# Suggest a space opera for a person who doesn't read science fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [March 15, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902 "2021-03-15T00:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/81 "2021-03-17T03:36:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I chose _Hyperion_ for a number of reasons: What, you won’t spring for the nice copies? [https://subterraneanpress.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=hyperion](https://subterraneanpress.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=hyperion) [https://subterraneanpress.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=endymion](https://subterraneanpress.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=endymion) ---
**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:** [March 17, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/82 "2021-03-17T03:39:49Z")
Lol, no, she can have my well-loved 1990 first edition mass market paperback. I have had that book for 32 years now. ETA: And who is the blonde in _Fall of Hyperion_? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/83 "2021-03-17T03:48:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And the winner is… _Hyperion_ This book has been on my want-to-read list for a while. I think part of the reason I haven’t gotten around to it yet is that I haven’t figured out whether it’s best experienced in print or in the audio version. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/84 "2021-03-17T04:05:26Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ETA: And who is the blonde in _Fall of Hyperion_ ? I always assumed it was Anea, even though she didn’t show up in that book. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/85 "2021-03-17T04:07:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Lol, no, she can have my well-loved 1990 first edition mass market paperback. I have had that book for 32 years now. Also, that’s the same edition I had. Though in my last couple of re-reads I’ve gone with an e-book. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/86 "2021-03-17T04:08:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think part of the reason I haven’t gotten around to it yet is that I haven’t figured out whether it’s best experienced in print or in the audio version. IMNSHO _nothing_ is best experienced in the audio version. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/87 "2021-03-17T04:17:05Z")
One of the pleasures of Hyperion is trying to figure out which sf author is being imitated in each story, which I think would be far, far more difficult to do in an audio version. > [@Question about Hyperion (Dan Simmons novel)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-hyperion-dan-simmons-novel/673439): > > As many of us know, the structure of [Hyperion](http://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Dan-Simmons/dp/0553283685), the science fiction novel by Dan Simmons, follows [The Canterbury Tales](http://www.amazon.com/Canterbury-Tales-Geoffrey-Chaucer/dp/1480263303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383935489&sr=1-1&keywords=the+canterbury+tales) by Geoffrey Chaucer - a group of disparate people joining together on a journey to a common destination, each of them telling a tale of how they came to be on that journey at that time.\* However, I have read a couple of times that Simmons used the “writing voices” of specific science fiction authors for each of the stories, but I have never read (a) confirmations that this is tr… ---
**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:** [March 17, 2021, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/88 "2021-03-17T04:56:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I always assumed it was Anea, even though she didn’t show up in that book. False! She was the… Wait. Spoiler alert. Anyway… you know! She is _technically_ in the book. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/89 "2021-03-17T05:00:37Z")
The best kind of correct! ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/90 "2021-03-17T14:22:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > IMNSHO _nothing_ is best experienced in the audio version. Sidebar here, and I generally agree with you, but I can think of one exception, Mel Brooks World War Z. Admittedly the movie was a hot steaming mess that had little to do with the book, but the audiobook was very well done, with the (mostly) unabridged version having a voice case of over 30 (+) people, including such talents as Mark Hamill, Simon Pegg, and Bruce Boxlietner to name a few. Since the book was ‘based’ on collected first person interviews that were narrated tot he author, it is a perfect fit of form and function for the audiobook. But yes, in general, audiobooks don’t live up to the source, this is one of the exceptions that prove the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/91 "2021-03-17T14:32:06Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > IMNSHO _nothing_ is best experienced in the audio version. IMHO some are and some aren’t, but your mileage may definitely vary, depending on your preferences and how you best process things. Since @Mama_Zappa mentioned Scalzi and Wil Wheaton, I will offer that his narration of _Agent To the Stars_ worked significantly better for me than when I tried to read it for myself (and in general I’ve been happy with Scalzi in audio). ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/92 "2021-03-17T14:36:35Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > **Mel** Brooks World War Z. That would be interesting… ( **Max** Brooks wrote _World War Z_. **Mel** Brooks typically wrote in a _very_ different genre…). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/93 "2021-03-17T16:28:12Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > ( **Max** Brooks wrote _World War Z_ . **Mel** Brooks typically wrote in a _very_ different genre…). But Max is Mel’s son. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/94 "2021-03-17T17:01:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > IMNSHO _nothing_ is best experienced in the audio version. The Stephen Fry _Harry Potter_ audiobooks are superior to the books and the movies. Also, any Neil Gaiman read by Neil Gaiman. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/95 "2021-03-17T18:09:26Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > ( **Max** Brooks wrote _World War Z_ . **Mel** Brooks typically wrote in a _very_ different genre…). Mea culpa, was responding just as I was heading out the door to work and had a brain fart, I also missed the “tot he”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/96 "2021-03-17T18:30:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > > IMNSHO _nothing_ is best experienced in the audio version. > > The Stephen Fry _Harry Potter_ audiobooks are superior to the books and the movies. > > Also, any Neil Gaiman read by Neil Gaiman. Rather than hijack this thread, I’ve created a separate thread: > [@Which books are best experienced in the audio version?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-are-best-experienced-in-the-audio-version/938112): > > (I’m sure we’ve had threads like this before, but it’s been awhile, and since this came up in [another thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/94), I thought I’d start this one rather than let that one get hijacked.) So, which books are best experienced as audiobooks rather than in print? (This is assuming you normally like reading with your eyes, but for some specific books listening to the audio version is just better.) A few examples off the top of my head: David Sedaris’s books. When I first tried to read him, I was “meh” on … ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/97 "2021-03-17T23:23:57Z")
Interesting on your take with Agent to the Stars. I was so badly burned by Redshirts that I avoid AttS specifically because of Wheaton’s narration - and the reviews of that one concur with my opinion. He made zero effort to distinguish voices between characters, even of different genders - and it was not helped by the fact that several characters had VERY similar names (Dahl, Duvall). Now, when he needed to portray emotion, he nailed it… but it was very tough to keep track of who was saying what. Re audio better than reading: A full-cast recording, done well, can be a real treat - not just an “audio play”, but with WWZ mentioned above, it was stunningly appropriate given the premise of the book (someone interviewing survivors of the zombie war; each chapter was told by the person who had the experience). And one advantage, to me, is that you can’t decide to skip to the last chapter and find out what happened - you’re in for the full journey. Usually that’s a good thing (though not always). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/98 "2021-03-17T23:45:46Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > He made zero effort to distinguish voices between characters, even of different genders That’s hardly a deal-breaker for me. After all, in the printed book, the dialogue of different characters is all printed in the same font. And that particular book is written in the first person: it makes sense for all the characters to have the same voice because the POV character is telling us what they said. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/99 "2021-03-18T16:21:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And that particular book is written in the first person: it makes sense for all the characters to have the same voice because the POV character is telling us what they said. (re Wheaton’s narration of Redshirts): It’s told in the third person. You’ll have stuff like “Blahblahblah” said Duvall. “This that and the other and something’s fishy” said Dahl. “Four score and seven years ago, some hack writer came up with a screwy storyline, and ever since then blah blah yackety yack and I’ve been hiding in the service passageways and now I’ll recite pi to 3000 digits…48127” said Jenkins. With print, you can glance up or down to see who is speaking. With Wheaton’s narration, you can’t tell who’s speaking - e.g. by the time you get to “Jenkins said”, you’ve been listening to several sentences without knowing who is talking. Even a slight tweak to the voices would make it easier to distinguish. Anyway - back to the original topic, and the Vorkosigan series: TV Tropes has [a lot of fun stuff](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/VorkosiganSaga) on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/100 "2021-05-02T00:08:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Might as well go back to the classics. I recommend _Citizen of the Galaxy_ by Robert Heinlein. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I just came in to recommend the same book. “Have Space Suit - Will Travel” is another one. Those two, definitely. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > There are different subgenres to be found within the Vorkosigan saga. Anybody care to suggest one book in particular as a good example of space opera? _The Warrior’s Apprentice_, wherein he creates Admiral Naismith and the Dendarii Mercenaries. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902.md?page=6)