Recently I have found very nice Hard Science Fiction book by an indie author David Kitson.
The book is about a guy that has just got kicked out of army. He used to be piloting a DEMON - antromorphic haptically controlled combat machine (and a great acronym - one of many present in a book). As a result he has implants that enable him to control fighting machines, connect to virtual reality environment or control heavy industrial machinery. The book picks up speed slowly, but there are quite a few unexpected turns.
I really enjoyed the book. It has got everything a good hard SF needs. Except for spaceships ;-)
The book very much reminds me of the Otherland tetralogy, but is shorter and simpler.
The book is available on Smashwords for free download
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34627
Disclaimer:
I do not know the author, I discovered the book a few days ago in his post on Slashdot.