acknowledge the other place. Described by Tor.com as “the most awarded book in the history of books,” The City & the City won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction Association Award, the Hugo Award and the Locus Award in 2010.
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968)
In a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, bounty hunter Rick Deckard attempts to kill six fugitive androids. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was nominated for a 1968 Nebula Award and was adapted into the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner.
2. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (1953)
Asimov aimed to show that science fiction could be applied to any genre, and this story of a New York City detective and a humanoid robot working together to solve the murder of an off-world ambassador is one of the best examples of that goal. Fifty years after its publication, The Caves of Steel was nominated for a retroactive Hugo Award for Best Novel.
1. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)
Morgan’s third entry on the list tops the chart. In a twenty-fifth century world where consciousness can be transferred between bodies to facilitate interstellar travel and extended lifespans, a former elite soldier turned private investigator investigates the apparent suicide of one of Earth’s oldest and wealthiest men. Altered Carbon won the 2003 Philip K. Dick Award for Best Novel and was adapted into a Netflix series in 2018.ki
For more imaginative futures and thrilling whodunits, download a list of the best sci-fi crime novels according to eleven authors featured on this list and a one-page PDF shopping guide to The Best Sci-Fi Crime Novels using the form below. And to stay up-to-date with the latest sci-fi crime novels, check out the books in the genre released in the years after the publication of this list: