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.
“Secret Realms” by Tom Cool
An Ender style War College of Matrix kids in the near future. It’s seriously a solid read.
“The Uplift Storm” Trilogy by David Brin
Sapient Dolphins take on a hostile universe with the help of all manner of aliens, not as good as the Uplift Trilogy, lesser known and worth a rec.
“The Bridge Trilogy” by William Gibson
The Sprawl is too dated, the Blue Ant is too near the present. This one is just right.
“The Nights Dawn Trilogy” by Peter F. Hamilton
If you liked The Expanse (books or show) this is your jam. Phenomenal world building, fast paced story, sharp prose and then it goes off the rails so hard you’ll need a support group to deal with it (stop reading when Al Capone shows up… Just… seriously, stop)
Seconding Night’s Dawn, hell of a series. I come back to it every few years after I’ve forgotten enough to need refreshing again.
+1 for Night’s Dawn or anything written by Peter F. Hamilton. He is 100% our best living ScFi author, I have nearly every book he’s written on my shelf. Night’s Dawn trilogy is amazing, but is a daunting length - I usually recommended Fallen Dragon to introduce new readers to his work, as it’s much more contained (a standalone novel) and is brilliant.