favorite space opera?

[woody]

The Lensman series or the Star Wars books.

Be seeing ye.

 

[lara hayward]

well, hobbit, i'm well into the honor series now and really enjoying it. it's no vorkosigan, but it's fun and distracting. and i've decided to try the liaden books next-they look quite good and fun. i've collected quite a list of 'to read's - i appreciate all the input!

 

[Hobbit]

Lara

Good to hear - think you've summed up the Honor series quite well there, pretty much what I thought about the David Feinteuch Hope/Seafort Saga series.

Must give the Honor series another go!

Hobbit

 

[Penumbra]

I liked Dune perhaps best because it struck deep chords in its rebuke of certain flaws in humanity. From the filmdom side, I liked "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and "Enemy Mine" as creative examples of how that media has improved just a tad over the years.

 

[Vitriol]

While I like the Stainless Steel Rat and the first of the Bill books (for some reason I find the rest absolutely awful; does anyone else have this problem?) I'd have to go with Steven Donaldson's Gap Series - a very gritty look at space opera. Oh, and the books get less depressing as they go on, so don't give up if you start reading them and want to drop them.

 

[Warewolf]

Mundanemies,

I'm going to have to second Vitriol's nomination of Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle. Dark, grim, and gritty, but oh so epic!!!

Don't get discouraged by the first book which was, by far, my least favorite of the five. But, you have to read it because it sets up the universe for the series. Book 2 is where the series really starts to rock!

[This message has been edited by Warewolf (edited December 18, 2001).]

 

[Llama]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Culture novels of Iain Banks, like USE OF WEAPONS, CONSIDER PHLEBAS, AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND, EXCESSION and PLAYER OF GAMES. Mind you, these are no lighthearted romps. Although they can be read strictly for fun, they are very intelligent, well-constructed novels often with interesting philosophical or political subtexts. If you're looking for space opera that subverts genre cliches, this is it. The novels are related in that they all deal with the Culture (an extremely advanced technologically dependent civilization forever meddling in the affair of others), but are not technically part of a series and can be read independently. There is frankly little straight SF that I like these days, but I always look forward to the next Banks novel and he rarely disappoints.

 

[Bmat]

My favorite space opera is also the Vorkosigan series. Bujold has managed to keep the stories fresh and has avoided sequel slump.

 

[mundanemies]

Er... Thanks for the suggestion and ecouragement Whitebelly! I'm certain to buy the Gap-series if I ever run into them at second hand bookstores, but I guess I won't actually hunt them down.

And I'll most whole-heartedly second the Culture and Banks praising. He is a damn fine author and his "space opera"ish Culture-series is a marvellous achievement. If I could order people to read them, I would! They rule. Really.

 

[estranghero]

I second the review on Iain M. Banks. After reading the 'Use of Weapons', I became a fan for life.

However, I would like to find out the opinion of the people here on a few books, i.e.:

1. The Deathstalker series by Simon Green;
2. The General series by David Drake and SM Stirling;
3. The Uplift War series by David Brin; and
4. Mike Resnick's bounty hunters books.

I'm primarily a fantasy reader though if something looks good in sci-fi, I grab it. Which is why I'm curious if y'all like the said books.

Funny enough, like some fantasy readers who don't like Tolkien, I'm not so keen on Asimov after first reading his "Caves of Steel". I guess I expected too much from him such that afterwards, I never really got into his writings.

Even the Foundation series. I much preferred Resnick's "Book of Man", which I think the latter copied from Asimov. I know that's illogical but still, IMHO I feel Resnick did a better job on the history style of writings...

 

[Llama]

USE OF WEAPONS is superb. It may be the best of the novels.

But I tend to go back and forth on that. CONSIDER PHLEBAS had a great ironic ending and PLAYER OF GAMES I thought was compulsively readable.

EXCESSION and AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND were very good but I wouldn't put them at the top. There's some question as to whether the second one is even a Culture novel.

I haven't read the two most recent ones, INVERSIONS and LOOK TO WINDWARD.

I tend to save them for plane rides, when I can read them in a sitting.

 

[Spacejock]

I noticed that the definition of Space Opera included an obligatory romance of some kind. Does a robot making it with a spaceship count? If not I'm afraid I've been calling my novel Space Opera under false pretences.

When I wrote it I didn't set out to write Space Opera or Great Literature or anything in between. I just set out to entertain my readers. I laughed myself silly in places so I guess on a selfish level I wrote to entertain myself.

On a sour note, because humour is a taste thing it seems that publishers are reluctant to take it on unless you're already well-known for writing humour. It's a bit like not publishing authors unless they've got previous publishing credits.

Cheers
Simon Haynes
(Hal Spacejock) www.spacejock.com

 

[Llama]

>>I noticed that the definition of Space Opera included an obligatory romance of some kind.

Huh. I personally don't think there has to be a romance for something to be a space opera.

 

[Spacejock]

'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.'


I was referring to the comment above when I mentioned the romance element.

As a kid my brother and I enjoyed cowboy movies but there was always a %^$%^ love interest. "Get on with it!" and "Slurp slurp" were two of the more quotable comments we'd hurl at the hero.

Obviously tastes change but I'd rather my Space Opera hero/heroine was jockeying his/her spaceship through an asteroid field than chasing a skirt/cute buns. If I want romance I'll read something else.

Of course, on second reading the original comment could have been referring to a different kind of romance - the romance of the stars, space travel, that kind of thing. I thought it referred to slurping.

Cheers
Simon www.spacejock.com

 

[Llama]

>>Of course, on second reading the original comment could have been referring to a different kind of romance - the romance of the stars, space travel, that kind of thing.

I was going to say, I think that's exactly what was meant in that quote.

 

[JanosNekat]

I think the best space opera has got to be the entire Star Wars series of movies and books. The Lensman series is also very good, but nothing compares IMHO to Star Wars.

JanosNekat
(A Star Wars enthusiast)

 

[Hobbit]

*whizzes through whilst on a secret mission at work*

Yes, Llama - I think your definition of romance is what was implied.

SusF - I have started the Honor Harrington series (again) and found that if I can cope with the 'cute' cat, They're actually not bad. Nothing really new, but an entertaining read.

Hobbit

 

[astrianna]

I'll have to try the Gap series again, I started it years ago but it was *so* dark. I guess that's logical, seeing as it's a sort of futuristic interpretation of the Ring of the Niblung, and Wagner was never known for his airy wit.
I read the Elizabeth Moon books out of order by accident, and actually preferred it that way. Although the books involving Heris Serrano are first, choronologically, I prefer Esmay and I read all of her books and only one of Heris'. I'm such a snob.

 

[Corwwyn]

I recommend The Honor Harrington books be read in order, as each book takes place after the events in earlier books. I think they can be read separately, but not sure how much sense they would make that way.

On Basilisk Station is the first book, and an excellently representative example of the series imo.

 

[Hobbit]

OK - I'll admit it - I've bought a load of Honor Harrington (the next five I think!) and enjoying them at the mo, (even though some of the viewpoints in there are a little unsettling!). Now all I've got to do is find a way to ignore the cute cat...

Hobbit