As a forewarning, my next recommendation is a card carrying member of the odd and confusing, “hard sci-fi” subgenre. However, even if you are wary of reading about Planck energy, AI, ripples in space-time, along with some sociopathic cyborgs, the novel Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds is a worthwhile read.
Revelation Space’s plot itself is extremely complex, revolving around the discovery of an extinct alien race called the Amarantin. The story starts with Dan Sylveste, an archaeologist consumed by an obsession of solving how and why the Amarantin were completely annihilated. On a collision course with Sylveste is Ana Khouri, a hired assassin, and Ilia Volyova, a cyborg, both with their own designs and goals for Sylveste’s knowledge and skills. When the question of what happened to the Amarantin is finally explained, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place in one of the best endings of a novel that I honestly have read to date.
In terms of writing style, Revelation Space is kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill. It starts off fairly slowly, and the details of the plot do not make immediate sense. As the story progresses, each little detail is explained and the pace of the plot becomes much faster. Trust me, don’t set this novel aside for the beginning, because it gets much better.
Also, it might be handy to have a computer around for some of the more jargon rich sections, since “lighthuggers”, “medichines”, and “servitors” are not commonly used terms at all.
SDSU Sci Fi 