Barrayar in the Vorkosigan saga won both the freaking HUGO and LOCUS awards for novel of the year and deserved it. It's such a great book and really exciting as well. For God's sake people, do not skip the Cordelia books! Holy cow.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I was first introduce to Miles by the way of _The Borders of Infinity_ novella. Then, with end of Covid-19 lockdown nowhere in sight I needed something relatively lightweight but not empty, so I simply attacked the entire series in internal chronology order. When i finished everything, i still wanted more. Weber and Moon kind of serve the purpose, but not quite.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Don’t think I’ve ever recommended a book to someone whose opinion I value as much before. Thank you. And thank you for what you do - your videos are really thoughtful.
Solid list. For classics I'd like to mention Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, Larry Niven's Ringworld and for modern Tchaikovsky's Children of Time/Memory/Ruin, Alastair Reynold's The Revelation Space Books, House of Suns, Iain M Banks's The Culture Novels, Hamilton's The Commonwealth Saga.
My favorite space opera series is one that almost noone mentions, and I think the reason why isthat it was written almost entirely with fantasy tropes. I'm referring to the gaea trilogy by John Varley. I also like his lightning series.
For "classic" space opera, try looking (again) to Poul Anderson. Standalone: _Virgin Planet._ Series: "Technic Civilization" series, which includes the David Falkayn/Nicholas Van Rijn "Polesotechnic League" stories and novels and the "Terran Empire" series, most of which feature the character Dominic Flandry. Although they are almost all "grand adventure" type yarns, they are also, wherever possible, grounded in actual science (at least as science was understood at the time of their writing, which stretches back into the 1950's). Although the number of stories in the series is large, they are all cracking tales and can easily be read individually. There are no "trilogies" or other sequences that have to be read in order.
Wow i havent heard of this one!! Thank u for ur recommendation. I think i own 1 other by poul but I cant seem to find it and need to buff up on his work! Thanks.
I really enjoy The MurderBot Series. My list of books to read just increase. I would really love to see a Techno-Thriller (a la Michael Crichton) book recommendation. Love your work!!!!!
Thanks!! He didnt write tons of space operas… but i did recently read a few thrillers… including sphere! Maybe check out my modern sci fi recommendations…
This was a great list. I thought I had read quite a lot of Space Operas but now I know I haven’t. Appreciate the great info. I’ve got my work cut out for me. Thanks and great video.
A good group of books.There are so many more, you could go on forever!! JS Dewes is going to be a trilogy or 4 books. At the end of book 2 there is a cliff type hanger.
I completely agree about the Interdependency series being better than Old Man’s War. Love them both, but I enjoyed the challenge, characters, and world of the Interdependency better.
Great video! I'll check the recommendations for modern sci fi due to I'm used to read more classic sci fi books. Except for Murderbot, I adore this security unit 😅.
Love the video! I read The Foundation Trilogy in the late 1960s, and I still have it. It is great! The Caves Of Steel and The Naked Sun are really great, too. I read several of the early books of the Vorkosigan saga as they arrived. I enjoyed the stories in Asimov's, too. Our children got older, and that put SF on hold for a while! The Space Opera goes way back! Flash Gordon comes to mind. One of the first "Space Operas," if not the first, to be hardbound published is "The Mixed Men" by A E Van Vogt. A vast, all human Galaxy spanning benevolent empire sends out a massive Starship (among many more) commanded by a woman and her crew of men and women on a 10 year mission of exploration, finding lost human civilizations and anything else of interest. (Sound familar?) Published by the Gnome Press in 1952, this book encompasses mutation, telepathy, transporters (the ship is so large you transport to get from place to place), political philosophy, political intrigue, human purpose, romance, genetics before the term existed, you name it. In one book! I have the Gnome Press hardbound, a prized possession!
@secretsauceofstorycraft Yes, I had been keeping up for years, but mostly just rereading my collection. For the last 14 months, I have been steadily replacing my 40 year to 80 year old paperback and hardbound books that have been worn out with hardbound and paperback editions in better condition or new. I kept valuable editions! I lost count of how many, but more than 100 books. I have read many more current novels and anthologies. I have added roughly 30 more anthologies and 20 more novels, too. This was great fun, but a little expensive! No SF collection is ever complete, but time to just read again!
I came to mention I thought the classics list was very incomplete without the Lensman Saga or The Skylark series. Doc introduced so many important space opera tropes in those two series.
A forgotten fun series of stories is by A. Bertram Chandler about his character John Grimes, who is basically Horatio Hornblower in space. Nothing earth shattering, just many fun adventures as Grimes works his way through the ranks. There are short novels and lots of short stories in the series. I love the Morgaine series by C.J. Cherryh, which starts with The Gate of Ivrel. It's closer to fantasy than science fiction, but there is definitely scientific technology involved. Morgaine is an interesting heroine. For people who like there space opera to include swords, it is well worth it.
👋 some great recommendations here! Some familiar to me but not yet read, some new to me, and some favourites of mine too. I will post a video later today looking at space opera of the 1930s and 40s. Swash will be buckled, beautiful space princesses will be saved, and the aliens and villains shall be vanquished! As a minor aside, i dont think Blindsight/Echopraxia are space opera. Hard SF definitely, but lacking the heroic, wide screen, galaxy spanning, character driven plot typical of space opera. The boundaries are fuzzy and up for debate but that one is well beyond it, i think. Both great, btw, altho i think i prefer Echopraxia. I need to reread Blindsight i think. Great video! 👍
@@secretsauceofstorycraft yeah it is tricky. I'm only so opinionated about it now after doing some research into the history of space opera (see video from a few weeks back). Thank you, I have enjoyed amping up my library since I started this u choob malarkey 6 months ago. Still expanding. I need like a handy warp in the space-time continuum which will allow more shelf space than I have walls to support. Should be possible, right? Right? 📚📚📚
My personal favorite Space Opera is the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton (consisting of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). In that series, humanity as spread over a couple of hundred star systems. One day, an astronomer notices that two distant stars suddenly vanish. So what happened to them? The only possible explanation seems to be, that they were enclosed by gigantic force fields that keep in all radiation. But by whom? And why? To keep some threat out? Or to keep something in? So a ship is built to travel there and find out. The story that starts off from there is absolutely mindblowing - with some of the most unique and interesting aliens that I ever read of. However, these a two very chunky books - and some people say that with all the side stories going on, it could have needed ab bit more editing and streamlining. But I loved every page and in the end, everything comes together beautifully.
Absolutely love the Vorkosigan series, and I agree with your starting point. For a fun little classic standalone, I would suggest Pandora's Planet by Christopher Anvil.
Have you read anything by David Weber? I know he's most famous for the Honor Harrington series but I actually have only read book one of that series and that a long time ago. There are several others of his I really enjoy though, like the Dahak series
I really appreciate your recommendations! I started reading sci fi in the late 70s, mostly from my Dad's collection. But they were very pulpy and not really stretching the imagination. However, you highlight a few of the good ones. You could also include any of CJ Cherryh sci fi series from the 1970s and 80s for some solid space opera. The Faded Sun trilogy is another one told from alien perspectives, and is outstanding. If you are looking to round out your women authors, Elizabeth Moon writes some great modern space opera.
Hmm... I've watched a number of your videos regarding science fiction series (loved them btw), but I was quite surprised that there was no mention of the "Galactic Center" series by Gregory Benford. If you haven't read it yet, then you need to.
Great cross section of the history of Space Opera. I dont look at books as Classic or Modern, I'm always searching for new (to me) Space Opera series' or future histories. I recently found Vatta's War by Moon and Murderbot by Wells and binge read both series.
you should check out the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell - First one is called Quarter Share. There's 12 books but they're only around the 300 page mark. My favorite SF series of all time.
I do love the visual cues. And totally loved Babel 17, and something tells me you too are one of those people capable of receiving, to your own dismay, that sensation (synesthetic, somehow) of an underlying communication that sometimes is great to get and other times maybe best not received. Augh! Collapsing Empire??? Aren't you like, the only person ever to like that series? I'm not suggesting this topic for a video! I'm asking if maybe you'd be interested in looking at (I guess they'd be called this) 'universes' where a number of books and stories take place? Azimov ties a lot of his books together with, and into, the Foundation series. Larry Niven has what he called Known Space. Heinlein brought a number of his works together (an understandably controversial move). And others seem to have their own purpose-built universes, and then some just seem to have come together that way. But really! It's not a suggestion for a video! It's just a topic one of your subscribers thinks you might like and enjoy thinking about.
Haha 😆 u didnt like collapsing empire? I thought it was one of his most redeeming books!! As for shared universes, im both so sure. Hanish cycle is like that and i am not sure those books are in any way related. Asimov did kinda stretch some of his books to make it fit together. I guess i havent seen it done super well- but then i guess i havent read a ton of them either 🤷🏼♀️ will look at it!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft look, it's OK that you liked the Scalzi series! You don't have to spend 2 hours and 5 paragraphs defending it! Gee whiz. The shared universe thing is a murky idea. Sometimes I think an author just gets lazy, and others times it's fascinating to have an idea sketched out that never would have crossed your mind. Heinlein did it with a character from The Rolling Stones really well, but just because it fun to see the person's arc showing g up out of the blue. Look, just ignore me for wasting your time. I have questions that don't actually need to be answered, and you have time that is earmarked for other stuff. With that in mind, how much do you think Heinlein as an author, a human male, was flawed? He's called misogynist for the female type he often portrays, and racist for showing non-white races as having the capacity to be pretty horrible people. He marginally answers this in his form letter he typed up and responded to mail with by putting an X in the appropriate boxes (Search terms: Heinlein fan mail solution). Plus he seems to equally mistreat peoples and sexes without bias. And I think he took on trans issues with All You Zombies, and I Will Fear No Evil extraordinarily and decades before they were seen as needed topics to address. That's what I meant about ignoring me! Thanks for your great work.
I cant get past Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth books - not just the commonwealth saga, but the void trilogy and the two "fallers" books. When I DO get past that - Im stuck in "The Culture" books by Ian M Banks. Some are better than others - though that very much depends on what you personally like in Space Operas.
I thought the first Old Man's War novel was good, but the following novels I did not much care about, honesty. If Scalzi's other series is better then it might be worth checking out. Thanks for the recommendations, will try to get to some of these after getting through my TBR pile.
Hi! Just found your channel and fell in love thank you for all your great recommendations. Sadly I fear im too late for the challenge this year but if there was specifically one space opera I should start today what one would that be?
Hmm ok- knowing what you have read and what you like helps. My goal with personal recommendations isnt to get you the most famous or significant ones, but rather to find ones you love! - if you dont mind military scifi with smarmy main characters : Planetside or dauntless (lost fleet) are fun reads!! - if you want to go epic but prefer more modern spin: the Outside or leviathan wakes - if u want your mind blown but you are ok with slogging through the story until it gets good-- children of time -- give u have read a mix, i’d say u can decide if u like classics or not by reading- foundation by asimov
Try the Culture series. They can be read in any order; depends on who you want to focus on - the Culture humans or the Culture Minds (calling them AI would be like calling you a paramecium).
Modern Series and Duology recommendations are the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton (Pandora’s Star/Judas Unchained) it has a follow up trilogy called the Void Trilogy set in the same universe but 1200 years after the end of Judas Unchained but the first two can be read as a duology…and Zones of Thought by Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky) there’s a third book that came out a decade or so later The Children of the Sky which was not as good but not horrible and you could continue on to read it but the first two can be read as a duology…A Fire Upon the Deep is a top 10 All Time SF IMHO… Modern Standalones recommend both books by Andy Weir The Martian and Project Hail Mary… Some good recommendations here you should check out…I liked the video…Keep up the good works 👍🏻
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Yes The Commonwealth Saga, The Night’s Dawn Trilogy and The Void Trilogy are a bit ambitious for the beginner to intermediate SF reader…When it comes to Peter F Hamilton I routinely recommend his standalone book Fallen Dragon as a good place to dip your toe into the water with Peter F Hamilton and your recommendation of Light Chaser is also a good place to start as well…😊❤️📚👍🏻
Have you checked out the Culture books by Iain M. Banks? There's more or less 9 novels (one isn't implicitly a Culture novel, just takes place in the same setting) and a collection of short stories. Also I highly recommend the Polity books by Neal Asher, the first being Prador Moon, published in 2006. He's written four different book series and 7 standalone novels in the Polity universe. Both Banks and Asher are among the best science fiction authors I've come across in decades in terms of just pure enjoyment. And hands down, if I could pick ANY fictional setting to actually live my life in, it would be the Culture no question! Those people have it made!
if you want a challenge in scifi, i recommend "The Golden Oecumene " by John C. Wright. these are a challenging read but the possibilities exposed are simply fascinating.
At 3:39 you showed a drawing of a little guy handcuffed to another person. I think it's a drawing of Ezhov - a terrible NKVD boss (1936-1938) who killed thousands and sent to GULAG millions. He was a rather short guy and people called him a "bloody dwarf" for his atrocious actions against humanity in 1937.
Right! And he was preceded in that position by another nasty piece of work, Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda. As I am sure you know Stalin became disillusioned by them both and they were executed in turn. Dark, dark times!
That's a really good series! Highly recommend it! But Deathstalker does not even come close to his really good series of books about the supernatural detective John Taylor.
I KNEW I had heard of Simon R Green!! He wrote the John Taylor series! Both my wife and a bunch of friends of ours were all HUGE John Taylor fans. Think the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher but British. I know it isn't science fiction, but they are FANTASTIC!!
I feel like David Feintuch is a missed author in these compilations. He wrote Seafort's Saga, 7 book in all, then he died, and the books are somewhat repetitive in formula, but oh man did I love it when I was a kid. And no one talks about him!
Many has mentioned Hamilton and Raynolds, and that is some of the best. Simmons Hyperion as well. And Tchaikovskys Children of... and The final architecture I would say. Baxters Xeelee is some wierd shit as well.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft The interesting thing is that it's based on the life of the actual 6th century Byzantine general Belesarius, one of the greatest military minds of all time, and for the first book follows actual history.
You don't like Cordelia?! 😅 I'll toss out a series recommendation for The Uplift books by David Brin, and a standalone rec for Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds.
Ooh ive been eyeing pushing ice for awhile. Consider that added to my list!! And i own brin’s books but just havent prioritized them- i should work on that
Good Grief, You didn't even mention the Lensman or Skylark of Space series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. They are the foundation of of Space Opera. One Space Opera series overlooked in the English speaking world is Perry Rhodan . This is a German SF series that had a run in the U.S. in the 70's. Started in about 1960 and still going strong. over 3,000 titles not including spin off series.
There is a third book in the Motie series. J R Pournelle (daughter of Jerry Pournelle) wrote an authorized 3rd book, Outies in 2011. I have it but have not read it, so quality is unknown.
Yeah i saw that… but i dont count books not written by original author(s). Like the rama books… but im glas u mentioned it!! If u ever read it let me know!!
3:13 - Noooo! Cordelia's (and Aral's) story is as important as Miles' (and provide the frame for much of Miles' story). The only exception might be the final novel in the series, _Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen_ (and perhaps the kind of prequel, _Felling Free_ - you may skip those.)
Haha!! It is soo good!! But i thought folks would have already heard of that one and hobestly there are sooo many good ones I didnt include - it was hard to make the list
For space operas can I recommend virtually anything from Peter Hamilton. Be warned though, all his series a big reads. I am sure he gets paid by the pound rather than the word for his work lol. He has a degree in astrophysics, so the environments he sets his story in are very authentic. For more old school definitely Larry Niven, anything set in Know Space or part of the Ringworld series will scratch the Space Opera itch lol
I read the first two and loved her myself! I thought about putting it on the list but had to end the video somewhere! Thanks for adding her in the comments tho- a good one fore sure
Wow, you listed classic space opera trilogies and didn't find space for the _Ringworld_ series by Larry Niven nor the _Gateway_ (or Heechee) series by Frederick Pohl. And all space opera begins with the _Lensman_ series by E.E. Doc Smith.
Yeah it was hard to narrow down the list. I could have literally gone on for days with how many good books I didn’t include and still not be done, but I doubt anyone would have wanted to watch that 😛 But I do hope to fo more videos like this!
I really liked the Bob books 1-3 . . . 4 just really spent way too much time with the otters. Foundation was . . . responsible along with Enders game for getting me hooked in science fiction. Cant decide about empire of silence. The character looks like the games Destiny / 2
Perhaps not exactly a good match for this video in particular, but I think Starfish by Peter Watts is a far superior novel to Blindsight (maybe a bit of a hot take). I enjoyed Blindsight and all its big ideas, but I rarely see any booktubers talking about anything else he has written.
I enjoyed his novella freeze frame revolution!! U read it?? I already read starfish but it felt similar themes to blindsight for me…. Maybe i need to reread
You're going to recommend "Foundation" without mentioning Isaac Asimov's recommended chronological reading order according to his published notes? Here's the entire timeline according to Isaac Asimov: I, Robot (1950) Caves of Steel (1954) The Naked Sun (1957) The Robots of Dawn (1983) Robots and Empire (1985) The Currents of Space (1952) The Stars, Like Dust (1951) Pebble in the Sky (1950) Prelude to Foundation (1988) Forward the Foundation (1993) Foundation (1951) Foundation and Empire (1952) Second Foundation (1953) Foundation's Edge (1982) Foundation and Earth (1986)
Gibraltar Earth (1999) by Michael McCollum Humans from Earth accidentally capture an alien space ship after destroying another that attacked for no reason. Humans are up against an alien empire that does not know they exist. Mouse versus elephant.
I'll have to get back to this video in 2024 (out of control TBR) and checkout some of these titles . Gaunt's Ghosts / Tanith First and Only by Dan Abnett is a great SCi-Fi military space opera. 5k subscribers in Jan 2024?
Well, Bio of a Space Tyrant is only 10 books and is a serious Classic and one of if not the first with a Hispanic as the lead Protagonist. And is out of print, that's how old it is before Phone Kindle Books. Yes, read Both your first pics Loved CJ....and yes Cards is an exceptional writer and the books great, Card however is a vicious homophobe...and yes read Mote, didn't care for it.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Our main character has a Twin Sister and I would not be surprised if Card thought of this series in relation to Enders Game. Book #2 was lambasted as too sexual, but I found it like poetry. But my recollection is also 35-40 yrs old. I think it was a mid to late 70's series. It's what started my juices flowing. And Piers Anthony wasn't noted for his military sci-fi he wrote fantasy books.
The Book I'm going to recommend isn't a Space Opera it's meant for your Stabd alones Scifi. L. Ron Hubbard... who erroneously credited with the Religion Scientology. Which from what read isn't correct. Ron 😂 hated everything basically, the Catholic Church, Banks, CEO's Governments, Credit Cards, you name it he hated it. According ti ny slight reading he said he could creat a religion people, something else he disliked, would flock to and created a treates on Scientology which after his death his son brought into reality. That said, he wrote one of, I think and so fo a lot of others, best Sci-fi books "Battlefield Earth." A book who others in Scifi literature and films barrowed from. The vasic premise is after nuclear war we are reduced back to basically to the old west and what's left of humanity lives in isolated sheltered valleys around the planet and from there the story evolves through Alien invasion. Its close to 1000 pages. I liked it so much I reread it every year for 10 yrs.
You have got to get serious when you do hard SF. Poul Anderson had a degree in physics. However we now know that the Big Crunch theory of the universe upon which Tau Zero is based is WRONG. No Hubble telescope in 1970. It was determined in the 90s that the rate of expansion of the universe is increasing. You will have to work on those physics chops dear. And what the hell is with you and Cordelia? Barrayar was the first Great book in the Vorkosigan Saga. You got this hate on for red heads? Women! You disapprove of decapitation? 😂
🤣 i dunno 🤷🏼♀️ i liked barrayar much better than shards… but warriors apprentice (and miles!) is where its at!! I have several books by p anderson but i have yet to get to them …. Soon i hope
"Tau Zero" is NOT a good book; when you reread it you will see. The science is good, but the characters are really unrealistic. They are cartoonish and their actions/reactions are just not believable. IMO.
The Stars My Destination is not even remotely space opera. You should read it by all means, but it is not space opera. The Mote in God's Eye is just a 19th century naval romance.
For those who aren’t super snobby, highly recommend Saga graphic novel series for sweet space opera in more palatable 1 1/2 hour reading chunks - with amazing artwork to boot!
My favorite space opera series is one that almost noone mentions, and I think the reason why isthat it was written almost entirely with fantasy tropes. I'm referring to the gaea trilogy by John Varley. I also like his lightning series.
Barrayar in the Vorkosigan saga won both the freaking HUGO and LOCUS awards for novel of the year and deserved it. It's such a great book and really exciting as well. For God's sake people, do not skip the Cordelia books! Holy cow.
True!! And barrayar was much better than shards for me- but I would have enjoyed them more, if I had already known and loved Miles first.
Hear, hear!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I was first introduce to Miles by the way of _The Borders of Infinity_ novella. Then, with end of Covid-19 lockdown nowhere in sight I needed something relatively lightweight but not empty, so I simply attacked the entire series in internal chronology order. When i finished everything, i still wanted more. Weber and Moon kind of serve the purpose, but not quite.
Yeah, I liked the Cordelia books the best.
I am so delighted that Chanur's Pride made your Classic list - I love that book. So pleased you did too.
It was ur recommendation that made me pick it up!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Don’t think I’ve ever recommended a book to someone whose opinion I value as much before. Thank you. And thank you for what you do - your videos are really thoughtful.
Solid list. For classics I'd like to mention Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, Larry Niven's Ringworld and for modern Tchaikovsky's Children of Time/Memory/Ruin, Alastair Reynold's The Revelation Space Books, House of Suns, Iain M Banks's The Culture Novels, Hamilton's The Commonwealth Saga.
There are sooo many I didnt get to!! But thanks for the list
Commonwealth Saga by Hamilton has one of the best representations of alien intellect I've ever read. Great series.
A great list and I've put a few on my shortlist. The Bobiverse series was what really convinced me you knew what you were talking about.
Awww thanks! What a great series. The new one comes out soon!! Also should say- i dont have any better ceedentials than anyone else :)
@secretsauceofstorycraft no better credentials but you've clearly got good taste.
My favorite space opera series is one that almost noone mentions, and I think the reason why isthat it was written almost entirely with fantasy tropes.
I'm referring to the gaea trilogy by John Varley.
I also like his lightning series.
For "classic" space opera, try looking (again) to Poul Anderson. Standalone: _Virgin Planet._ Series: "Technic Civilization" series, which includes the David Falkayn/Nicholas Van Rijn "Polesotechnic League" stories and novels and the "Terran Empire" series, most of which feature the character Dominic Flandry. Although they are almost all "grand adventure" type yarns, they are also, wherever possible, grounded in actual science (at least as science was understood at the time of their writing, which stretches back into the 1950's).
Although the number of stories in the series is large, they are all cracking tales and can easily be read individually. There are no "trilogies" or other sequences that have to be read in order.
Wow i havent heard of this one!! Thank u for ur recommendation. I think i own 1 other by poul but I cant seem to find it and need to buff up on his work! Thanks.
Fantastic video. It seems like you always have books I've never heard of. Great list. I'll be saving this one.
Thanks dale!!
I really enjoy The MurderBot Series. My list of books to read just increase. I would really love to see a Techno-Thriller (a la Michael Crichton) book recommendation. Love your work!!!!!
Thanks!! He didnt write tons of space operas… but i did recently read a few thrillers… including sphere! Maybe check out my modern sci fi recommendations…
This was a great list. I thought I had read quite a lot of Space Operas but now I know I haven’t. Appreciate the great info. I’ve got my work cut out for me. Thanks and great video.
Haha 😂 i feel the same way making this video!!! Enjoy!
I'm hooked on the lost fleet, I think I'm going to get through all six.
Muhahahaha!!! My evil plan had worked 😈
Yes, it's wonderful, those plus the spinoffs.
A good group of books.There are so many more, you could go on forever!!
JS Dewes is going to be a trilogy or 4 books. At the end of book 2 there is a cliff type hanger.
Ooh good to know!!
I completely agree about the Interdependency series being better than Old Man’s War. Love them both, but I enjoyed the challenge, characters, and world of the Interdependency better.
Good taste! I’m glad Im not the only one….
A Classic Standalone Space Opera I like is Rolling Stones by Robert Heinlein. It is part of his juvenile line-up.
Wow this is one I have never heard of- thank you!
I really like this one.
Thank you for recommendations, great video as always! I'm slowly dipping my toes into modern sci-fi, and will take note of many of these!
Please do! And thanks for watching!
Great video! I'll check the recommendations for modern sci fi due to I'm used to read more classic sci fi books. Except for Murderbot, I adore this security unit 😅.
Sounds great let me know
Love the video! I read The Foundation Trilogy in the late 1960s, and I still have it. It is great! The Caves Of Steel and The Naked Sun are really great, too.
I read several of the early books of the Vorkosigan saga as they arrived. I enjoyed the stories in Asimov's, too. Our children got older, and that put SF on hold for a while!
The Space Opera goes way back! Flash Gordon comes to mind. One of the first "Space Operas," if not the first, to be hardbound published is "The Mixed Men" by A E Van Vogt. A vast, all human Galaxy spanning benevolent empire sends out a massive Starship (among many more) commanded by a woman and her crew of men and women on a 10 year mission of exploration, finding lost human civilizations and anything else of interest. (Sound familar?)
Published by the Gnome Press in 1952, this book encompasses mutation, telepathy, transporters (the ship is so large you transport to get from place to place), political philosophy, political intrigue, human purpose, romance, genetics before the term existed, you name it. In one book!
I have the Gnome Press hardbound, a prized possession!
Wow!!! That book sounds interesting- was it before or after the show?
Are you back into SF now?
@secretsauceofstorycraft Yes, I had been keeping up for years, but mostly just rereading my collection. For the last 14 months, I have been steadily replacing my 40 year to 80 year old paperback and hardbound books that have been worn out with hardbound and paperback editions in better condition or new. I kept valuable editions! I lost count of how many, but more than 100 books. I have read many more current novels and anthologies. I have added roughly 30 more anthologies and 20 more novels, too.
This was great fun, but a little expensive! No SF collection is ever complete, but time to just read again!
I started "Saga of the Exiles" because of you. Really enjoying the first book so far.
🔥
Howling dark is one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read within the last 5 years
Excited to start it!!
Murderbot Diaries!!!! ❤ Thank you I didn't know there is going to be part 8 & 9 🙀✨️💖
Yay!! 🎆
It’s Space Opera September? Well, it’s a good thing I’m reading Triplanetary right now.
See u knew it all along!!
I came to mention I thought the classics list was very incomplete without the Lensman Saga or The Skylark series. Doc introduced so many important space opera tropes in those two series.
Great list. Lots of titles I wasn't familiar with. Also, great t-shirt. I love the Tattered Cover.
Yay!!! Tattered cover fans!!!!
loved it ! - try lost satarship for a trashy / hokey space opera 😁
I'll check it out!
A forgotten fun series of stories is by A. Bertram Chandler about his character John Grimes, who is basically Horatio Hornblower in space. Nothing earth shattering, just many fun adventures as Grimes works his way through the ranks. There are short novels and lots of short stories in the series.
I love the Morgaine series by C.J. Cherryh, which starts with The Gate of Ivrel. It's closer to fantasy than science fiction, but there is definitely scientific technology involved. Morgaine is an interesting heroine. For people who like there space opera to include swords, it is well worth it.
Wow thanks i havent heard of these
👋 some great recommendations here! Some familiar to me but not yet read, some new to me, and some favourites of mine too. I will post a video later today looking at space opera of the 1930s and 40s. Swash will be buckled, beautiful space princesses will be saved, and the aliens and villains shall be vanquished!
As a minor aside, i dont think Blindsight/Echopraxia are space opera. Hard SF definitely, but lacking the heroic, wide screen, galaxy spanning, character driven plot typical of space opera. The boundaries are fuzzy and up for debate but that one is well beyond it, i think. Both great, btw, altho i think i prefer Echopraxia. I need to reread Blindsight i think. Great video! 👍
Defining space opera is tricky… i did what i could 🤷🏼♀️. But thanks for watching.
U have a beautiful library!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft yeah it is tricky. I'm only so opinionated about it now after doing some research into the history of space opera (see video from a few weeks back). Thank you, I have enjoyed amping up my library since I started this u choob malarkey 6 months ago. Still expanding. I need like a handy warp in the space-time continuum which will allow more shelf space than I have walls to support. Should be possible, right? Right? 📚📚📚
Great review and you helped me add some interesting new book to my list ❤
Fantastic! Thanks for watching!
Great video! Space opera is my favorite genre. I would also probably add Legend of the Galactic Heroes 10 book series
Not heard of this one! Will have to check it out
My personal favorite Space Opera is the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton (consisting of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). In that series, humanity as spread over a couple of hundred star systems. One day, an astronomer notices that two distant stars suddenly vanish. So what happened to them? The only possible explanation seems to be, that they were enclosed by gigantic force fields that keep in all radiation. But by whom? And why? To keep some threat out? Or to keep something in?
So a ship is built to travel there and find out. The story that starts off from there is absolutely mindblowing - with some of the most unique and interesting aliens that I ever read of.
However, these a two very chunky books - and some people say that with all the side stories going on, it could have needed ab bit more editing and streamlining.
But I loved every page and in the end, everything comes together beautifully.
Wow what a recommendation!! Thank you for that great summary!
Absolutely love the Vorkosigan series, and I agree with your starting point. For a fun little classic standalone, I would suggest Pandora's Planet by Christopher Anvil.
Ooh never heard of it! Will checkout thanks 😊
Have you read anything by David Weber? I know he's most famous for the Honor Harrington series but I actually have only read book one of that series and that a long time ago. There are several others of his I really enjoy though, like the Dahak series
Wow - no i havent!! Thank you
The Deathstalker audiobooks bring the books to life in a way that makes me think they were written as radio plays.
🔥 yessssssss!!
I really appreciate your recommendations! I started reading sci fi in the late 70s, mostly from my Dad's collection. But they were very pulpy and not really stretching the imagination. However, you highlight a few of the good ones. You could also include any of CJ Cherryh sci fi series from the 1970s and 80s for some solid space opera. The Faded Sun trilogy is another one told from alien perspectives, and is outstanding. If you are looking to round out your women authors, Elizabeth Moon writes some great modern space opera.
You are 10/10 on those recommendations!! I have kesrith and trading in danger…. I just havent got there yet
Hmm... I've watched a number of your videos regarding science fiction series (loved them btw), but I was quite surprised that there was no mention of the "Galactic Center" series by Gregory Benford. If you haven't read it yet, then you need to.
I havent heard of it!! ThNk u
Great cross section of the history of Space Opera. I dont look at books as Classic or Modern, I'm always searching for new (to me) Space Opera series' or future histories. I recently found Vatta's War by Moon and Murderbot by Wells and binge read both series.
🔥 loved murderbot - havent got to elizabeth moon yet. Instead i just tried honor harrington (on basilisk station)
Alistair Reynold's *Revelation Space* and brethren are amazing. My favourite is *Chasm City*.
I need to pick him up! I own chasm city so will get to it soon i hope
you should check out the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell - First one is called Quarter Share. There's 12 books but they're only around the 300 page mark.
My favorite SF series of all time.
Will look into it- thank u!
I have wanted to ask you this question for some time now... who design the thumbnails in your videos? They are awesome
I do :) thank you! Some recent images or parts of images come from midjourney, but i alter them or whatnot with photoshop.
Dune, first book published 1965; Ringworld, first book published 1970. Both of these series are classic reads!
🔥 Ringworld def qualifies. But dune doesnt take place in space. But its a good book! Thanks for watching
I do love the visual cues. And totally loved Babel 17, and something tells me you too are one of those people capable of receiving, to your own dismay, that sensation (synesthetic, somehow) of an underlying communication that sometimes is great to get and other times maybe best not received. Augh! Collapsing Empire??? Aren't you like, the only person ever to like that series?
I'm not suggesting this topic for a video! I'm asking if maybe you'd be interested in looking at (I guess they'd be called this) 'universes' where a number of books and stories take place? Azimov ties a lot of his books together with, and into, the Foundation series. Larry Niven has what he called Known Space. Heinlein brought a number of his works together (an understandably controversial move). And others seem to have their own purpose-built universes, and then some just seem to have come together that way. But really! It's not a suggestion for a video! It's just a topic one of your subscribers thinks you might like and enjoy thinking about.
Haha 😆 u didnt like collapsing empire? I thought it was one of his most redeeming books!!
As for shared universes, im both so sure. Hanish cycle is like that and i am not sure those books are in any way related. Asimov did kinda stretch some of his books to make it fit together. I guess i havent seen it done super well- but then i guess i havent read a ton of them either 🤷🏼♀️ will look at it!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft look, it's OK that you liked the Scalzi series! You don't have to spend 2 hours and 5 paragraphs defending it! Gee whiz.
The shared universe thing is a murky idea. Sometimes I think an author just gets lazy, and others times it's fascinating to have an idea sketched out that never would have crossed your mind. Heinlein did it with a character from The Rolling Stones really well, but just because it fun to see the person's arc showing g up out of the blue.
Look, just ignore me for wasting your time. I have questions that don't actually need to be answered, and you have time that is earmarked for other stuff.
With that in mind, how much do you think Heinlein as an author, a human male, was flawed? He's called misogynist for the female type he often portrays, and racist for showing non-white races as having the capacity to be pretty horrible people. He marginally answers this in his form letter he typed up and responded to mail with by putting an X in the appropriate boxes (Search terms: Heinlein fan mail solution). Plus he seems to equally mistreat peoples and sexes without bias. And I think he took on trans issues with All You Zombies, and I Will Fear No Evil extraordinarily and decades before they were seen as needed topics to address.
That's what I meant about ignoring me! Thanks for your great work.
I cant get past Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth books - not just the commonwealth saga, but the void trilogy and the two "fallers" books. When I DO get past that - Im stuck in "The Culture" books by Ian M Banks. Some are better than others - though that very much depends on what you personally like in Space Operas.
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100% agree. If it is not Hamilton, Reynolds, Baxter and Ann Leckie then better don’t have a list at all.
I thought the first Old Man's War novel was good, but the following novels I did not much care about, honesty. If Scalzi's other series is better then it might be worth checking out.
Thanks for the recommendations, will try to get to some of these after getting through my TBR pile.
🔥 Hope u find some good ones in that pile…
@@secretsauceofstorycraft thanks, will definitely do, took Screenshots of the books your were talking about - good idea to showcase them all together!
Hi! Just found your channel and fell in love thank you for all your great recommendations. Sadly I fear im too late for the challenge this year but if there was specifically one space opera I should start today what one would that be?
The only sci fi I've read so far is some H.G. Wells, murderbot diaries, and enders game. (I do plan on reading other ender books)
Hmm ok- knowing what you have read and what you like helps. My goal with personal recommendations isnt to get you the most famous or significant ones, but rather to find ones you love!
- if you dont mind military scifi with smarmy main characters : Planetside or dauntless (lost fleet) are fun reads!!
- if you want to go epic but prefer more modern spin: the Outside or leviathan wakes
- if u want your mind blown but you are ok with slogging through the story until it gets good-- children of time
-- give u have read a mix, i’d say u can decide if u like classics or not by reading- foundation by asimov
Ben Bova's series the grand tour which features stories at each planet are fun reads.
I will look into this. I think i have moving mars…. Is that one of them?
The series consists of books with one word titles Mars, Neptune,Jupiter ,and others.@@secretsauceofstorycraft
Try the Culture series. They can be read in any order; depends on who you want to focus on - the Culture humans or the Culture Minds (calling them AI would be like calling you a paramecium).
Will do!! I got the first 3 books!
~ 22:00 - (Irrelevant nitpick): Technically, _Network Effect_ is a novel, as is forthcoming _System Collapse,_ but the rest are indeed novellas.
Yep that is true, network effect, is long- loved that it was too. I dont know yet about system collapse…. Have it preordered tho.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Me, too, and i _very_ rarely pre-order, waiting for sales. Amazon says 248 pages.
Modern Series and Duology recommendations are the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F Hamilton (Pandora’s Star/Judas Unchained) it has a follow up trilogy called the Void Trilogy set in the same universe but 1200 years after the end of Judas Unchained but the first two can be read as a duology…and Zones of Thought by Vernor Vinge
(A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky) there’s a third book that came out a decade or so later The Children of the Sky which was not as good but not horrible and you could continue on to read it but the first two can be read as a duology…A Fire Upon the Deep is a top 10 All Time SF IMHO…
Modern Standalones recommend both books by Andy Weir The Martian and Project Hail Mary…
Some good recommendations here you should check out…I liked the video…Keep up the good works 👍🏻
I loved loved project hail mary!!!! I own fire upon the deep and have been far too intimidated to brave pandoras star…. But maybe its time….
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Yes The Commonwealth Saga, The Night’s Dawn Trilogy and The Void Trilogy are a bit ambitious for the beginner to intermediate SF reader…When it comes to Peter F Hamilton I routinely recommend his standalone book Fallen Dragon as a good place to dip your toe into the water with Peter F Hamilton and your recommendation of Light Chaser is also a good place to start as well…😊❤️📚👍🏻
Have you checked out the Culture books by Iain M. Banks? There's more or less 9 novels (one isn't implicitly a Culture novel, just takes place in the same setting) and a collection of short stories. Also I highly recommend the Polity books by Neal Asher, the first being Prador Moon, published in 2006. He's written four different book series and 7 standalone novels in the Polity universe. Both Banks and Asher are among the best science fiction authors I've come across in decades in terms of just pure enjoyment.
And hands down, if I could pick ANY fictional setting to actually live my life in, it would be the Culture no question! Those people have it made!
I have them but i only read player of games… and havent read neal asher yet
if you want a challenge in scifi, i recommend "The Golden Oecumene " by John C. Wright. these are a challenging read but the possibilities exposed are simply fascinating.
Wow never heard of it
At 3:39 you showed a drawing of a little guy handcuffed to another person. I think it's a drawing of Ezhov - a terrible NKVD boss (1936-1938) who killed thousands and sent to GULAG millions. He was a rather short guy and people called him a "bloody dwarf" for his atrocious actions against humanity in 1937.
Right! And he was preceded in that position by another nasty piece of work, Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda. As I am sure you know Stalin became disillusioned by them both and they were executed in turn. Dark, dark times!
It was a diabolical carousel of executioners who were executed by each of their successors until Stalin died @@mikesnyder1788
I know next to nothing about Deathstalker, so thank you.
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That's a really good series! Highly recommend it! But Deathstalker does not even come close to his really good series of books about the supernatural detective John Taylor.
I KNEW I had heard of Simon R Green!! He wrote the John Taylor series! Both my wife and a bunch of friends of ours were all HUGE John Taylor fans. Think the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher but British. I know it isn't science fiction, but they are FANTASTIC!!
Ooh didnt know about this…. Thank u
I feel like David Feintuch is a missed author in these compilations. He wrote Seafort's Saga, 7 book in all, then he died, and the books are somewhat repetitive in formula, but oh man did I love it when I was a kid. And no one talks about him!
Never heard of him…. Will look into it
Yep. Agreed. I bought them as they came out and liked them a lot.
23:14 - Delaney's 'Nova' is also good, with some Mobi Dick references. Those 60's novels are his best
Hmm 🧐 will look into it
Many has mentioned Hamilton and Raynolds, and that is some of the best. Simmons Hyperion as well. And Tchaikovskys Children of... and The final architecture I would say. Baxters Xeelee is some wierd shit as well.
Haha 🤣 good description
Another good two space-opera mysteries by Peter Hamilton are *Fallen Dragon* and *The Nano Flower*.
Wow hadnt heard of that second one!! Thanks 🙏
I would also recommend the Belesarius series by Eric Flint and David Drake. Time travel at its best.
Hadnt heard of this! Thank u
@@secretsauceofstorycraft The interesting thing is that it's based on the life of the actual 6th century Byzantine general Belesarius, one of the greatest military minds of all time, and for the first book follows actual history.
You don't like Cordelia?! 😅
I'll toss out a series recommendation for The Uplift books by David Brin, and a standalone rec for Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds.
Ooh ive been eyeing pushing ice for awhile. Consider that added to my list!! And i own brin’s books but just havent prioritized them- i should work on that
Good Grief, You didn't even mention the Lensman or Skylark of Space series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. They are the foundation of of Space Opera. One Space Opera series overlooked in the English speaking world is Perry Rhodan . This is a German SF series that had a run in the U.S. in the 70's. Started in about 1960 and still going strong. over 3,000 titles not including spin off series.
Yeah i haven’t gotten to those yet! I can only recommend books i’ve read.
Read everything by McMaster Bujold, including her fantasy. She’s one of the best writers out there, period.
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2:13 - Heh, live long and prosper! 😀
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There is a third book in the Motie series. J R Pournelle (daughter of Jerry Pournelle) wrote an authorized 3rd book, Outies in 2011. I have it but have not read it, so quality is unknown.
Yeah i saw that… but i dont count books not written by original author(s). Like the rama books… but im glas u mentioned it!! If u ever read it let me know!!
And yes, the character of Bester on Babylon 5 is named after Alfred Bester.
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A favorite classic I can recommend is Patterns of Chaos by Colin Kapp.
Wow not heard of that one! Thanks
Any of the series by David Weber, including the Honorverse and Safehold books.
I did finally get to honor harrington!!!
A really good newer book in the genre is “The Deep Man”. I’d say it’s a little more fun and easy to read than like Dune (which I also love)
Ooh ill check it out- thank you!
Is it by mersault??
@@secretsauceofstorycraftyep!
3:13 - Noooo! Cordelia's (and Aral's) story is as important as Miles' (and provide the frame for much of Miles' story). The only exception might be the final novel in the series, _Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen_ (and perhaps the kind of prequel, _Felling Free_ - you may skip those.)
Hahah but its NOT as enjoyable. It matters more AFTER you fall in love with Miles….
Great list but I’m so sad the Red Rising series didn’t make it!! It’s my favorite book series, and it legitimately gets better with every book.
Haha!! It is soo good!! But i thought folks would have already heard of that one and hobestly there are sooo many good ones I didnt include - it was hard to make the list
For space operas can I recommend virtually anything from Peter Hamilton. Be warned though, all his series a big reads. I am sure he gets paid by the pound rather than the word for his work lol. He has a degree in astrophysics, so the environments he sets his story in are very authentic. For more old school definitely Larry Niven, anything set in Know Space or part of the Ringworld series will scratch the Space Opera itch lol
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I loved the Honor Harrington series by David Weber for space opera. Maybe I just liked the idea of a female protaganist.
I read the first two and loved her myself! I thought about putting it on the list but had to end the video somewhere! Thanks for adding her in the comments tho- a good one fore sure
For Hamilton: Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained, and The Night's Dawn Trilogy. Reynolds: The Prefect.
I strongly disagree on skipping the Cordelia books in the Vorkosigan Saga, they are really good
I misspoke I think- I dont necessarily think folks should skip them, but I wouldnt START with them…. But I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them!
Wow, you listed classic space opera trilogies and didn't find space for the _Ringworld_ series by Larry Niven nor the _Gateway_ (or Heechee) series by Frederick Pohl. And all space opera begins with the _Lensman_ series by E.E. Doc Smith.
Yeah it was hard to narrow down the list. I could have literally gone on for days with how many good books I didn’t include and still not be done, but I doubt anyone would have wanted to watch that 😛 But I do hope to fo more videos like this!
I really liked the Bob books 1-3 . . . 4 just really spent way too much time with the otters. Foundation was . . . responsible along with Enders game for getting me hooked in science fiction. Cant decide about empire of silence. The character looks like the games Destiny / 2
Haha i never noticed the destiny reference!!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft every time I see that cover I hear Lord Shaxx
i've gotta read the stars my destination again i heard they were going to make a feature, thank God they didnt
Yeah im not sure how that would go…. Would be interesting to see
Thank you!👍👍👍📚🤖🚀
💜 🔥 🔥 Anytime
The forever war from haldeman
No mention of Expanse ?
Nah- everyone already knows about it!
Gotta go but I'm glad I found this channel. 😽
Welcome!!
Perhaps not exactly a good match for this video in particular, but I think Starfish by Peter Watts is a far superior novel to Blindsight (maybe a bit of a hot take). I enjoyed Blindsight and all its big ideas, but I rarely see any booktubers talking about anything else he has written.
I enjoyed his novella freeze frame revolution!! U read it?? I already read starfish but it felt similar themes to blindsight for me…. Maybe i need to reread
Becky chambers trilogy space opera very good...
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You're going to recommend "Foundation" without mentioning Isaac Asimov's recommended chronological reading order according to his published notes?
Here's the entire timeline according to Isaac Asimov:
I, Robot (1950)
Caves of Steel (1954)
The Naked Sun (1957)
The Robots of Dawn (1983)
Robots and Empire (1985)
The Currents of Space (1952)
The Stars, Like Dust (1951)
Pebble in the Sky (1950)
Prelude to Foundation (1988)
Forward the Foundation (1993)
Foundation (1951)
Foundation and Empire (1952)
Second Foundation (1953)
Foundation's Edge (1982)
Foundation and Earth (1986)
Good info… too late for me i’m afraid 😝.
Great list. Great video. Love how many books you included
Thank you!
Some of my favorite series are written by John Ringo. Start with March up country, in my opinion.
Is there such a thing as Zombie Opera?
There is 'Live Free or Die' and 'Citadel'. But there is that almost over the top Ringo Jingoism.
I have “ there will b dragons” is that a good one to start with???
@@secretsauceofstorycraft
That Ringoism is outside my experience.
I also like March Up Country, I've read it several times
@@RosLanta It's crazy how much fun it is to re- read favorite books, it's like putting on a favorite sweater or comforter for your brain!
Vorkosigan saga!!!
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Gibraltar Earth (1999) by Michael McCollum
Humans from Earth accidentally capture an alien space ship after destroying another that attacked for no reason. Humans are up against an alien empire that does not know they exist. Mouse versus elephant.
Oooh intriguing 🧐
What? You finished the “classic” section without mentioning the “Lensmen” series by E. E. Smith?
Meh. 😑 not exactly my favorite…
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Well, it's definitely space opera! Also one of the first.
No EE Doc Smith Skylark series? Oof.
Nope, not one i’ve read yet :)
I'll have to get back to this video in 2024 (out of control TBR) and checkout some of these titles .
Gaunt's Ghosts / Tanith First and Only by Dan Abnett is a great SCi-Fi military space opera.
5k subscribers in Jan 2024?
Ooh 😯 will check out
I needed medical intervention to raise me from the coma i fell into reading A Memory Called Empire. You couldn't pay me to read a sequel.
Ah sad to hear that
@@secretsauceofstorycraft 😂😂😂
Unfortunately the Hugo award has been corrupted as of late, so it is no longer the bellwether of quality/merit that it once was.
Im sad to say i agree with you - its too bad
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I am happy that we see eye to eye, but I too am sad about it. Perhaps it will be righted in the future.
A. Book never mentioned -cities in flight-James blish. No better sci fi.
Havent read it but would love to get ahold of a copy-- any suggestions?
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Amazon has it. Reading it you’ll see the use of ideas appearing elsewhere.
Well, Bio of a Space Tyrant is only 10 books and is a serious Classic and one of if not the first with a Hispanic as the lead Protagonist. And is out of print, that's how old it is before Phone Kindle Books. Yes, read Both your first pics Loved CJ....and yes Cards is an exceptional writer and the books great, Card however is a vicious homophobe...and yes read Mote, didn't care for it.
I hear you on your critiques but ive not heard this out of print work! I wonder if i can still get ahold of it….. hmmm
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Our main character has a Twin Sister and I would not be surprised if Card thought of this series in relation to Enders Game. Book #2 was lambasted as too sexual, but I found it like poetry. But my recollection is also 35-40 yrs old. I think it was a mid to late 70's series. It's what started my juices flowing. And Piers Anthony wasn't noted for his military sci-fi he wrote fantasy books.
The Book I'm going to recommend isn't a Space Opera it's meant for your Stabd alones Scifi. L. Ron Hubbard... who erroneously credited with the Religion Scientology. Which from what read isn't correct. Ron 😂 hated everything basically, the Catholic Church, Banks, CEO's Governments, Credit Cards, you name it he hated it. According ti ny slight reading he said he could creat a religion people, something else he disliked, would flock to and created a treates on Scientology which after his death his son brought into reality. That said, he wrote one of, I think and so fo a lot of others, best Sci-fi books "Battlefield Earth." A book who others in Scifi literature and films barrowed from. The vasic premise is after nuclear war we are reduced back to basically to the old west and what's left of humanity lives in isolated sheltered valleys around the planet and from there the story evolves through Alien invasion. Its close to 1000 pages. I liked it so much I reread it every year for 10 yrs.
Hmmm i havent thought about this book before-- thanks for bringing it to my attention
You have got to get serious when you do hard SF. Poul Anderson had a degree in physics. However we now know that the Big Crunch theory of the universe upon which Tau Zero is based is WRONG. No Hubble telescope in 1970. It was determined in the 90s that the rate of expansion of the universe is increasing. You will have to work on those physics chops dear.
And what the hell is with you and Cordelia? Barrayar was the first Great book in the Vorkosigan Saga. You got this hate on for red heads? Women! You disapprove of decapitation? 😂
🤣 i dunno 🤷🏼♀️ i liked barrayar much better than shards… but warriors apprentice (and miles!) is where its at!!
I have several books by p anderson but i have yet to get to them …. Soon i hope
@@secretsauceofstorycraft
Brainwave then The High Crusade or The High Crusade then Brainwave?
How can you claim to be talking about space opera and not mention Iain M Banks and Alastair Reynolds? Unbelievable.
Hahaha havent gotten to them yet :)
Read the _Foundation_ trilogy years ago, never liked it.
That is a bummer, but its not for everyone- no worries!! There Are lots of great scifi books out there
"Tau Zero" is NOT a good book; when you reread it you will see. The science is good, but the characters are really unrealistic. They are cartoonish and their actions/reactions are just not believable. IMO.
I believe u- i sorta rushed thru that book.
Agreed.
The Stars My Destination is not even remotely space opera. You should read it by all means, but it is not space opera. The Mote in God's Eye is just a 19th century naval romance.
There are as many opinions as stars in the sky :)
For those who aren’t super snobby, highly recommend Saga graphic novel series for sweet space opera in more palatable 1 1/2 hour reading chunks - with amazing artwork to boot!
Yes!!! I almost did include it… good reminder!!!
My favorite space opera series is one that almost noone mentions, and I think the reason why isthat it was written almost entirely with fantasy tropes.
I'm referring to the gaea trilogy by John Varley.
I also like his lightning series.
R u talking about this book:: titan that i just picked up!?!? I hope sooo 🤞