sci-fi thriller reccommendations

**beedle** · October 10th, 2011, 03:16 PM

Hi all,

Ive suddenly come to the end of my "to read" pile (a scary enough prospect for anyone) and I'm coming up blank for new material.

I'm after more of a thriller/detective or small special forces unit theme. Ideally the total opposite of a space opera- reletively small cast of characters, fairly tight plot etc

Recently read:
Hamilton's Greg Mendel series, which I really enjoyed
Fallen dragon, which was good but a bit bloated and with a rediculous ending Altered carbon, great fun but the rest of the series was a bit meh.
Ian M Banks- read use of weapons and enjoyed it
Neal Asher- read several, a bit hit and miss but good overall.

Any advice would be much appreciated

**Pennarin** · October 10th, 2011, 04:42 PM

Warren Hammond's Kop and its sequel Ex-Kop. Here is one and a second review, both positive and helpful, but not in concordance, to help you make up your mind.

Adam-Troy Castro's Emissaries from the Dead and the next book set in the same universe, same protagonist, The Third Claw of God. Reviews one and two.

**algernoninc** · October 11th, 2011, 12:32 AM

Richard K Morgan - Altered Carbon is the first in his Takeshi Kovacs futuristic thrillers. I think it will fit your request nicely. It has the investigation part, the hard-boiled protagonist, the adrenaline rush and the technological marvels of the future.

Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel and Naked Sun are still among my favorites some 30 years after I first discovered them.

As an introduction to Lois McMaster Bujold opus Falling Free is a stand-alone and a prequel to Miles Vorkossigan epic. It won some Hugo or Nebula prize, too. Later books in the series also have the detective / mystery component.

Pashazade by Jon Courtenay-Grimwood is an older read, I don't remember much about it other than the future setting based on the Ottoman Empire.

**martielillycrop** · October 13th, 2011, 02:37 AM

I'd recommend David Gunn's Death's Head series - great humour, plenty of action and all that comes with it!

**Loerwyn** · October 13th, 2011, 03:17 AM

James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes.

Written under a pseudonym by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (He's GRRM's assistant, I think), it's got pretty much everything you've asked for.

**chitman13** · October 13th, 2011, 05:12 AM

I'd recommend Eric Brown, specifically his Bengal Station books - Necropath, Xenopath and Cosmopath. Similar to the Greg Mandel books, but also very different, and very much worth it.

Gavin Smith's Veteran is also a good one, small cast of characters and draws comparisons to Richard Morgan, Neal Asher and David Gunn.

**beedle** · October 13th, 2011, 12:32 PM

Cheers for the reccommendations! I've got a decent list to work through now.

Ordered Leviathan Wakes and Veteran from the library, and grabbed Death's Head at the same time- should keep me going over the weekend

**psikeyhackr** · October 14th, 2011, 09:22 AM

I don't normally apply the word thriller to sci-fi.

Tau Zero by Poul Anderson.

psik

**symbolhunter** · October 15th, 2011, 05:38 AM

An oldie that probably is a fairly effective mixture of thriller and science fiction is The Power {1956} by Frank M Robinson. I got my HB copy from ABE at a very competitive price.

**beedle** · November 4th, 2011, 05:02 AM

Just finished Leviathan Wakes- truly fantastic! Loved every page, and can't wait for the next book in the series.

Big thank you to Loerwyn for reccommending it.

**Loerwyn** · November 4th, 2011, 05:31 AM

Not a problem, beedle. Happy to help

**psikeyhackr** · November 5th, 2011, 01:49 PM

I finished Robopocalypse because there is talk of it becoming a Spielberg movie.

It has a kind of gory fascination for the first 20% but by half way it is a bore.

I could see why some people would call it a sci-fi thriller bu I would not recommend it.

The Two Faces of Tomorrow by James P. Hogan is better but it starts off much slower and doesn't get thrilling until into the last half.

psik

**jelder** · November 13th, 2011, 08:23 PM

Fantastic recommendations - a couple I've read. I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I definitely differentiate between science fiction and science fiction thrillers. Science fiction can have many sub-genres for example sci fi romance. I love compelling sci fi with elements of a thriller: suspense, the hunt etc. My novel Spectra has all those elements.

**martielillycrop** · November 14th, 2011, 03:04 AM

Originally Posted by jelder

Fantastic recommendations - a couple I've read. I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I definitely differentiate between science fiction and science fiction thrillers. Science fiction can have many sub-genres for example sci fi romance. I love compelling sci fi with elements of a thriller: suspense, the hunt etc. My novel Spectra has all those elements.

Yeah, so does mine, but I don't try to shove it down people's throats!

Sorry folks, morning rant over