Poseidon's Children
Poseidon's Children is a science fiction Saga by the award winning and hugely talented author Alastair Reynolds. The series is set over an 11,000 year history and portrays a fairly optimistic, positive future - more so than many science fiction series written today.
Humanity is finally expanding into the Solar System and beyond. At the same time the answer to the question of us being alone in the universe has finally been revealed, although that event itself only leads to more questions that no one seems to have answers to.
Poseidon's Children is a modern, 21st Century series that manages to capture the best of classic science fiction — the wonder of the universe, but more importantly an optimism on the subject of the future of the human race.