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Still Looking for a Good Space Opera Series


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1 hour ago, Zorral said:

That's the definition for a multiple of space opera elements, going back to early feeders into the tradition such as John Carter of Mars.  Not to mention other space operas such as Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and Deepness in the Sky.

Perhaps what I love most about Dune is how Herbert worked in all these elements of warring states in the era of the Holy Roman Empire's greatest power in conflict with city states and other principalities of Italy (and Spain) of the later medieval and Renaissance eras -- Italy especially, which invented opera.  This is what immediately seduced me upon first reading and which delighted me all the more all the time.  There are so many levels and layers of what Herbert drew upon for Dune, which he never did in any other works, before or after.

Honestly, particularly when going through this list of space operas how anyone could say Dune isn't one is beyond my comprehension.

Uh, from your link: 

Quote

What makes a science fiction story a space opera? Well, it needs to take place in space obviously, though not necessarily all of the time.

Does dune take place in space? 

No.

 

 

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Jason Anspach and Nick Cole's Galaxy's Edge series would certainly fit the bill...it's an unabashed Star Wars-like universe with many clever winks and nods while honing in on being more realistic and less "chosen family"-focused.  First book is straight up military SF with imperial troopers fighting their way out of an ambush on a barren planet; the second one jumps ahead in time to show the political ramifications of that dust-up and how the galaxy is falling into all-out war.  POV's are an orphan bent on revenge and some bounty hunters trying to scavenge off the edges of the universe.  Blasters, princesses, and droids, oh my!  It's not deep (though more character-focused than you'd expect) but it is fun.

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9 hours ago, frodostark said:

Jason Anspach and Nick Cole's Galaxy's Edge series would certainly fit the bill...it's an unabashed Star Wars-like universe with many clever winks and nods while honing in on being more realistic and less "chosen family"-focused.  First book is straight up military SF with imperial troopers fighting their way out of an ambush on a barren planet; the second one jumps ahead in time to show the political ramifications of that dust-up and how the galaxy is falling into all-out war.  POV's are an orphan bent on revenge and some bounty hunters trying to scavenge off the edges of the universe.  Blasters, princesses, and droids, oh my!  It's not deep (though more character-focused than you'd expect) but it is fun.

Is this self published? (given that the publisher shows as "Galaxy's Edge", I'd guess so?

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22 hours ago, Errant Bard said:

Uh, from your link: 

Does dune take place in space? 

No.

It takes place on other planets that are in space, but not in space itself very much. Space opera requires, I would argue, a certain amount of space travel and/or combat. The only Dune books that have that in any quantity are Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune (and the Anderson/Herbert shitfests, of course).

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10 hours ago, Zorral said:

Space ships?  Space ship pilots? Etc?

And DUNE is on that list, fer pete's sake.

"takes place in space". That's what I challenged. Yes, there are ships and pilots. There are ships and sailors in most fantasy, doesn't make them high sea arventures.

If I say that I think Dune is as much a space opera as Pern or Altered Carbon or A Fire Upon the Deep or Blue Remembered Earth or Anathem or H2G2, or any other sf book with spaceships and pilots, would that be ok with you? 

This being said, those categories only make sense in the context of a library shelving system, and if I was looking for Dune in a library, even if it would not be my first move, I would definitely look at the space opera shelf.

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15 hours ago, Infidel said:

Is this self published? (given that the publisher shows as "Galaxy's Edge", I'd guess so?

Yup...they are big advocates for cutting out the middle-man.  I can definitely see the lack of big publishing house copy-editing at times but I was honestly really pleased with the overall quality...covers are better than most Baen books, for one thing, and the actual materials are not noticeably lower quality than normal.  And, again, the mandate is fun, which they definitely deliver.

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I was just going through my collection of SF and realized that a major series has been overlooked. Gregory Benford had an excellent series starting with Across A Sea of Suns, Other books in the series are Tides of Light, Great Sky River, and Sailing Bright Eternity.  If you liked Brin's Uplift series, you might also like these.

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I’m fear to reread these as I’d be shocked if they stood up, but when I was young I absolutely loved the Margaret Weiss space opera series Star of the Guardians. It’s a trilogy then a one book sequel. 

It’s sort of a Star Wars copycat, so it’s space opera to the extent you think SW is space opera. 

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1 hour ago, unJon said:

I’m fear to reread these as I’d be shocked if they stood up, but when I was young I absolutely loved the Margaret Weiss space opera series Star of the Guardians. It’s a trilogy then a one book sequel. 

It’s sort of a Star Wars copycat, so it’s space opera to the extent you think SW is space opera. 

Ha, me too. I still have the paperbacks. I would also be afraid to reread them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wrote an R-Rated space opera series called LUCIFER'S STAR. It is a trilogy that's two books in and so far people seem to really like. I had the idea as the basis of, "So, after the Battle of Endor, what happened to all those TIE pilots and stormtroopers? What if one of them discovered that he was the bad guy?" Bookbub did a nice release of it.

I enjoy the LOST FLEET series a great deal but it got a little repetitive toward the end and I haven't yet finished the second series. It's nice competence porn with space tactics even though the protagonist's whole deal is he's not the legendary figure everyone believes he is.

The Honor Harrington series was good right up until War of Honor when the heroes became cused with a bad case of invincible. I recommend stopping there. The protagonist, like Lost Fleet, is way OP but that's just how these things work I believe.

I had a lot of fun with Alexis Carew which is a steampunk Age of Sail series where the British Empire is in space and feuding with, well, Nazi Germany because apparently Napoleonic France wasn't good enough for it. They're a YA series but I've enjoyed every one of those books a great deal. Pirates, slavers, dashing French nobleman, and more.

I also recommend two Warhammer series in CIAPHAS CAIN which is about a cowardly soldier pretending to be a hero (and accidentally pulling it off) as well as Dan Abnett's GAUNT'S GHOSTS series.

On the humorous side of things, there's a great space station-based series called HARD LUCK HANK that stars a Patrick Warburton-esque professional legbreaker who has the superpowers of being invulnerable. The space station is constantly threatened by outside forces as he struggles not to be involved then inevitably fails.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/5/2018 at 11:46 PM, C.T. Phipps said:

e.

I also recommend two Warhammer series in CIAPHAS CAIN which is about a cowardly soldier pretending to be a hero (and accidentally pulling it off) as well as Dan Abnett's GAUNT'S GHOSTS series.

 

Last two books in the long running and very acclaimed Gaunt's Ghosts series have just come out, Warmaster, and Anarch. I have them both. His later work is to me better than the start.

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8 hours ago, Calibandar said:

Last two books in the long running and very acclaimed Gaunt's Ghosts series have just come out, Warmaster, and Anarch. I have them both. His later work is to me better than the start.

The last two books in this sub-series, The Victory. There will be an additional series of two or three books to round things off.

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  • 1 month later...

Just finished Children of Time, and wow it was a good time! Very good hard sci-fi that got you emotionally involved and kept you hooked for the whole ride. Any fans of Clarke's classic books should check it out for sure. I'm eagerly awaiting its sequel that comes out in May next year.

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  • 8 months later...

Speaking of which on Space Opera, I think the definition of it is basically, "It is fantasy in space, not necessarily a world that has any relationship to actual science or space." It is the result on John Carter and Barsoom plus Flash Gordon transplanted to a new world. I think Dune explicitly qualifies because it is the fantastical and mythological in a sci-fi setting versus a plausible science fiction universe.  Obviously, there's a bit of overlap as Star Trek goes from being military science fiction to space opera then social critique then back again to meeting Apollo. Star Wars is the easiest default measure to go by for a space opera just the way you can do, "What is a High Fantasy?" and then compare it to Lord of the Rings.

Dune may not ever involve any space combat but it doesn't have to, IMHO.

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That's funny -- in library and information sciences there is no shelving category for 'space opera.'  None of the libraries in our system have special shelving for space opera either. The designation is marketing, not library science, though the metadata tags might include 'space opera.' 

A great deal of The Expanse is situated on space ships in space as well as colony stations in space, yet it isn't operatic, i.e. not a space opera, evidently.  :P

My GAWD if Dune isn't a space opera there is no such thing! :commie: :dunno:  :read: :cheers: :)

 

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