I've been hearing lots about John Scalzi, and how he is the modern Asimov or Herbert or Ellison.
I like SciFi and was interested, but I don't usually take it as... seriously as those 3. I enjoy romp more than sci-fi, I guess. At any rate, in addition to comparisons to the above, I've also heard that he's really good.
I've just picked up The Android's Dream and Redshirts which I've begun reading. Just a dozen pages in... but it's got my attention.