# Recommend me some space opera **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581 "2013-01-28T02:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/41 "2013-01-28T20:08:55Z")
Yes, Van Rijn is cool. So is Adzel with a plasma cannon mounted on his back. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/42 "2013-01-28T20:18:06Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > And I’ll enthusiastically join in the EE “Doc” Smith love. True, his stuff hasn’t aged well - it REALLY hasn’t aged well - but that’s half the fun. I mean, come on, who can’t love a book where the spaceship navigator whips out his slide rule? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read them. It’s not a science-marches-on problem with those books; it is that Smith was such a ham-fisted writer. H.G. Wells ages better, just because he could write better. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/43 "2013-01-28T20:31:32Z")
If you can find them, check out the anthologies [_Galactic Empires: Vol. 1_](http://www.amazon.com/Galactic-Empires-Brian-W-Aldiss/dp/B000WLSCWU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1359405015&sr=8-7&keywords=galactic+empires) and [_Vol. 2,_](http://www.amazon.com/Galactic-Empires-Vol-Brian-Aldiss/dp/0380428792/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1359405015&sr=8-4&keywords=galactic+empires) edited by Brian Aldiss. Classic space opera! ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/44 "2013-01-28T22:21:40Z")
May be out of print, but I enjoyed Brian Daley’s Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh books - _Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds_, _Jinx On a Terran Inheritance_, and _Fall of the White Ship Avatar_. Fun, well-written, real space opera stuff. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/45 "2013-01-28T22:29:18Z")
Definitely out of print, although you can still find copies around. Great fun. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/46 "2013-01-28T22:47:57Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Um, the _John Carter Of Mars_ series by Edgar Rice Burroughs anyone? That’s a [planetary romance.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetaryRomance) Different subgenre. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/47 "2013-01-28T22:53:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That’s a [planetary romance.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetaryRomance) Different subgenre. Thanks, or rather _Kaor_. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/48 "2013-01-28T23:02:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That’s a [planetary romance.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlanetaryRomance) Different subgenre. However, the [TVTropes page on Space Opera also sez:](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpaceOpera) > [@](#): > > **Examples** > > LITERATURE > > \ > > •John Carter of Mars and other Planetary Romance novels contain elements of Space Opera, making it an Unbuilt Trope. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/49 "2013-01-28T23:48:59Z")
My recommends: Brian Daley’s Han Solo series; some of the better (and earliest) Star Wars EU stuff. Good character-driven stuff (and _not_ a villain-of-the week-that-threatens-Galactic-civilization drek!) John Ringo’s Empire of Man Series (_March Upcountry, March to the Sea, March to the Stars, We Few_), his Legacy of the Aldenata series (too many books to mention, with lots of spin-offs with co-authors, like _The Watch on the Rhine_ and _Yellow Eyes_). Also his Troy Rising series, loosely inspred by the Schlock Mercenary webcomic. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/50 "2013-01-29T00:14:12Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > . . . the Schlock Mercenary webcomic. Now **there’s** some space opera! ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/51 "2013-01-29T00:24:55Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Also his Troy Rising series. Only read this if you think actual storytelling should be interrupted by right-wing polemics every other chapter. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/52 "2013-01-29T00:26:35Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Only read this if you think actual storytelling should be interrupted by right-wing polemics every other chapter. Somehow this comment reminded me of L Ron Hubbard’s _Battlefield Earth_. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/53 "2013-01-29T00:28:29Z")
**JohnT** , I highly recommend the author that you are currently reading, Stephen Baxter. His Xeelee Sequence, a series of novels, is a prime example of hard SF with a grand ‘space opera’ feel. Of course, it can’t truly compare to the early progenitors of the subgenre (notably E.E. “Doc” Smith and John Campbell) because Baxter tends to be less melodramatic and his technology is not as dated as that of the earlier authors. Nevertheless, Baxter along with Iain M. Banks (The Culture Series) are well worth your time. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/54 "2013-01-29T00:28:49Z")
Another vote for Vernor Vinge. Fire Upon The Deep and Deepness In The Sky are utterly superb, although my favourite is Across Realtime. It doesn’t span galaxies but it does span an incredible amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/55 "2013-01-29T00:29:06Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Only read this if you think actual storytelling should be interrupted by right-wing polemics every other chapter. There’s enough other stuff out there cramming kittens-and-puppies-singing-kumbaya liberal dreck down the reader’s throat to counterbalance it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/56 "2013-01-29T00:57:41Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > There’s enough other stuff out there cramming kittens-and-puppies-singing-kumbaya liberal dreck down the reader’s throat to counterbalance it. Isn’t that pretty much limited to _Star Trek?_ ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/57 "2013-01-29T01:07:41Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > There’s enough other stuff out there cramming kittens-and-puppies-singing-kumbaya liberal dreck down the reader’s throat to counterbalance it. Like what? Either I’ve missed it or I’m blind to it. I’ve rarely read a Science Fiction writer as politically preachy as Ringo\* - left or right. \*Granted, _Live Free or Die_ is the only solo novel I’ve read by him. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/58 "2013-01-29T01:28:03Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Like what? Either I’ve missed it or I’m blind to it. I’ve rarely read a Science Fiction writer as politically preachy as Ringo\* - left or right. > > \*Granted, _Live Free or Die_ is the only solo novel I’ve read by him. Read the March series…it’s pretty free of politics, except those internal to the story. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/59 "2013-01-29T03:24:43Z")
Thank you everybody! I’ve read the two Vinge _Deep(ness)_ books - thought DitS was much better than FutD. I tried to read the third in the series but it was too boring: never cared for the Tines and could not get into a novel that focused on them. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581/60 "2013-01-29T03:46:22Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Either I’ve missed it _ **or I’m blind to it** _. Ayup. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-space-opera/648581.md?page=4)