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.
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.