Daemon by Daniel Suarez (a database engineer) definitely deserves a place on this list. It starts with the death of a famed and wealthy game engine programmer due to brain cancer... and develops from there. I don’t want to spoil it.
I unequivocally recommend Daemon. If you liked reading The Martian, you might like Daemon. They both read very much like a screenplay.
The Martian is a great book and a great movie, and if I didn't know which one came first I would be hard put to say which is an adaptation of which. I don't know if Suarez is in talks with anybody to get Daemon produced as a feature film, but if he's not, he ought to be.
The sequel / conclusion, Freedom, is a very different novel, but also compelling and brings a decent enough end to the themes from Daemon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(novel_series)?wprov=sf...