8 Sci-Noir Books that Blend Genres

This novel, which served as the inspiration for the blockbuster film Blade Runner, takes place in a world where the World War has decimated most living animals on Earth, including humans. Bounty hunter Rick Deckard has been sent to track down six escaped androids who are so human-like that only scientific analysis can determine their robot origins. The book follows Deckard’s journey as well as the efforts of the fugitive androids to evade capture.

For the past five years, the occupants of the U.S. Virgin Islands have lived under the rule and watch of the Ynaa, an advanced alien society that is using them as part of an undisclosed research project. A year after the death of a young boy at the hands of a Ynaa, three families are drawn into a complicated web of secrets, deceit, and dangerous experiments that will unravel the fragile peace between the two groups.

When a woman is found murdered, Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad is assigned to the case. To complete the investigation, Borlú must cross from the city of Beszel to Ul Qoma, a vibrant neighboring city whose border is both a psychic and physical barrier between the two. As Borlú works to find the woman’s killer, he is plunged into an underground world of those who seek a frightening future for Beszel and for Borlú.

Evern was born to serve as a vessel for the Leviathans, an alien species spoken about in ancient lore. She’s also the daughter of the leader of the dangerous and futuristic world and the last of the twelve prophesied Paladins, whose survival is key to ensuring the success of a celestial plan. When one of the Paladins is found dead, Evern is forced to confront and track down the murderer in order to fulfill her destiny.

Winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction, Blackouts is set in the desert where a lone man tends to a dying Juan Gay, who passes along a secret project: Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns, a collection of queer histories by a queer researcher that has been buried and suppressed over time. As Juan and his companion talk, the book becomes an ode to the power of storytelling in a futuristic society.

The City We Became takes that classic noir setting of New York City and pairs it with a science fiction, fantasy story that is sure to become a classic. In this novel, each of the five boroughs is represented by an avatar in the form of a human who must use their gifts to preserve the soul of the city against forces that threaten to tear it apart.

Welga Ramirez lives in a gig-economy world where humans take daily pills to help them compete with artificial intelligence. Welga is a bodyguard on the verge of retirement when her client is killed in front of her by a terrorist group called The Machinehood whose aim is to stop all pill production. As global panic ensues and robots are destroyed to keep them from taking over, Welga is contacted by the government which believes she has unique skills that will allow her to defeat the terrorists.

The graphic novel is set in The City Enduring, a metropolis at the edge of the universe where Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein when the first violent crime in generations leads to a revolt against the leaders of the city. As the only human in her sector, Jo must find the murderer and find a way to lead the city to a better, more peaceful future.