Any good books you might recommend?

Hmm, I know you said no vampires, but you might like "Blood for the Living" by Kate Nevermore anyway - it's a LOT more scifi than vampires, almost like the author (me) wanted to do hardcore scifi but was afraid it wouldn't sell without blood drinkers. It's very fast-paced & well-written, and reads more like an adventure. Another author to get into that I loved as a teen is Alan Dean Foster. His are almost all scifi & adventure, and there's TON of them.