There are some great novel recommendations here, but I wouldn’t say that most of them are lesser-known.
What are your recommendations?
As for me, I’ve exclusively read well-known novels, except if you consider someone like Alfred Bester obscure, for example.
One exception: Misha Burnett’s Endless Summer: Twelve Strange Tales of Mankind’s Future. It’s a collection of exceptionnaly well-crafted stories. It ain’t a novel, though.
The Black Ocean series by J.S. Morin is one of my lesser known faves. It has a kind of weird mixture of SciFi tech and ancient magic that’s really fun.
I second this! There are several fun series in the Black Ocean universe. I started with Galaxy Outlaws. The audio books are also expertly narrated! Leslie Buroker also has a fun space opera series called Star Kingdom.