Iain M. Banks / David Brin / Megan Lindholm

I've read a few SF & fantasy books while I've been recuperating.

Iain M. Banks, The Algebraist. 
Like most of his SF books, this is a sprawling space opera.  There is a McGuffin (to use Hitchcock's term for the item chased by everybody in a story) and an interstellar war to find it.  Our hero has to communicate with an alien race who live in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-lie gas giant.

This book is far from Bank's best, as it is too long and rambling.  It takes a long while for the pace to pick up.  The best aspect is the description of the alien society and the characters who live within it; Banks has done a good job of creating a believably different approach to life.

David Brin, Sundiver. 
This is a classic that I'd never read.  It has a well-constructured plot, centering on a joint alien-human mission to investigage mysterious aliens who live in the corona of the sun.  The background is of mankind's interactions with more technologically advanced aliens who have a sophisticated galactic society, which is well developed.  Unfortunately, I feel the the writing isn't really up to the task and the resolution of the mystery at the centre of the plot is almost too well constructed, with all the details carefully explained like a lecture.  It was rather like reading Isacc Asimov, so if you like Asimov you may well like Brin (many people do).

Megan Lindholm, Wizard of the Pigeons. 
This is completely different, being in the small genre of modern-day fantasy.  It is set is Seattle and the characters are able to use magic at the cost (although they don't see it that way) of having to live among the city's down-and-outs.  I found it rather twee to start with but it improved as the plot began to unfold.  The threat has a strong psychological element as we learn more about the main character's life before becoming a wizard.

I was looking for light, undemanding, reading and I got what I was looking for.  If the idea of modern-day fantasy appeals to you, I'd recommend starting with Charles de Lint, who writes in a similar fashion but does it rather better.