Sci fi with creative ideas and fast pace but isn’t too dense or hard to read (Book Club)

We are finishing up Children of Time. Really enjoying it. It isn't too hard to read, has a lot of unique and interesting ideas. The character work wasn't amazing but the rest of it makes up for it. I would want something that's relatively fast paced and easy to follow. Also needs an interesting premise to draw people in. You can go outside of Sci-fi. We don't do sequels to books we read in the club. Ideally written post-2000. No YA.

We liked Annihilation but we didn't love the ending. I thought the ending was okay but many of the others wanted more concrete answers. I read the sequel on my own and hated it. Annihilation is probably on the border of how difficult to read they'd be okay with. Ideally easier than that. Three Body Problem from what I've heard might be over the line?

The Road's prose + the almost complete lack of plot in the first sixth made several people quit but the ones who stayed enjoyed the rest of it.

We hated This is How You Lose the Time War. Prose was dense for the sake of being dense, repetitive and very unfunny. We liked the attempt at the time travel stuff. Some interesting ideas.

We also liked The Lesser Dead (everyone else thought first third slow b/c plot doesn't start until after that), ACOTAR (I disliked Fourth Wing and everything else in the genre I tried b/c writing quality seemed low with YA vibes) and Watching You.

I loved Ender's Game, Red Rising series, Bobiverse, Dogs of War.

I hated Project Hail Mary, protag felt so cringy and immature. I also disliked Murderbot, Expanse, Hitchhiker's Guide, Fifth Season (b/c of execution not premise. Expanse should have been right up my alley). Disliked Becky Chambers

I thought Old Man's War was fine. Characters kind of flat and it runs out of steam.