The Chocolate and Peanut Butter of Noir and Speculative Fiction

The tapestry on which the hard boiled action takes place is a far future space opera peppered with many of my favorite SFnal tropes, but the core mystery and the voice is pure noir. The other books in this series are less pure mystery, but the hard boiled voice remains.

A dwarf plucked out of your traditional high fantasy realm into 1930s Chicago becomes a private eye. Spectacular genre muddling here with a mystery that integrates tropes from high fantasy, noir and mobster lore. The sequel, Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Pitcher’s Pendant, is on my to read list. Tee Morris also podcasts.

I’ve not yet read this Hugo Winner, but I understand that it fits perfectly into this list, with the speculative fiction element deriving from an alternate history where the State of Israel was founded in Alaska.

Looks like a hard boiled private eye in a sword and sorcery setting. Tobias Buckell mentioned this the yesterday, and that was probably the final impetus for adding the book to this list.

I’m far from clear on the details, but I’m pretty sure this will fit solidly on this list. I believe this takes place in the same setting as City of Saints and Madmen, but it’s possible I’m totally confused. An audio recording of the first chapter foreshadows a podcast.

My mom cut out a book review of this and sent it to me. She’s often prescient in her understanding of my tastes, as I’ve been eyeing both Mieville and this book in particular for a while. Google reveals that everyone is talking about this book, but as usual I was most excited to hear about the novel’s big idea in the author’s own words.

CSI with Demons. What’s not to love?