The Many-Colored Land

I was surprised not to find this on the "Best of" lists: I think the series is very well written, beautifully constructed, and extremely evocative. Plus there's SOME science, and what amounts to magic, and that's always fun.

This, the first book of the series, really does set the scene. While the writing can sometimes get a little flowery (I think Ms May is rather taken by the chivalric age), the story flows effortlessly as it takes us from future Europe back to the Mediterranean-free Paleocene - and human-like aliens wearing glass armour who wield technologies indistinguishable from magic. It is a clever rewriting of the legends of faerie, and pulled this technophile right in. Heartily recommended!