David Brin is one of the few
old school sf authors left. I say that in the sense not that he writes like
Heinlein or
Asimov--rather, he is a
scientist and a
social thinker, a
writer and a
novelist, and quite good at all of the above. I found the
Uplift series hard to get into, but that was because they required
brainwork, something I'd forgotten about in terms of
sf, I guess. And yet
thinking is what
science fiction is all about. There aren't many writers like Brin around anymore, who can combine both that
sense of wonder and a thorough
technical knowledge of the subject.
I highly recommend
The Transparent Society.