From Neal Asher's Wikipedia page [0], you may consider starting with "Gridlinked" (2001). I've read 3/5 of the Agent Cormac series set in the Polity setting, s

From Neal Asher's Wikipedia page [0], you may consider starting with "Gridlinked" (2001). I've read 3/5 of the Agent Cormac series set in the Polity setting, starting with that book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Now I need to go read all the rest, apparently...) The AI-ruling-humanity idea took a bit to warm up to. They do seem to be presented as benevolent overlords. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Asher#Bibliography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Asher#Bibliography