I see that most of the novels here are philosophical, technical almost non-fiction type books. So if I may I have a futurist's science fiction novel for pure entertainment (and philosophical) purposes. I have recently read an inspiring Science Fiction novel that deals issues of singularity, trans humanism, and immortality in intricate detail and exploration, unlike other science fiction novels that probe these ideas theoretically, but do not provide much physical details and extrapolated examples.
Being a naive 18 year old, this book is the single most inspiring science fiction book I have read, one that deals with the futurist questions of attaining true immortality, superior machine minds, and questions about the individual versus the collective. It has an inspiring libertarian viewpoint of the solar system in a few thousand years where the previous flawed immortality system has been fixed and all beings live in great affluence and immortality. But it also explores the shortfalls of this peaceful utopian civilization in the face of an unknown, irrational, and nihilist enemy. The prose is quite detailed and dense, as the terminology takes some getting used to, but after 50 pages it flows very nicely with revelation after revelation of future possibilities in the backdrop of a fantastical, inspiring, and ultimately optimistic adventure.
If you are bored with the typical cynical, pessimistic cyber punk novel and are looking for a futurist's adventure story on par with the emotional satisfaction of Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the like, I highly recommend The Golden Age, for which John C. Wright has been labeled as "this century's fledgling sci fi talent" by Publisher's Weekly and has become a Nebula award finalist. The Golden Age Google Book Preview (more than three hundred pages)
