Thanks for the suggestions everyone. So far the one that really caught my attention is Michael Flynn's
The Wreck of the River of Stars. It intrigues me for some reason
Also, though it doesn't seem my normal fare, the Mark L. Van Name books mentioned by Apache sound like a lot of fun. I might have to give that a try, too.
I should probably mention I've read a few Ian M. Banks books and honestly I just never really got into his style.
I feel like that's blasphemy in these discussions, but I can't help it. They are fun, but always seem to lack something... I just can't get really attached to any of the characters or something.
This is great! I love finding new-to-me authors that click with me