Looking for sci-fi books of a certain flavour

[ZodWallop]

Again, I'm not familiar with Mass Effect, so not a hundred percent clear what the vibe is you're going for. Something like Star Trek maybe?

Anyway, I wonder if The Mote in God's Eye would qualify?

The united 'Second Empire of Man' spans vast distances, due to the Alderson Drive which has enabled humans to travel easily between the stars. After an alien probe is discovered, the Navy dispatches two ships to determine whether the aliens pose a threat… Called by Robert A. Heinlein: "Possibly the greatest science fiction novel ever written," this magnificent exploration of first contact and a truly alien society is a "must read" for science fiction fans.

[ownedbycats]

For those not aware of the games, I'll allowTV Tropes to explain

Mass Effect is a Space Opera multimedia franchise, originating as an RPG/Third-Person Shooter. It was developed by BioWare, which also developed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Dragon Age, and Neverwinter Nights.

The series takes place in the late 22nd century. A few decades ago, Mars turned out to have an outpost of the franchise's Precursors, the "Protheans," which yielded up advanced technology, including "element zero," a substance that can be used to alter the mass of anything near it. By utilizing this "mass effect," mankind was able to develop fancy new technologies like personal Deflector Shields, Faster-Than-Light Travel and Artificial Gravity. Amongst the stars, humans found themselves to be just one sentient species amongst an entire panoply of civilization: the mono-gendered asari, the amphibian-descended salarians, the militant turians, the hard-to-hurt krogan, and more.

....

The series makes heavy use of a large number of science fiction tropes. Nearly every aspect of the setting has been thoroughly thought out, with hefty amounts of technical, cultural, and historical background data provided by an Encyclopedia Exposita. (Amongst other things, the names of alien races are not capitalized—the way "human" isn't.) It manages to be simultaneously a reconstruction of the Space Opera, a highly plausible setting, and a Lovecraft Lite Cosmic Horror Story in the form of the Reapers.

[curtw]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

For those not aware of the games, I'll allowTV Tropes to explain

“Protheans,” huh? Sounds like somebody desperately trying to not use Brin’s “progenitors.” Brin Uplift universe is definitely in this vein.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

For those not aware of the games, I'll allowTV Tropes to explain

So Star Trek...

[kacir]

Have alook at "Spin" series by Robert Charles Wilson

The first part does have aliens - the hypotheticals ... ;-)

Read more in Wikipedia summary
(warning - contains spoilers)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(novel)

The book won multiple awards

Again, I am not sure I have read part three. I might have to add it to my ever-growing TBR list.
EDIT: I have read part three. Had a peek at a few pages and remembered reading it.

[kacir]

Have a look at Old man's war series

[ownedbycats]

Thanks all, again.

I'm going through all the books -- I've added some to my wishlist, and I will look to see if my libraries will let me request Overdrive titles they don't have.