I recommend "Blindsight" by Peter Watts, who was a marine biologist before he was an author. He's the only author I can think of who uses academic style citations for hard scifi credibility. You can read Blindsight online or download ebook versions here:
http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
He also shared his Rifters trilogy, which I enjoyed although it's not as good as Blindsight, as well as several short stories:
http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm