There is a great two part series by Stephen Lawhead called "Empyrion". It is a sci fi story about a guy who is asked to visit a distant planet called Empyrion to report on the new colony's social progress, however the Empyrion he saw was not the Empyrion he set out to find.
The two books are:
Book 1: The Search for Fierra
Book 2: The Siege of Dome