[jmelloy]

I'd check out The Expanse. The core is a world rooted in relatively real-world engineering, and the fantastical builds pretty slowly (and is generally terrifying).

[XorNot]

The Expanse is a low-down and dirty description of near future humanity running headlong into an Outside Context Problem.

[leetcrew]

I'll second this. I love how they depict space travel and combat.