Have you read any of Vernor Vinge's books? We read "A Fire Upon the Deep", and "A Deepness in the Sky". They were kinda funky, but interesting characters and stories. I'm with you; just get on with the story. SirKit enjoys the tech stuff, I like the characters and situations. Strange, though, but I loved Tom Clancy's novels, and he put a lot of tech stuff in them. The stories helped move the tech stuff along, though. Though I must say, in "Sum of All Fears", my eyes began to glaze over when he was talking about the construction of the nuclear device.
Hm...I'll put those on my list for next trip to the library...