SF Signal's Top 5 recent genre novels for those not into the genre

Link.

I have only read Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" from the list; I've a feeling its original short story version (download) might be a better read since that is supposed to be about the really interesting parts in the novel - the space war training room & associated leadership issues. But I'm only guessing - I've only read the longer novel version.

A word of caution on Gene Wolfe. He's not for everyone. Read a few of his short stories first. Sometimes, I've found him to be utterly incomprehensible.

PS: I personally have been in genre less than 2 years; in February of 2007, I'd not even heard the names "Ray Bradbury" & "Hugo award"!! It's been several hundred genre stories since, including may be 50 novels, but I guess I still look at the genre as an outsider.

PS 2: On first year birthday of Variety SF, I'd compiled a list of online short fiction for genre newbies (from the perspective of another newbie - ha ha). Mostly light reads, some outright funny. But these aren't constrained to "recent works".