[BugBrother]

I am a day late (and I might be Hell banned?), but Blindsight by Watts ought to be mentioned. It was a total kick. It might be space opera, but with little of faked science.

People's taste either seems to go literary (e.g. Hyperion) or ideas/science (Benford). I do both.

Edit: I should add that Blindsight is available under an open license from the author's website.