I'm a fan of Ian M. Banks books though some are more accessible than others. My favourite is Use of Weapons, which has a really unusual narrative structure. I like the Player of Games too. Matter was a bit of a heavier read. I'm pretty sure that's the one with the Shell Worlds (?) which would be a great concept for a map maker It's full of concepts that haven't got great references to real things, so they're difficult to visualise, but that can be the best part.