I recently read Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks, and I loved it. Shortly after I finished reading it, I was saddened to hear that Mr. Banks is dying of cancer and his current book will be his last. Coincidentally, Surface Detail is a deep science fiction exploration around death, and I found it throught provoking, imaginative and enjoyable to read.

I'm a big fan of Banks' entire "Culture Series" of books which are set in a distant and largely utopian future and cover interesting plot and themes against a really compelling backdrop of world spanning artificial intelligences, widespread cultures at varieties of levels of sophistication and compelling individual characters.  His writing style is especially appealing, turning to phrases like "aggressive hegemonising swarms" and the "Quietudinal Service" which nicely color the universe.

I've only read about half of the Culture Series books, but I think *Surface Detail* is my favorite so far, and I"ve liked them all a great deal.  It is epic and personal in an exceptional way and I highly recommend it.

http://www.iain-banks.net/uk/surface-detail/