Yoikes! I neglected to mention Starfish, by the absolutely incomparable Peter Watts in my earlier recommendations post. I read Starfish some time ago as an ebook available (along with most of the rest of his backlist) directly from Watts himself. He does this beause he rocks, and he wants to make you into the sort of Watts fanboy I am. *grin*.

Be warned. Starfish is terrific science fiction, but it is…um….well…dark. Seriously. But it succeeds in doing what SF is supposed to do;it uses the premise and extrapolations to pose questions about us. About what we do to ourselves, about how society values us (and our failings), and about just how twisted and far we might fall if we don’t stop and think about what we’re doing. It’s a distressing read at times, but it’s so, so worth it. If you’re local, just ask and I’ll be happy to let you borrow it.