I'll second Jaynes. I re-read it from time to time, and afterwards, feel like I understand what is actually going on in the world, briefly. Maybe if I read it back to back with "The City and The City"..? Or, maybe that's ill advised.

A couple books that I'd recommend for their attention to biology and genetics as the scientific driver:

Julie Czerneda's Species Imperative Trilogy: Survival, Migration, and Regeneration.

Maragaret Atwood, anything, but recently the MaddAddam trilogy: Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, and Maddaddam.

Nancy Kress' Sleepless series: Beggars in Spain, Beggars and Choosers, and Beggars Ride.