Anything by Greg Egan. It is a science fiction author who actually has a very good understanding of science (he's published articles in a scientific journal about quantum gravity) and makes non-trivial use of it in his plots. Plus, he's a computer programmer and you can go to his website and see a collection of applets, some of them illustrating the concepts from his novels and short stories. On top of that, he is good with all the soft stuff, like character development and psychology etc., that is essential for great fiction but that some science-intensive science fiction is very much lacking.
There are other very good nerd literature authors out there, like Vernor Vinge and Neal Stephenson, but to me none of them was as big a revelation as Greg Egan.
If you don't mind something non-mainstream and a bit dated, but first-class literature nonetheless, you can try Stanislaw Lem. It's a Polish author but most of his work has been translated to English. I consider him one of the best science fiction authors ever. "The Star Diaries" is light and funny, a perfect pool side reading.
There are other very good nerd literature authors out there, like Vernor Vinge and Neal Stephenson, but to me none of them was as big a revelation as Greg Egan.
If you don't mind something non-mainstream and a bit dated, but first-class literature nonetheless, you can try Stanislaw Lem. It's a Polish author but most of his work has been translated to English. I consider him one of the best science fiction authors ever. "The Star Diaries" is light and funny, a perfect pool side reading.