All three “Shadowrun Returns” games were outstanding too, especially Hong Kong
I’m close to finishing The Conquest of the Incas which I bought when I was in Peru. Really well written history of the fall of the biggest indigenous empire in the Americas (before we all turned up).
Also re-reading Blood Meridian, which is kinda about the same subject in a way. I can’t decide if the real or fictional violence is worse.
So I’ve been waiting patiently to see if anyone was going to mention The Expanse series of books by James SA Corey. Excellent modern space opera - although I’m still not quite sure what that means. Also Stephen Donaldson’s Gap Series. Can be a tough read in parts because of some of the content but still an amazing story overall. Based on The Ring Cycle
Also at the risk of triggering a deluge of ship names, I have to say that Iain M Banks’ Culture books are amazing
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The Culture books are definitely Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints. Very Little Gravitas Indeed.
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I see what you did there. (And that might also be a good Culture ship name.)
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Give Me The Gun And Ask Me Again
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Subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes epic, melodramatic plots and typically goes light on scientific accuracy. Flash Gordon, Star Wars, that kind of thing. The Honor Harrington series by David Weber is good space opera too,
Okay so The Expanse may not be strictly a space opera then as they do lean into the science side of things with a lot of the physics the reference in the books
I’d worry that it would lead to your actions Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints
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Typically light on the science, not always. Weber is more into hard science too.
Well, I’m Refreshingly Unconcerned With The Vulgar Exigencies Of Veracity, but Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath
(Don’t unblur unless you’ve finished Hydrogen Sonata 
)
The FOTNMC is my favorite ship, Surface Detail was such a great book. Some great names in Matter and Excession though.
I hadn’t realised Banks’ Culture was so popular here! If you’re seriously into these books you might find this one interesting: The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction. I don’t agree with all of Caroti’s arguments but, after Banks’ death when I embarked on a reread of all his books, he did get me reading all the Culture books (and his non Culture books) a little more critically and with a little more insight. Resulting in even more enjoyment!
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oh cool!
Also I find it odd that Use of Weapons isn’t his highest rated book on Goodreads. It, Look to Windward, and Surface Detail are my favorites and I go back and forth between the three for which I like best.
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I’m always a little surprised by the popularity of Surface Detail; I loved it but it’s not always an easy read! I have a soft spot for The Player of Games as it was my first Culture book. But the shear scope of Look To Windward is hard to beat! I also loved Matter which tends to be a little divisive. Use of Weapons is also great and rather highlights Banks’ darker side!
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Matter is outstanding.
They are all great, even State of the Art, which is shameless fan service. And also by far the funniest solution to the Fermi Paradox ever.
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I really love Use of Weapons but for me Excession and The Hydrogen Sonata are the ones I keep going back to
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Excession was my introduction to him. It’s awesome! Not my absolute favorite but still super good. Gave a great view to the inner workings of how the ships organized things.
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As far as non-fiction books, The Cuckoo’s Egg is a fun read through the earliest days of cyber security (or lack thereof) and how an astronomer basically started it all trying to track down a few missing cents of computer time budget.