[lara hayward]

ok, just devoured the whole vorkosigan series. what other space opera can, in anyone's opinion, live up to it? the characters, the humor, the depth, . . . what is your favorite space opera, & why?

[mundanemies]

It's my favourite space opera too!
I tried David Weber, but found it far too Bujold/C.S. Forester Lite that I never managed beyond book three with Honor Harrington. Not bad, but not that good either, I think lot of it has to do also with Weber's fantasybook War God's Own which was just sooo-ooo dull - never managed to finish that one. I re-tried Weber with (co-written by John Ringo) March to Upcountry but no. Finished it, but not for my taste, no.

How about these?
Julie E. Czerneda
Sharon Lee & Steven Miller (Liaden)
Vernor Vinge (Fire Upon Deep, Deepness in the Sky)
David Brin (Uplift)

And hesitantly:
David Drake
Gordon R. Dickson (Dorsai)

[lara hayward]

I'm very new to this whole space opera thing - I guess I started with the best. :-) I've heard of Honor and was going to try that next (can they be read out of order?). Haven't read the others, but some Brin (not space opera though - the Postman, the Practice Effect) - I like him, but his endings sometimes seem a bit flat to me. I have heard that David Drake is very blood-and-guts, not very character-driven. Is this true? If so, not my cup of tea.

But I really like the concept of the genre - reminds me of some of Heinlein's juveniles that I've enjoyed, and the Flandry and Falkenberg's Legion books, in a way, which I liked.

[Dragon Reborn]

What's "Space opera"?

[lara hayward]

As I understand it, 'space opera' is sort of fun, rollicking space adventures that have a core set of characters and sort of carry them through a number of adventures. so they are series, but tend to be stand alone books. I don't know, maybe the star wars books or star trek books might count too (i've never read them - I've heard the Young Jedi books are good but don't know what titles encompass those books so never found/read them). Am I correct in this, or is there a better definition?

[Shehzad]

A really good space opera series is Timothy Zahn's Conquerors Trilogy

[MilSF1]

I'd submit the Sten series by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch. A central, heroic character rising from nothing to influence the course of politics in the galaxy. Lots of action, and quirky supporting charcters that are present throughout the eight books.

You also can't forget what many feel is one of the pillars of the sub-genre: The Lensman series. There is also the Deathstalker series by Simon Greene that people either seem to love or hate.

BTW, my definition of "space opera" is a book or series that centers around hero with an almost mythical ability to get himself out of dangerous, cliffhanger situations usually with a group of stereotypically quirky friends. Also his/her actions have to have majestic scale: fate of a civilization; galaxy; or universe depends on thier actions.

[Hobbit]

Space opera - definition: (adapted from the BIG book of Clute),

'A variant of the term 'soap opera' (radio plays originally sponsored by soap manufacturers), space opera is a term for the 'hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn spaceship yarn'.

'It has since become synominous with SF that is colourful action-adventure stories of interplanetary or interstellar conflict...space-adventure stories with a calculatedly romantic element.'

Hmm.

IMHO, 'good' space opera is more than that. i've always thought of it as large plots spread across vast distances. For example - it has been suggested that Asimov's Foundation series is space opera. If so, I might put Joan Vinge's Snow Queen and Summer Queen books in there, and the Dune series, both of which are more than the basic.

Would recommend CJ Cherryh's series for a deeper space opera - Downbelow Station is quite engrossing.

Otherwise the suggestions given so far are good. I like Vernor Vinge (though his Sf is 'harder SF'), Peter Hamilton and Gordy Dickson (RIP)(though both of these lack the humour inherent in the Miles' books.).

Try also David Feinteuch's Seafort Saga (starting with Midshipman's Hope) though it is an unabashed CS Forrester pastiche, and the main character can be an acquired taste - his self-pitying bleating can be a little annoying! Simon R Green's Deathstalker series is much more in the Star Wars style though a bit violent. Steven Donaldson's Gap series is a bit violent and foul-mouthed, but if you can cope with it, it is an interesting attempt to write an SF version of Wagner's Ring Cycle!

I have a soft spot for Poul Anderson, so his Ensign Flandry series is a bit old-fashioned but not a bad read either.

Older possibilities - James Blish's Okie series (but that tends to work on a wider scale) and if you want some really old fashioned space opera (these days known more for their enthusiasm than their depth) try Doc Smith's Lensman series or Jack Williamson's Legion of Space.

Having said that, there's not much to compare with Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles series - you can see why it has won so many awards.

Hobbit

[nicba]

I haven't read much Science-Fiction that could be termed as 'pure' space opera. But from what I have read, I would say David Weber's books.

I've read a number of his books downloaded from the Baen Free Library and thought they were quite enjoyable, although very "light" -my favourite would have to be mutineers moon, wherein some astronaut on a test flight finds that our moon is actually a giant camouflaged space ship http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif. Crazy idea http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

The worst thing about his books is that the covers are sooooo ugly...It gives SF a bad reputation and actually makes me ashamed to buy the books.

[Lady Fox]

My fav space opera is the Liaden Universe novels by Lee and Miller. I also like the Honor Harrington series. One other that is pretty good that hasn't been mentioned is the Familias Regnant series by Elizabeth Moon. To me it's a lot like the Honor Harrington books. I like the Miles Vorkosigan books, too. I did not like the Uplift books by Brin. I got about halfway through the first one in the series and couldn't get any farther.
To me, space opera type books are light reading that is entertaining without being too complicated. That said, I would not consider the Foundation series or Dune to be space opera but more of a pure science fiction type classification. The writing quality and the plot and character depth go far beyond "space opera", IMO.