Iain Banks is good, I would start with Player of Games. He also writes non Sci Fi and The Wasp Factory or my favourite "The Bridge" are well worth seeking out.
Read absolultely loads since I last looked at this thread.
Recents are:
The Space Merchants - Pohl and Kornbluth
Dystopian future based on advertising taking over the world. Very bleak, but compelling story. Maybe more relevant to me due to my day job.
The Earthsea Quartet - Ursula Le Guin
Brilliant fantasy that had me gripped. I tend to get cynical about too much wizardy stuff, but loved the storyline and the vastness of the landscape. Feminine heroes involved as ever, but this did not dominate (main character is male)
Yiddish Policemans Union - Michael Chabon
Again, very dark "alternate history" detective story, no "science" really - but well written. Jewish state is formed in Alaska rather than Israel and interesting idea.
Grass - Sheri Tepper
Good novel, based on a planet with it's own rules and an intriguing storyline. The climax was a bit rushed, but still good.
Demolished Man - Alfred Bester
Well worth reading, the climax is genuinely scary and I believe the origin of a recent Doctor Who storyline. An absolute classic with telepathy and complex ideas woven into a pacy thriller.
Man Plus - Frederick Pohl
I am really beginning to like Pohl as an author. Quite gritty, espionage thriller based on colonising planets. Dark and dystopian in common with a lot of his work.
More than Human - Theodore Sturgeon
Very complex idea based on humankind "merging" to evolve. I loved it, but is is very different to a space opera romp such as Asimov Foundation.
The Stars my destination - Alfred Bester
Read it! Very dark like Demolished Man - not quite as famous as that book, but some of the ideas are incredible "Jaunting" and many matrix style inventive ideas developed nearly 50 years before that film.
The City and the Stars - Arthur C Clarke
I have yet to find something I didn't enjoy. Set in the extreme future, the plot doesn't get caught up in the technology like Cyberpunk can - it is a human story in the end.
Emphyrio - Jack Vance
Part fantasy, part Sci-fi this is an interesting mix of people living in a medieval existence alongside an advanced society. I enjoyed the story, but would choose an Alfred Bester first.
The Lathe of Heaven - Ursual Le Guin
Just scary and brilliant. George Orr has the ability to alter reality with his dreams. A sleep researcher discovers this and attempts to use it to his advantage. Complex and very interesting plot that becomes fantastical, but still human. I absolutely loved this book.
Just started reading Game of Thrones Book 1 and 2 now.
