The Reality Dysfunction  (English, Downloadable audio file, Hamilton Peter F.)

This is a vast - both temporally as well as spatially - space opera. There is drama, love, lust, greed, heroics, war, romance, horror on an unprecedented scale and all out unadulterated adventure. The characters are memorable, whether human or alien. The 'science' part makes the future universe plausible; 'neural nanonics', for example. A must read, even if you are not an SF aficionado.
Once you read this, you will want to read all that Peter Hamilton has written.