Recently is a very relevant term, and honestly I'm not sure it matters much as.
I'll answer mostly to the "thought provoking part" of your question.
* Egan, Greg - Permutation City, Diaspora, and basically everything
* Liu, Cixin - The Three Body Problem (trilogy)
* Rajaniemi, Hannu - Jean le Flambeur (trilogy)
* Watts, Peter - Firefall (series)
* Chiang, Ted - The Lifecycle of Software Objects
* Liu, Cixin - The Wandering Earth (short stories)
I know quite a few people in love with Neal Stephenson, but I can't really muster his style.
Check out Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age.
I'll answer mostly to the "thought provoking part" of your question.
* Egan, Greg - Permutation City, Diaspora, and basically everything
* Liu, Cixin - The Three Body Problem (trilogy)
* Rajaniemi, Hannu - Jean le Flambeur (trilogy)
* Watts, Peter - Firefall (series)
* Chiang, Ted - The Lifecycle of Software Objects
* Liu, Cixin - The Wandering Earth (short stories)
I know quite a few people in love with Neal Stephenson, but I can't really muster his style. Check out Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age.