Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro (1996, Paperback)

I have read this book before and decided I wanted to own it. It is the first of one of her sci fi series about the Ruby Dynasty. The book is very in depth and hard to put down. She has a unique style and loves to write about artificial intelligence and biotechnology. Since she is a current author and scientist, all the technology in her books is possible if still very far off. I love that the "bad guys" in this book are genuinely terrifying, while the conflicts are not necessarily black and white. Also, unlike other series I have read, each succesive book has it's own "character" so you don't feel like you're reading the same story over and over again with different names. I would recommend this book to any science fiction fan, or even someone who likes political thrillers. This book is easily worth twice what I paid for it (including shipping!)