@NatCh - Just doing my bit to reduce the opacity of the market.
@yvan - I'm a big C.J. Cherryh fan, though I like her "Compact" books (e.g.
The Pride of Chanur) better than her "Company Wars" books. The Company Wars books would probably be more like Asimov's Foundation books, though. Books in the Company Wars set that I did particularly like include
Finity's End,
Cyteen,
Rimrunners, and
Cuckoo's Egg. I guess I usually prefer a strong focus on a few characters, rather than a story told from many points of view where you don't get to know any of the characters as well, though I should say that I do find her other books interesting as well. You might also try her fantasy, e.g.
The Dreaming Tree. Or, for something really different (if you can find a copy),
Wave Without a Shore.