Ninja'd. Try the Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams (though it's more comedy) and see if you like it. The Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card series is good.SckizoBoy said:
Good Sci-Fi Book Recommendations
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Haven't seen any other posts with similar books to the Dresden Files (which are awesome) and which I classify as "Urban Fiction" here are some authors - series that are pretty good and are also that same nowadays + Fiction stuff
Kat Richardson - Graywalker Novels
Caitlin Kittredge - Nocture City and Black London Novels
Simon R. Green - Nightside Novels
Devon Monk - Allie Beckstrom Novels
Other awesome books I loved:
Brent Weeks - Night Angel Trilogy
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn Trilogy
Kat Richardson - Graywalker Novels
Caitlin Kittredge - Nocture City and Black London Novels
Simon R. Green - Nightside Novels
Devon Monk - Allie Beckstrom Novels
Other awesome books I loved:
Brent Weeks - Night Angel Trilogy
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn Trilogy
Sci-fi is not the first tag you would glue on top of the His Dark Materials -trilogy. While you do have a valid point, it still certainly does have certain elements of science fiction as well as those of fantasy. Imaginary, yet plausible technology, science, paranormal abilities and parallel universes should be plenty enough.Spectrum_Prez said:
And it happens to about the only science-fictionish book / series of books I can recommend, as pieces with more stereotypical science fiction elements, like space, spaceships, aliens, and whatnot, most often simply fail to gain parts of my interest.
What makes it a masterpiece is how it handles personality, authority, religion, freedom, love and death.
Dune [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29].
Cities in Flight [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_in_Flight].
Deathworld [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathworld].
Stainless Steel Rat [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_Steel_Rat].
Horus Heresy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus_Heresy_%28novels%29] books are great, particularly Nemesis.
Cities in Flight [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_in_Flight].
Deathworld [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathworld].
Stainless Steel Rat [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_Steel_Rat].
Horus Heresy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus_Heresy_%28novels%29] books are great, particularly Nemesis.
Here's a classic:
It's about time differentials at lightspeed, and how that would affect a lone soldiers personal life. It gets freaky, and amusing when you get to 2010 a' la 1974.
It's about time differentials at lightspeed, and how that would affect a lone soldiers personal life. It gets freaky, and amusing when you get to 2010 a' la 1974.
I loved Richard Morgan's sci-fi series - Altered Carbon, Broken Angels and Woken Furies. The world he creates is very detailed, without ever once resorting to technobabble or pulling you away from the characters or story to talk about it.
The central conceit of the books is that bioengineering has improved to the point that people no longer inhabit one body for the whole of their lives. Human consciousnesses inhabit 'cortical stacks' which can be transferred from body to body while maintaining the person's memories and sense of self. This presents interesting possibilities. For example in the first book the main character Takeshi Kovacs is woken from a software prison, where he has been held without a body, by the backup copy consciousness of a man who's just been murdered, and set the task of discovering who killed the original.
The central conceit of the books is that bioengineering has improved to the point that people no longer inhabit one body for the whole of their lives. Human consciousnesses inhabit 'cortical stacks' which can be transferred from body to body while maintaining the person's memories and sense of self. This presents interesting possibilities. For example in the first book the main character Takeshi Kovacs is woken from a software prison, where he has been held without a body, by the backup copy consciousness of a man who's just been murdered, and set the task of discovering who killed the original.
Its probably not quite what you're looking for, but I'll recommend it anyway:
Dark as Day by Charles Sheffield.
There's no space battles for one thing. That's where it loses points for you. There also isn't really any magic, it tries to go by the rules of the universe as it actually works, and can maintain a decent suspension of disbelief, despite sometimes not being quite on par.
Its set in the Solar system, and is 100% human oriented, except for a plot twist at the end that is more of a sideplot than anything, but I won't spoil it for anyone. You may expect it when reading through the book, but it also hides itself reasonably well so, eh.
Recently 'The Great War' between Earth and Mars ended, and humanity is continuing to expand out into the outer solar system - with several colonies around Jupiter already set up, and plans to send ships to Saturn for easier Helium 3 collecting. The story revolves around a few key characters;
A new SETI scientist looking for extra terrestrial life and signals
A computer programmer [I think] who is behind the programming of a computer simulation to predict the future of the solar system through advanced simulation of people and their personalities, which yields unexpected results
A recluse man who lives on his own private moon around Jupiter, is a collector of artifacts from the Great war and arguably the best 'player' in a group called the puzzle network - who create and send codes to one another with the challenge to crack them in the shortest time possible
And finally a woman from Earth who used to work on an offshore mining platform, but decides to head into space for a new life.
Eventually all of their stories intertwine and come together for an event with the potential to destroy the solar system.
Its well written, and one of the few books I have read even a second time, let alone a third and fourth like I have.
As said, it hasn't got space battles, and there's not really any magic, but IMO its a worthwhile read.
Dark as Day by Charles Sheffield.
There's no space battles for one thing. That's where it loses points for you. There also isn't really any magic, it tries to go by the rules of the universe as it actually works, and can maintain a decent suspension of disbelief, despite sometimes not being quite on par.
Its set in the Solar system, and is 100% human oriented, except for a plot twist at the end that is more of a sideplot than anything, but I won't spoil it for anyone. You may expect it when reading through the book, but it also hides itself reasonably well so, eh.
Recently 'The Great War' between Earth and Mars ended, and humanity is continuing to expand out into the outer solar system - with several colonies around Jupiter already set up, and plans to send ships to Saturn for easier Helium 3 collecting. The story revolves around a few key characters;
A new SETI scientist looking for extra terrestrial life and signals
A computer programmer [I think] who is behind the programming of a computer simulation to predict the future of the solar system through advanced simulation of people and their personalities, which yields unexpected results
A recluse man who lives on his own private moon around Jupiter, is a collector of artifacts from the Great war and arguably the best 'player' in a group called the puzzle network - who create and send codes to one another with the challenge to crack them in the shortest time possible
And finally a woman from Earth who used to work on an offshore mining platform, but decides to head into space for a new life.
Eventually all of their stories intertwine and come together for an event with the potential to destroy the solar system.
Its well written, and one of the few books I have read even a second time, let alone a third and fourth like I have.
As said, it hasn't got space battles, and there's not really any magic, but IMO its a worthwhile read.
The Mote in God's Eye is awesome (and non-religious, title is abstract), very, very hard sci-fi, well-developed setting.
Footfall is also pretty cool, if you see a cover with an elephant holding an M16, don't be worried, that artist took... significant liberties with the subject
Footfall is also pretty cool, if you see a cover with an elephant holding an M16, don't be worried, that artist took... significant liberties with the subject
For a slightly more political sci-fi I'd recommend Elizabeth Moon's Serrano Legacy. There's seven books to it but it's easy enough to jump in with any of them. My personal favourite is Once A Hero. It's split into three parts: The Serrano Trilogy (3), The Suiza Continuation (2), and the Conclusion (2). Proper space opera stuff.
Also I'd recommend Neuromancer if you're a fan of Philip K Dick. I've found there are enough similarites between their styles that liking one is a good indication of liking the other. Other William Gibson is always worth a look as well.
EDIT: Also, try The Xenocide Mission by Ben Jeapes. It's not as well known, but personally I really enjoyed it and think it deserves far more love. There are other books by the author that I haven't read yet, but do have good reviews.
Also I'd recommend Neuromancer if you're a fan of Philip K Dick. I've found there are enough similarites between their styles that liking one is a good indication of liking the other. Other William Gibson is always worth a look as well.
EDIT: Also, try The Xenocide Mission by Ben Jeapes. It's not as well known, but personally I really enjoyed it and think it deserves far more love. There are other books by the author that I haven't read yet, but do have good reviews.
Ender's Game
Neuromancer - Or pretty much anything by William Gibson
Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash
If you want a massive space epic, try the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton...that guy is crazy good.
Neuromancer - Or pretty much anything by William Gibson
Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash
If you want a massive space epic, try the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton...that guy is crazy good.
You and have some different tastes in Sci-Fi. I don't like spaceships, I prefer Gibson's Bigend trilogy to the Sprawl trilogy and I count Stephenson's Baroque Cycle to be his greatest work. That said I can make some sugestions...
Ubik, and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich by Phillip K Dick although I much prefer his short stories. The Man in the High Castle is the best thinghe wrote, but it is alternative history not High Sci-Fi.
Rendevous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke, just a personal favorite, certainly my favorite Clarke story.
The Sprawl trilogy by William Gibson, Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive. A little dated by advances in technology but still a cracking story. The next trilogy The Bridge Trilogy is even better but more down to earth and the most recent trilogy and my favourite is hardly Sci-Fi at all.
Neal Stephenson wrote two hard Sci-Fi Novels early on and one slightly less hard one. Diamond Age and Snow Crash are the hard ones and Zodiac is softer. I think he really hit his stride with Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle. These aren't exactly Sci Fi covering the 17th and 18th centuries, WW2 and present day (early Nineties) they also have at least one immortal character...still it is a fantastic adventure story with a historic bent. He also wrote Anathem a hard Sci-Fi story about alien monks who worship mathematics. I liked that one too.
Ubik, and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich by Phillip K Dick although I much prefer his short stories. The Man in the High Castle is the best thinghe wrote, but it is alternative history not High Sci-Fi.
Rendevous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke, just a personal favorite, certainly my favorite Clarke story.
The Sprawl trilogy by William Gibson, Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive. A little dated by advances in technology but still a cracking story. The next trilogy The Bridge Trilogy is even better but more down to earth and the most recent trilogy and my favourite is hardly Sci-Fi at all.
Neal Stephenson wrote two hard Sci-Fi Novels early on and one slightly less hard one. Diamond Age and Snow Crash are the hard ones and Zodiac is softer. I think he really hit his stride with Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle. These aren't exactly Sci Fi covering the 17th and 18th centuries, WW2 and present day (early Nineties) they also have at least one immortal character...still it is a fantastic adventure story with a historic bent. He also wrote Anathem a hard Sci-Fi story about alien monks who worship mathematics. I liked that one too.
Try Starship Troopers. While I disagree with the politics of the writer, the book is really, really good.
First: Have you read the Republic Commando books?Spade Lead said:
Second: What if the dragons were genetically engineered?
I am loving all the Iain M Banks reccommendations. I used turn my nose up as Sci-fi completely until a friend got me to the read this book - now I have discovered more great authors (Clark, Dick, Stephenson) that I never would have tried.Yosharian said:It's called an Orbital, and yeah it's very similar to Halo's ring. The concept of a ring habitat is pretty common in science-fiction. It's a solid idea for world building.Mimsofthedawg said:Forgive my ignorance, but is that not a Halo ring he's landing on in the picture?Yosharian said:Begin with 'Consider Phlebas', and prepare yourself to be hooked into a great series.Spade Lead said:
And you know how to solve the ignorance thing? READ THE BOOK. SERIOUSLY. IT'S AMAZING.
I will plug Peter F Hamilton's two parter series with the books:
Pandora's Star
and
Judas Unchained
He also has a trilogy of books that follow these called the Commonwealth Saga and they are also very good.
They are both great reads and a big improvement from the Duex Ex Machina resolution of the Night's Dawn Trilogy (which is a fine enough series but the ending is as described).
Stephen R Donaldson wrote a Sci-fi series called the gap saga. I found it very tense and well-plotted but it might be a bit rough for some people as it deals with some pretty dark themes (sexual violence, human trafficing) which has caused some to give up and assume its misogynist bs - but if you persevere through the, often bleak, story its worth it (although this was over a decade ago so I may not be remembering it quite right).
Anything by Aarron dembski bowden,the man can do no wrong.Soul hunter,Hellsreach,Void stalker.In a nutshell there all books about giant,badass (often psychotic) genetically engineered super warriors who actually act like it.His use of language is honest to God-Emperor beautiful.Heres a sample.
THE PROPHET AND THE murderess stood on the battlements of the dead citadel, weapons in their hands. Rain slashed in a miserable flood, thick enough to obscure vision, hissing against the stone even as it ran from the mouths of leering gargoyles to drain down the castle?s sides. Above the rain, the only audible sounds came from the two figures: one human, standing in broken armour that thrummed with static crackles; the other, an alien maiden in ancient and contoured war plate, weathered by an eternity of scarring.
?This is where your Legion died, isn?t it?? Her voice was modulated by the helm she wore, emerging from the death-mask?s open mouth with a curious sibilance that almost melted into the rain. ?We call this world Shithr Vejruhk. What is it in your serpent?s tongue? Tsagualsa, yes? Answer me this, prophet. Why would you come back here??
The prophet didn?t answer. He spat acidic blood onto the dark stone floor, and drew in another ragged breath. The sword in his hands was a cleaved ruin, its shattered blade severed halfway along its length. He didn?t know where his bolter was, and a smile crept across his split lips as he felt an instinctive tug of guilt. It was surely a sin to lose such a Legion relic.
?Talos,? the maiden smiled as she spoke, he could hear it in her voice. Her amusement was remarkable if only for the absence of mockery and malice. ?Do not be ashamed, human. Everyone dies.?
The prophet sank to one knee, blood leaking from the cracks in his armour. His attempt at speech left his lips as a grunt of pain. The only thing he could smell was the chemical reek of his own injuries.
The maiden came closer, even daring to rest the scythe-bladed tip of her spear on the wounded warrior?s shoulder guard.
?I speak only the truth, prophet. There?s no shame in this moment. You have done well to even make it this far.?
Talos spat blood again, and hissed two words.
?Valas Morovai.?
The murderess tilted her head as she looked down at him. Her helm?s crest of black and red hair was dreadlocked by the rain, plastered to her death mask. She looked like a woman sinking into water, shrieking silently as she drowned.
?Many of your bitter whisperings remain occluded to me,? she said. ?You speak? ?First Claw?, yes?? Her unnatural accent struggled with the words. ?They were your brothers? You call out to the dead, in the hopes they will yet save you. How strange.?
The blade fell from his grip, too heavy to hold any longer. He stared at it lying on the black stone, bathed in the downpour, shining silver and gold as clean as the day he?d stolen it.
Slowly, he lifted his head, facing his executioner. Rain showered the blood from his face, salty on his lips, stinging his eyes. He wondered if she was still smiling behind the mask.
He was going to die here. Here, of all places. On his knees, atop the battlements of his Legion?s deserted fortress, the Night Lord started laughing.
Neither his laughter nor the storm above were loud enough to swallow the throaty sound of burning thrusters. A gunship ? blue-hulled and blackly sinister ? bellowed its way into view. As it rose above the battlements, rain sluiced from its avian hull in silver streams. Heavy bolter turrets aligned in a chorus of mechanical grinding, the sweetest music ever to grace the prophet?s ears. Talos was still laughing as the Thunderhawk hovered in place, riding its own heat haze, with the dim lighting of the cockpit revealing two figures within.
The alien maiden was already moving. She became a black blur, dancing through the rain in a velvet sprint. Detonations clawed at her heels as the gunship opened fire, shredding the stone at her feet in a hurricane of explosive rounds.
One moment she fled across the parapets, the next she simply ceased to exist, vanishing into shadow.
Talos didn?t rise to his feet, uncertain he?d manage it if he tried. He closed the only eye he had left. The other was a blind and bleeding orb of irritating pain, sending dull throbs back into his skull each time his two hearts beat. His bionic hand, shivering with joint glitches and flawed neural input damage, reached to activate the vox at his collar.
?I will listen to you, next time.?
Above the overbearing whine of downward thrusters, a voice buzzed over the gunship?s external vox speakers. Distortion stole all trace of tone and inflection.
?I felt like I owed you.?
?I told you to leave. I ordered it.?
?Master,? the external vox speakers crackled back. ?I??
?Go, damn you.? When he next glanced at the gunship, he could see the two figures more clearly. They sat side by side, in the pilots? thrones. ?You are formally discharged from my service,? he slurred the words as he voxed them, and started laughing again.
The gunship stayed aloft, engines giving out their horrendous whine, blasting hot air across the battlements. The rain steamed on the prophet?s armour as it evaporated.
The voice rasping over the vox was female this time. ?Talos.?
?Run. Run far from here, and all the death this world offers. Flee to the last city, and catch the next vessel off-world. The Imperium is coming. They will be your salvation. But remember what I said. If Variel escapes alive, he will come for the child one night, no matter where you run.?
?He might never find us.?
Talos?s laughter finally faded, though he kept the smile. ?Pray that he doesn?t.?
He drew in a knifing breath as he slumped with his back to the battlements, grunting at the stabs from his ruined lungs and shattered ribs. Grey drifted in from the edge of his vision, and he could no longer feel his fingers. One hand rested on his cracked breastplate, upon the ritually-broken Aquila, polished by the rain. The other rested on his fallen bolter, Malcharion?s weapon, on its side from where he?d dropped it in the earlier battle. With numb hands, the prophet reloaded the double-barrelled bolter, and took another slow pull of cold air into lungs that no longer wanted to breathe. His bleeding gums turned his teeth pink.
?I?m going after her.?
?Don?t be a fool.?
Talos let the rain drench his upturned face, no longer gracing the gunship with even a shred of attention. Strange, how a moment?s mercy let them believe they could talk to him like that. He hauled himself to his feet and started walking across the black stone battlements. In one hand he held a broken blade; in the other, an ancient bolter.
?She killed my brothers,? he said. ?I?m going after her.?
THE PROPHET AND THE murderess stood on the battlements of the dead citadel, weapons in their hands. Rain slashed in a miserable flood, thick enough to obscure vision, hissing against the stone even as it ran from the mouths of leering gargoyles to drain down the castle?s sides. Above the rain, the only audible sounds came from the two figures: one human, standing in broken armour that thrummed with static crackles; the other, an alien maiden in ancient and contoured war plate, weathered by an eternity of scarring.
?This is where your Legion died, isn?t it?? Her voice was modulated by the helm she wore, emerging from the death-mask?s open mouth with a curious sibilance that almost melted into the rain. ?We call this world Shithr Vejruhk. What is it in your serpent?s tongue? Tsagualsa, yes? Answer me this, prophet. Why would you come back here??
The prophet didn?t answer. He spat acidic blood onto the dark stone floor, and drew in another ragged breath. The sword in his hands was a cleaved ruin, its shattered blade severed halfway along its length. He didn?t know where his bolter was, and a smile crept across his split lips as he felt an instinctive tug of guilt. It was surely a sin to lose such a Legion relic.
?Talos,? the maiden smiled as she spoke, he could hear it in her voice. Her amusement was remarkable if only for the absence of mockery and malice. ?Do not be ashamed, human. Everyone dies.?
The prophet sank to one knee, blood leaking from the cracks in his armour. His attempt at speech left his lips as a grunt of pain. The only thing he could smell was the chemical reek of his own injuries.
The maiden came closer, even daring to rest the scythe-bladed tip of her spear on the wounded warrior?s shoulder guard.
?I speak only the truth, prophet. There?s no shame in this moment. You have done well to even make it this far.?
Talos spat blood again, and hissed two words.
?Valas Morovai.?
The murderess tilted her head as she looked down at him. Her helm?s crest of black and red hair was dreadlocked by the rain, plastered to her death mask. She looked like a woman sinking into water, shrieking silently as she drowned.
?Many of your bitter whisperings remain occluded to me,? she said. ?You speak? ?First Claw?, yes?? Her unnatural accent struggled with the words. ?They were your brothers? You call out to the dead, in the hopes they will yet save you. How strange.?
The blade fell from his grip, too heavy to hold any longer. He stared at it lying on the black stone, bathed in the downpour, shining silver and gold as clean as the day he?d stolen it.
Slowly, he lifted his head, facing his executioner. Rain showered the blood from his face, salty on his lips, stinging his eyes. He wondered if she was still smiling behind the mask.
He was going to die here. Here, of all places. On his knees, atop the battlements of his Legion?s deserted fortress, the Night Lord started laughing.
Neither his laughter nor the storm above were loud enough to swallow the throaty sound of burning thrusters. A gunship ? blue-hulled and blackly sinister ? bellowed its way into view. As it rose above the battlements, rain sluiced from its avian hull in silver streams. Heavy bolter turrets aligned in a chorus of mechanical grinding, the sweetest music ever to grace the prophet?s ears. Talos was still laughing as the Thunderhawk hovered in place, riding its own heat haze, with the dim lighting of the cockpit revealing two figures within.
The alien maiden was already moving. She became a black blur, dancing through the rain in a velvet sprint. Detonations clawed at her heels as the gunship opened fire, shredding the stone at her feet in a hurricane of explosive rounds.
One moment she fled across the parapets, the next she simply ceased to exist, vanishing into shadow.
Talos didn?t rise to his feet, uncertain he?d manage it if he tried. He closed the only eye he had left. The other was a blind and bleeding orb of irritating pain, sending dull throbs back into his skull each time his two hearts beat. His bionic hand, shivering with joint glitches and flawed neural input damage, reached to activate the vox at his collar.
?I will listen to you, next time.?
Above the overbearing whine of downward thrusters, a voice buzzed over the gunship?s external vox speakers. Distortion stole all trace of tone and inflection.
?I felt like I owed you.?
?I told you to leave. I ordered it.?
?Master,? the external vox speakers crackled back. ?I??
?Go, damn you.? When he next glanced at the gunship, he could see the two figures more clearly. They sat side by side, in the pilots? thrones. ?You are formally discharged from my service,? he slurred the words as he voxed them, and started laughing again.
The gunship stayed aloft, engines giving out their horrendous whine, blasting hot air across the battlements. The rain steamed on the prophet?s armour as it evaporated.
The voice rasping over the vox was female this time. ?Talos.?
?Run. Run far from here, and all the death this world offers. Flee to the last city, and catch the next vessel off-world. The Imperium is coming. They will be your salvation. But remember what I said. If Variel escapes alive, he will come for the child one night, no matter where you run.?
?He might never find us.?
Talos?s laughter finally faded, though he kept the smile. ?Pray that he doesn?t.?
He drew in a knifing breath as he slumped with his back to the battlements, grunting at the stabs from his ruined lungs and shattered ribs. Grey drifted in from the edge of his vision, and he could no longer feel his fingers. One hand rested on his cracked breastplate, upon the ritually-broken Aquila, polished by the rain. The other rested on his fallen bolter, Malcharion?s weapon, on its side from where he?d dropped it in the earlier battle. With numb hands, the prophet reloaded the double-barrelled bolter, and took another slow pull of cold air into lungs that no longer wanted to breathe. His bleeding gums turned his teeth pink.
?I?m going after her.?
?Don?t be a fool.?
Talos let the rain drench his upturned face, no longer gracing the gunship with even a shred of attention. Strange, how a moment?s mercy let them believe they could talk to him like that. He hauled himself to his feet and started walking across the black stone battlements. In one hand he held a broken blade; in the other, an ancient bolter.
?She killed my brothers,? he said. ?I?m going after her.?
Plenty of people have mentioned stuff by Dan Abnett, but I haven't seen any mentions of his Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies. I think they're a good place to start (Eisenhorn first, then Ravenor), since a neat little trilogy is a good place to dip your toes rather than the very long Gaunt's Ghosts and the Horus Heresy series.
Plus, Daemonhosts. Everyone loves Daemonhosts.
Plus, Daemonhosts. Everyone loves Daemonhosts.
2 things here:
The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld. These are probably my favorite books that I've ever read. Extremely well written with cool technology (some of it is so advanced that these books kind of count toward the "sci-fi+magic" of your posts) and really engaging characters and plotline. He left them open for a third one too, so I really hope he writes it some time.
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. The first of a series, but it's very new and the others aren't out yet. Very well written with good characters and quickly paced, with good tech. This definitely fits into the "space opera" category. It's pretty dark sometimes and also has a big element of mystery, sometimes even a bit space-noir. Perhaps my second favorite book of all time.
The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld. These are probably my favorite books that I've ever read. Extremely well written with cool technology (some of it is so advanced that these books kind of count toward the "sci-fi+magic" of your posts) and really engaging characters and plotline. He left them open for a third one too, so I really hope he writes it some time.
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. The first of a series, but it's very new and the others aren't out yet. Very well written with good characters and quickly paced, with good tech. This definitely fits into the "space opera" category. It's pretty dark sometimes and also has a big element of mystery, sometimes even a bit space-noir. Perhaps my second favorite book of all time.