One of my sfwg students read Stross and was less than impressed-- similar take to yours: neat wacky technology, but way too much detail, and libertarian to the point of silliness.

I'm in the middle of Parable of the Sower right now and I like it too. Bleak bleak bleak, as most of Butler appears to be. (Sf for grownups?) It's about the fifth Butler I've read: of the others, my favorite by a lot is Mind of My Mind. I think you'd like it too. (Lots of plot; lots of peril; slightly less our-whole-society-is-going-smash, not to say that it isn't going smash.)