Dragons Egg by Robert Forward had always been one of my favorites. Asks the question "what would like be like if it evolved on a neutron star," and has 20 pages of his notes on working out the physics at the end of the book.
I read Dragon's Egg and the sequel, Starquake, as a teenager. I remembered them being deeply engrossing.
I revisited the first one 20-ish years later in an attempt to get my partner interested. I only made it a few chapters before I decided to abandon the attempt. There are some really good parts (the science stuff), but the way the human characters' interactions were described I just could not get past.
The Martian, is the most accessible and interesting “hard sci fi” I’ve read. The RC Bray narrated version is excellent (and I think delisted). Otherwise, that’s your search term. I’m interested in more recommendations too some times the story is lacking in this genre.
Side note: very interesting writing process for the Martian, as I remember it, he developed it chapter by chapter with his readers who would critique it on his blog. Later books were not as good (after he was famous) but project Hail Mary was a turn around.
But doesn't The Martian have a well-known scientific inaccuracy around the actual physical effects of winds on Mars - which is kind of vital to the plot?
NB I really like The Martian (and like SF in general).
I was like...mkay the wind was one time plot device. Bigger issue is that he seemed to grow potatoes inside with no mention of lighting at all? That was major omission for me, grow lights require plenty of energy and thus waste heat.
Sunlight on Mars is about 40% of what it is on Earth - and given that potatoes seem to grow quite well in the less sunny parts of this planet (such as here in Scotland) then I'm willing to not get too critical on that particular point.
