But not dragon-ish fantasy.
The world depicted in the Engineer Trilogy in particular is just slightly skewed, the world is very recognizable, pre industrial revolution. That's relevant since one of his/her strengths, if you like that sort of thing, is the writer's love of machines, engines, structures. It's sometimes like looking at medieval 'art of war' images.
Ach, its just something to try as a sample and see. S/he provokes strong reactions. I lent a hard copy of devices and desires to a friend and she struggled with the first chapter or so and then found she couldn't put it down. It is heartless tho' - very chilling. I think that's what makes it so exceptional. There are scenes of real violence with absolutely no romance at all - dead flat.
Do give it a go, sample first. And the style overlaps with the Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson, [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle] Cool that you liked that too Dia.That's got a lot of the history of science in it, so there's an overlap there regarding the development of science and tech. If anyone is into audio books, Audible have the Baroque Cycle, read by the mighty Simon Prebble - a truly great match of reader to material. The writer has an eyebrow raised much of the time, which is perfectly reflected in the reader's voice.