Favourite space operas. 1) Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. There are different colonized world, but no faster-than light travel. Ships can travel near light speed, so relativity kicks in big time. 2) David Brin's Uplift Wars series. My favourite book is from this series: Startide Rising. Mr. Brin's character development gets you to really empathise with the characters, even though a lot of them are uplifted dolphins.
I just finished Leviathan Wakes and I absolutely LOVED it. I am reading the 2nd one now. Can’t recommend it enough. I’m reading ahead and then watching the series up to where I am. It really helps me visualize.
One of my favorite space operas is David Weber's Honor Harrington series. The main problem with these books is that there are close to 20 books in the entire series. With that being said, it's worth it to start reading the series. The series focuses on, initially, with the career of Commander Honor Harington. The first book is "On Basilisk Station.
I have read the entire HH series, which means I have put a fair amount of coin in Weber’s pocket, so I feel free to offer commentary/criticism. While Weber has some interesting ideas and his descriptions of space battles are quite good, his characterization of his heroine is pretty much on the level of a fifteen year old adolescent who has never been kissed. She becomes a caricature out of a comic book fantasy: she is smarter than everyone else (especially her superiors), she is beautiful (of course), knows (and frequently has to use) some sort of made up martial art (everybody loves a fighting girl,), carries a snakey cat-like animal with her (‘ cause that’s just so cute), can get out of any scrape, and has a sex life that reads like the author’s juvenile fantasy wet-dreams. The series is also very hard right-wing, so be ready for a lot of “unbridled capitalism and rule by monarchy is good (even for poor people) but socialism is bad, bad, bad and makes people do evil things.” The books are entertaining, but don’t expect literary art or deep philosophical content.
honor Harrington series is one of my favorites, it really infuriates me how they keep taking existing franchises and try to gender swap The lead roles from male to female while they could have brought Honor Harrington to the screen as the badass she is. another series with a strong female lead is "Skyward" series. The Ember war by Richard fox is a military sci fi that i really enjoyed comedy scifi Expeditionary force series by Craig Allanson The forever & galaxy in flames sets by Craig Robertson
@@cedarwaxwing3509 You might have read a different HH series. In fact most of your criticisms of Honor are incorrect. She is not smarter then her superiors. Just some of them, primarily in the early books. But there are many superiors that she respects and trusts. She is not beautiful, and this is noted in the novels. She has a striking and commanding presence, but is not beautiful. As for her sex life, in a series that is 20 books long, she has two partners. One is murdered early on in their relationship. The second is more complicated as her partner is married to a woman who is completely paralyzed and has been unable to have any kind of intimate relationship for decades. And Nimitz is not snaky. He has 6 legs and is covered in fur. He is in no way snaky. As for the political systems, they are modeled after England and France during the Napoleonic wars. England had (and still has) a constitutional monarchy while France had the French Revolution and horrors of The Reign of Terror. In fact the leader of Haven was named Rob S. Pierre after Robespierre and Honor Harrington was based on Horatio Hornblower. But yes, the books are supposed not supposed to be deeply philosophical. That's not why most people read space opera.
I read Dune when I was in high school. It was the most complex book I'd read up to that point. I think I had to read it three times before it all started hanging together in my head.
Some recency bias here. As an old woman, I have to say that C.S. Friedman's "In Conquest Born" is the greatest space opera I've ever read. Other books are great, but they are not *operatic* in the way of In Conquest Born. Spanning many worlds and a third of a galaxy of space, with ship to ship fighter combat, military themes, political intrigue, high tech bioweapons, psi powers, intelligent ice wolves, gladiator combat and more, In Conquest Born manages to grip you with its eternal focus on two and only two protagonists, one from a relentlessly violent, sadistic culture in search of a way to reduce his race's belligerence, another from a culture that prefers peace at every turn, which seems to maintain a military only to prevent being overrun by the opposing, endlessly aggressive empire, who nonetheless is driven to murder. The only way to preserve her peace loving culture seems, to her, to forsake it. Yet each empire has done terrible things to their client worlds and to their enemies, and each has done very good things. The evil empire is a world full of art, and the beneficent empire is a world full of secrets and hypocrisy. The two protagonists, like their home cultures, each do dreadful things (including murder) and they each do merciful, even positive things. The resolution of their personal conflict sets up an epilogue which explores how their empires, and theirselves, were set upon their opposing paths. The giant scope with personal stakes, but a complicated hero and a complicated villain (and the uncertainty which is which) make this the most operatic of all space operas. There are many books I love, and I don't have to have my space faring sci fi written in operatic tones, but if you want space opera, there has never been a better one than Friedman's In Conquest Born.
Old Man's War is one of my favorite SF books of all time--cool premise, great character focus, alien battles, and just the right dose of humor. I like a lot of Scalzi's books but IMHO I don't think he has yet to top it. On the other hand, I tried starting Leviathan Wakes not once, not twice, but three times and I just couldn't get through it. I even watched a few episodes of the TV series and it still didn't do anything for me. In any case, keep up with the great reviews.
Thanks. And yes Old Man's War is definitely one of Scalzi's best. Too bad you can't get into the Expanse, but I totally respect no book is going to work for everyone
Originally, 'Space Opera' was a derogatory phrase used to keep Science Fictiton in the ghetto of genre fiction considered less-than-respectable like adventure, mystery, westerns and romance (by the association of less-than-acceptable with pornography) by members of the 'serious' academic and publishing literary establishments. The 'silver age' writers of the sixties adopted it to describe a lot of the pulp writers they grew up reading and intended to surplant. The most prominent and well known of these early writters was E. E. (Doc) Smith, author of the Lensman and Skylark series, who while a cut above the majority of those early authors was raised and educated during the Edwardian Era. Many other commenters here have already mentiond him. The writers of the 'Golden Age' of the forties and fifties like Asimov, Clarke Herbert, and Heinlein which a lot of young people now think of as 'classic science fiction' were never really considered space opera, as their writing was on the whole a cut above the pulp writers in terms of character developement and they used their fiction to explore a wide variety of concepts extrapolating the effect of technology and new environmets on the human condition until science fiction as a whole began to be thought of by it's supporters as the literature of "What If?" "New Wave'' writers like Vonegut, Ellison, LeGuin, and so many others were successful in breaking out of the genre appelation and garnering critical aclaim and a wider audience were more concerned with innovative storytelling, exploring different stylistic choices and examining sociological and psychologic themes which were then in vogue than the Golden Age writers. Their success was capitalized on by their their conteporaries and the paperback boom in science fiction really took off, with reprints of earlier classics and work by new authors, until it was actually near to dominating publishing as a whole in the seventies and eighties. This is the period of the expanding novel when writers (paid by the word) began inflating the size of their works. Then "Star Wars" happened. After that, everyone was on the bandwagon and science fiction began the current mass infiltration and near dominance of popular culture. During this period of wider acceptance, 'space opera' (and "Star Wars" was definitely space opera, as well as a succesor to the serialized adventure movies that inspired Lucas and Speilberg) became a classifcation for the part of the genre that basically borrowed common tropes like starship drives and blasters as setting but whose writting focused on drama, interpersonal relationships and romance. Just like the original "Soap Operas" which were radio and televison dramas, (typically sponsered by makers of consumer goods like laundry detergent and cleaning products as a very effective form of early mass media advertising) that the 'intelligensia' and those with 'refined tastes' liked to look down their noses at. There are many entries in this section of our genre that have exceptionally high writing standards like Lois McMMasters Bujold's Vorkosigian stories or Miller and Lee's Liaden universe, so the term gradually lost it's original derogatory inference and has become just another descriptor of a sub-genre within science fiction, like military sci-fi, dystopias, or post-apoctalyptic stories. The current use of the term from what I'm seeing on RUclips seems to have evolved again into meaning any science fiction that has an established "universe" set in a civilization that encompases space travel outside of the local neighborhood. I've even seen "Dune" described as Space Opera! What's amazing is that there are authors like Poul Anderson who have careers that span the entire progression. He has writing encompassing two sequential political organizations as well as an Empire (the Dominic Flandry. stories: James Bond in space created years before Ian Fleming ever set pen to paper). Do yourself a favor and read his fantasy novel "Operation Chaos". There are many others like Robert Silverberg and L. Sprague DeCamp that also span the pulp to modren era. Don't limit yourself to what is currently being published.
As a lifelong fan of science fiction, I consider good space opera to be the likes of E.E, "Doc" Smith and Cordwainer Smith, a high adventure story that plays fast and loose with the science. Like Star Wars. While it is quite an adventure and a great character story, The Expanse is very firmly rooted in the known laws of science which to my mind makes it excellent science fiction.
Thanks for the recs. And you are absolutely right. While The Expanse doesn't spend much time on scientific explanation, it is still very grounded in a very possible future
As I watched this video, I purchased 3 of the books on your description alone. I'll let you know my thoughts when done. I do recommend, Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series. If there is an epic space opera series, this is it. Cheers.
My space opera tastes involve escapism and grand scales. They revolve around E, E. (Doc) Smith's Lensman and Skylark Series. Main Lensman series is six books. The first book takes us from pre-Earth days through World War 3! The sky is no limit for the next 5 books. The series features the worst villains and the most capable protagonists of my acquaintance. The Skylark series is on an even grander scale.
@@TheShadesofOrange Thank you for your reply. Please be aware the books were first published in the 1920's and 30's and have some old-fashioned stereotypes that would not be welcomed by many today. Also, the writing quality seems to range widely from juvenile to Hugo-worthy. Still, for me, all that is dwarfed by the sweeping extent of the adventures and combatants.
Thanks Rachel - a lot of those were new to me. Can I suggest The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is technically the second book in a series, but is the first from the pov of the main character in the series. It’s great if you like a story where intelligence overcomes brawn. Extremely well written, funny, sad, great.
You might want to look at the Union-Alliance books by C.J. Cherryh. It's mostly not a series, but actually a constellation, with excellent interpersonal (and inter-species) interaction. One sub-series is the Chanur books, with the non-humans being the focus. Also, Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy, about an AI who was a ship having to survive in a single human body/mind. One of the best recent space operas.
I've been DYING to read Leviathan Wakes for a while now, but for some reason, maybe the length and size of the series, it intimidates me. Although I adore reading sci-fi, i'm always afraid of not understanding the novels, which is ridiculous because it's never actually happened, but such is the mind 😂 Definitely adding some of these to my wishlist, Old Man's War sounds so good.
Oooh yes PLEASE read The Expanse. I've pushed it on so many readers and everyone agrees that it's very easy to get into... deapite the size of the books
Me: I don't need more books, I have to lower my tbr for next year Also me: Adds every book in this video to my tbr Seriously thank you so much for these video because I always wanted to get into sci-fi books but have always been intimidated by them
I recommend some old favorites: Bio of a Space Tyrant - Piers Anthony Voyage of the Space Beagle - A. E. van Vogt Forbidden Borders Trilogy - W Michael Gear
A space opera I read last year I can recommend is Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series - it contains some fascinating sci-fi ideas and elements of Lovecraftian horror.
I appreciated your video and then read all the comments. I'm an older reader of SF, left that for a while, engaged in different reading projects from time to time and then decided to read what was being rated or ranked as the best SF today -- lots of depressing stuff out there and i just recently decided to clear my head by looking for something closer to what I enjoyed in the early days (adding, here, my appreciated for the oft recommended Lensman series, sorry). I appreciated the purpose of this video, offering some books that provide an easy entrance into SF. Coming to you after depressing myself reading several depressing SF novels, "easy" sounded good to me. I listed your recommendations, none of which I had read, and then read through the comments and listed several more books I might read. Again, well done.
Glad this was interesting. Since filming this I've read more of the classics and would absolutely recommend them. But for me, I had to start with some of these modern points to give me an entry point into sci fi
Currently reading The Wrong Stars right now and loving it! Was really surprised to see it on this list. Picked it up on a last second whim at the bookstore for like 7 bucks and couldn’t be more pleased. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. I highly recommend it, especially for someone entering the sci-fi realm!
The Greg Mandel trilogy by Peter F Hamilton, the first being Mindstar Rising, an ex-army psi operative turned private detective investigates corporate sabotage. The David Weber Honor Harrington series in military space opera.
Just Bought escaping exodus after watching, the whole idea of huge space animal corpse as a ship blows my mind and i cant wait to read and let you know what i think. I probably would have never heard this author or book with out this video. Thx
I loved Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga (comprised of Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained). I also enjoyed his Night’s Dawn trilogy but didn’t find it quite as captivating. I’ll also add my 2 cents in to recommend James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series.
The Granddaddy of Space Opera series is The Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith still in print by NESFA Press. For more modern Space Opera series I would recommend the Honor Harrington series by David Weber
Slight correction... the FIRST space opera book was Smith's "Skylark of Space" which was written between 1915 and 1921, published about 1928. From the success of the first 2-3 books of the Skylark series, he went on to write the Lensman series.
When I hear the phrase "Space Opera" I think David Weber's Honorverse series with about 20 novels with Honor Harrington as the protagonist and various offshoots.
Love, love, love Leviathan Wakes (and the Expanse TV series too)!! Also, I've never heard of Escaping Exodus before, but holy smokes, that's a gorgeous cover.
How about Alastair Reynolds? I like Alastair Reynolds a lot. Also, Iain M Banks and Peter F Hamilton. And did I mention Alastair Reynolds? UK space opera's the most epic!!
Uh… I’m really not trying to be a jerk with this post, but (yeah, there’s always one, huh?)… Not a one of the books you suggest are older than 2005. Though they may qualify as “Space Opera” under the modern (much more loose) classification, they are far from embodying the style that birthed the genre. I refer you to E.E. “Doc” Smith - considered the father of the Space Opera - and his two great series: The Skylark novels and the Lensman novels. Volume 1 of the Skylark books, The Skylark of Space, is the very book that is pointed to as the first great space opera and the poster child for what the genre exemplifies. Telling people space opera is fun is a good thing. Not pointing them to where the genre began, seemingly avoiding anything older than a couple of decades (when the genre is nearly 90 years old) is doing them - to me - a gross disservice. If you haven’t read them, I highly recommend them because they are quintessential space opera.
You don't sound like a jerk at all. I think you made valid points. In response, I will say that this video was filmed nearly two years ago and I've been working to fill in the gaps of my own reading with more classics. I appreciate your specific recommendations and will certainly look them up. I also never intended this video to be a "quintessential list" of the iconic space opera works. Instead this was a list of the space opera books I read when I first got into the science fiction genre. I think I am now better prepared to appreciate the classics after getting a tastes with these lighter, more modern reads. A lot of my audience doesn't read science fiction at all so I'm always trying to push them to try something in order to get them hooked on the genre. (And then hopefully dive into the older works like I am now doing)
So so excited to finally be picking up Leviathan Wakes this month! This was a fantastic video, I had my goodreads open while watching and just added every single recommendation to my TBR 😂
I recommend David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series. Emense scope, great character building. It will inspire rage and crying (I know I've done both). Political intrigue, religious wars. A galazy encompassing arena and all human participants (no alien races)..
I've been reading scifi since I was about 10 -- more than 50 years ago -- and love space opera. The Honor Harrington series is one of my favorites because of its epic scope, its quite frequent and superbly written battle scenes, the well-drawn characters, the sophisticated and nuanced political, and religious elements Weber weaves in, and last but certainly not least, treecats, who are a vital part of the storyline. (Treecats are six-limbed, intelligent, empathic 'cats' who bond with select humans -- Honor being one -- and become their constant companions.) I would also recommend the Safehold series by Weber. Fair warning, especially to newbies: Weber can sometimes go into quite long digressions in which he provides a lot of details that aren't really vital to the story, so on a first read you may want to skip over them.
Thanks for the recommendations....... I probably know after an hour if I'm going to like a book or not, if I add those hours up, I've probably wasted days, weeks or even years reading books I don't like!
I can understand your selection to introduce space opera. I have two suggestions, (a) space opera is never complete without the mention of Iain M. Banks (b) in recent times, I have really enjoyed John Scalzi's 'The Interdependency Trilogy.'
@@TheShadesofOrange... finish it, Scalzi has outdone himself. It is better than Old Man's War Series. The audiobook with narration by Wil Wheaton is fabulous.
Hi Rachel Excellent video as usual. I know you are speaking to beginners in this one and although I am far from that there still things of interest for me here. Leviathan Wakes and the rest of the series are superb thats a great pick here. I read all the epic Space Opera around but don't know many of these.
I've actually read all the books on this list except Old Man's War. I would HIGHLY suggest "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini." It's not only a space opera but pretty much defines "go big or go home." It's a hell of a first book in a space opera series.
If you havent i definitely recommend Pandora's Star Book by Peter F. Hamilton really great world building long but enjoyable also The fear saga" goes into what would happened if we were warned of an incomming alien attacks years away. Very political but good
Honor Harrington by David Weber is basically Horatio Hornblower in space, mixed with a bit of Cold War military technology thriller stuff. It's essentially a British Empire in space, oddly allied with a sort of Kaiser's German Empire, against an enemy that is a combination of French Revolution and the Soviet Union. Fun, yes, and entertaining, for however long one can handle that sort of thing. I read several of those books myself.
I always look for a good space book recommendation, sometimes its your usual stuff thats not so interesting or somewhat u already either read or watched a movie. I'm glad you posted this video.. Most of these i havent read and picked few on my Space Tbr..🌠 Yet I'm so happy u have the old mans war on this list, I'm on second book the ghost brigades. I love John and Jane's character, this is such a unique and interesting plotline. Loving it. 😊
@Arkapravo Bhaumik mentioned the "We are Legion" in the Bobiverse somewhere in the comments. Bobiverse is really fun, something about the Bob(s) reminds me of Tom Hanks when he was doing comedies in the 80s. It's not as dense and serious as a lot of Scifi can be. Lots of pop culture references and humorous situations embedded in larger science fiction thriller/drama. - Also thanks for the recommendations, without spoilers!
If you like older series, try these ones: The Sten Adventures by Chris Bunch and Allan Cole The Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen Three From The Legion by Jack WIlliamson
I’ve just finished the expeditionary force series of books by Craig Alanson, I’ve listened on audible and the narration is done magnificently by RC Bray. It’s 15 books long but we’ll worth it.. it sounds like it would tick a lot of your boxes
Great recommendations! Have you read Yoshiki Tanaka's 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes'? It's a space opera from Japan that's recently been translated into English.
@@TheShadesofOrange It's from the late 80s and its also known as the 'Star Wars' of Japan. It's more military sci-fi and it explores political themes. :)
I would say there's no need to read the whole Expanse series. I didn't think that books 7, 8 , & 9 added much value compared to the length of the books. One can read as many of the first six books as desired and have it be a worthwhile use of reading time. Character development was somewhat slow in the books. I think the TV series was able to develop the characters a bit faster thanks to them being visible.
Just ordered a copy of Roboteer. Never heard of it till you mentioned it here. I just stumbled across this video and channel now by sheer fluke. You have a new subscriber now! ;) Thoroughly enjoyed this video!
@@TheShadesofOrange you're welcome. I'll let you know how I found it when I get round to reading it haha. I have a bit of a backlog but I might jump the queue with this one 😁
I have been wanting to pick up Old Man's War. I have heard SUCH good things about it! I just picked up Leviathan Wakes and plan to read it in October so I am super excited!
Another great video. As you know, I love Space Opera, too. You have given me a few new options. Thank you. Unfortunately, the options that I wanted to give you...you had already read (some you like and other's you didn't). Thank you for making these types of videos.
Thank you for this and for explaining the difference between 'space opera' and other sci-fi space stories. The two books that interest me the most are 'Old Man's War' and 'Escaping Exodus'.
I've heard a few people make that argument. The authors have stated in interviews that I've read that they weren't too worried about the science and described their series as soft science fiction. But I do know what you are saying
@@TheShadesofOrange it is actually my first space opera. I mostly read thriller, horror and extreme horror. But recently I really got interested in sci fi and this one pops up everywhere, so I will give it a shot.
"The Wrong Stars" was a fun read - and a trilogy that didn't require a big commitment. There's the "Weird Space" series by Eric Brown and Una McCormack, another fast-paced space opera series with shorter, easily digestible novels. "Retribution Falls", is book one in "Tales of the Ketty Jay" series, which is sort of a steampunk fantasy series that wonderfully reminds me of the old "Firefly" sci-fi tv show and its Serenity crew. None of these books require much time to read so if you don't like 'em ... Thanks for the mention of Roboteer and Escaping Exodus. I'm intrigued! The Expanse series and Scalzi's Old Man's War series have long been favs. But I'll admit, I haven't progressed past Expanse Bk. 5. I guess I now prefer trilogies.
Ooh thanks for all the recommendations. I will definitely look them up. I loved Firefly so I'm always on board for any books with similar vibes. And yes, I like recommending The Wrong Stars because it doesn't have the 9 book commitment of the Expanse.
@@TheShadesofOrange Point of interest I noticed there are now a series of ‘Firefly’ novels, set between events of Firefly series on box and ‘Serenity’ feature film. I haven’t read any yet but I’m definitely going to read the first of them
Loved your suggestions! Of the ones you mention that I have read, all are favorites. Looks like I have a bunch of new series to check out- thanks! Since you like books about AI ships, have you read the Culture novels by Banks? How about “Ancillary Justice”?
Thanks, that was an enjoyable watch. I agree about Old Man’s War - very good. I also enjoyed the next three, and the Collapsing Empire series too. I’ll check out the others you mention. My accessible recommendations - Peter F Hamilton - The Commonwealth Saga. Pandora’s Star is possibly my single favourite space opera novel. From the great opening, there’s a lot going on with a large cast of diverse characters but it’s quite easy to get into and if you enjoy it, Judas Unchained completes the saga. He wrote further series set in this universe as well as other unrelated series - all really good but I’d start with the ones above. As a standalone read, I also liked Fallen Dragon in particular. Jack McDevitt - Infinity Beach is a very readable standalone - another of my favourites. He also did two unrelated series - the Alex Benedict ones (he’s an antiquities dealer) and the Priscilla Hutchins/Academy ones (she’s a pilot). McDevitt can be a little formulaic sometimes but I’ve read the lot at least twice over the years and enjoyed them all. Alastair Reynolds - for accessibility I would recommend starting with House Of Suns and Pushing Ice. If you like these two unrelated standalones, then I’d try Revelation Space - his first and the first of a trilogy. Chasm City was a decent standalone set in the same universe. Simon Haynes - The Hal Spacejock series - these are more light-hearted and humorous than any of the others I’ve listed, but I’ve read several and they’re really good fun. Finally, Gary Gibson’s Stealing Light is very good, and I’ve read the next two in the Shoal sequence too.
@@TheShadesofOrange You're welcome - if and when you get round to it, it would be great to hear if you liked any of them. Hamilton and Reynolds are both pretty well-known, at least in the UK, but I've never come across anyone else who's read McDevitt, so it would be nice to introduce someone to him because I think he's really good.
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Favourite space operas. 1) Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. There are different colonized world, but no faster-than light travel. Ships can travel near light speed, so relativity kicks in big time. 2) David Brin's Uplift Wars series. My favourite book is from this series: Startide Rising. Mr. Brin's character development gets you to really empathise with the characters, even though a lot of them are uplifted dolphins.
I still need to read both of those
I just finished Leviathan Wakes and I absolutely LOVED it. I am reading the 2nd one now. Can’t recommend it enough. I’m reading ahead and then watching the series up to where I am. It really helps me visualize.
I'm so happy you are enjoying the series
One of my favorite space operas is David Weber's Honor Harrington series. The main problem with these books is that there are close to 20 books in the entire series. With that being said, it's worth it to start reading the series. The series focuses on, initially, with the career of Commander Honor Harington. The first book is "On Basilisk Station.
I definitely need to get into that one! I'm actually happy the series is so long because I'm always on the hunt for more books to read
@@TheShadesofOrange worst part of that series is Honor Harington, the rest of it is fantastic
I have read the entire HH series, which means I have put a fair amount of coin in Weber’s pocket, so I feel free to offer commentary/criticism. While Weber has some interesting ideas and his descriptions of space battles are quite good, his characterization of his heroine is pretty much on the level of a fifteen year old adolescent who has never been kissed. She becomes a caricature out of a comic book fantasy: she is smarter than everyone else (especially her superiors), she is beautiful (of course), knows (and frequently has to use) some sort of made up martial art (everybody loves a fighting girl,), carries a snakey cat-like animal with her (‘ cause that’s just so cute), can get out of any scrape, and has a sex life that reads like the author’s juvenile fantasy wet-dreams. The series is also very hard right-wing, so be ready for a lot of “unbridled capitalism and rule by monarchy is good (even for poor people) but socialism is bad, bad, bad and makes people do evil things.” The books are entertaining, but don’t expect literary art or deep philosophical content.
honor Harrington series is one of my favorites,
it really infuriates me how they keep taking existing franchises and try to gender swap The lead roles from male to female while they could have brought Honor Harrington to the screen as the badass she is.
another series with a strong female lead is "Skyward" series.
The Ember war by Richard fox is a military sci fi that i really enjoyed
comedy scifi
Expeditionary force series by Craig Allanson
The forever & galaxy in flames sets by Craig Robertson
@@cedarwaxwing3509 You might have read a different HH series. In fact most of your criticisms of Honor are incorrect. She is not smarter then her superiors. Just some of them, primarily in the early books. But there are many superiors that she respects and trusts. She is not beautiful, and this is noted in the novels. She has a striking and commanding presence, but is not beautiful. As for her sex life, in a series that is 20 books long, she has two partners. One is murdered early on in their relationship. The second is more complicated as her partner is married to a woman who is completely paralyzed and has been unable to have any kind of intimate relationship for decades. And Nimitz is not snaky. He has 6 legs and is covered in fur. He is in no way snaky.
As for the political systems, they are modeled after England and France during the Napoleonic wars. England had (and still has) a constitutional monarchy while France had the French Revolution and horrors of The Reign of Terror. In fact the leader of Haven was named Rob S. Pierre after Robespierre and Honor Harrington was based on Horatio Hornblower.
But yes, the books are supposed not supposed to be deeply philosophical. That's not why most people read space opera.
The Mote in Gods Eye by Larry Niven is also fantastic!
Shouldn't that be, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle?
I've heard good things about it... on my tbr!
Sure. If you don't mind racist, misogynistic nineteenth century British Naval Romances dressed up with space lasers.
Yes. Good book.
Not exactly ‘modern’.
I'm currently reading Dune, my first space opera. It's like learning to swim in the middle of the ocean :')))
Haha no kidding! I'm hoping to read that one by the end of the year
I read Dune when I was in high school. It was the most complex book I'd read up to that point. I think I had to read it three times before it all started hanging together in my head.
was in the same position last year 🙃 it's a lot, but it's a hell of a ride
Dune is my all time favorite! I read every book, did you make it?
Some recency bias here. As an old woman, I have to say that C.S. Friedman's "In Conquest Born" is the greatest space opera I've ever read. Other books are great, but they are not *operatic* in the way of In Conquest Born. Spanning many worlds and a third of a galaxy of space, with ship to ship fighter combat, military themes, political intrigue, high tech bioweapons, psi powers, intelligent ice wolves, gladiator combat and more, In Conquest Born manages to grip you with its eternal focus on two and only two protagonists, one from a relentlessly violent, sadistic culture in search of a way to reduce his race's belligerence, another from a culture that prefers peace at every turn, which seems to maintain a military only to prevent being overrun by the opposing, endlessly aggressive empire, who nonetheless is driven to murder. The only way to preserve her peace loving culture seems, to her, to forsake it. Yet each empire has done terrible things to their client worlds and to their enemies, and each has done very good things. The evil empire is a world full of art, and the beneficent empire is a world full of secrets and hypocrisy. The two protagonists, like their home cultures, each do dreadful things (including murder) and they each do merciful, even positive things. The resolution of their personal conflict sets up an epilogue which explores how their empires, and theirselves, were set upon their opposing paths.
The giant scope with personal stakes, but a complicated hero and a complicated villain (and the uncertainty which is which) make this the most operatic of all space operas. There are many books I love, and I don't have to have my space faring sci fi written in operatic tones, but if you want space opera, there has never been a better one than Friedman's In Conquest Born.
I've never heard of that one but I definitely want to check it out!
@@TheShadesofOrange Definitely worth reading. Excellent plotting, I've been looking for a copy of the sequel "The Wilding" for years.
i really like that book, but you're overselling it. I'd go into details but spoilers n stuff.
Old Man's War is one of my favorite SF books of all time--cool premise, great character focus, alien battles, and just the right dose of humor. I like a lot of Scalzi's books but IMHO I don't think he has yet to top it. On the other hand, I tried starting Leviathan Wakes not once, not twice, but three times and I just couldn't get through it. I even watched a few episodes of the TV series and it still didn't do anything for me. In any case, keep up with the great reviews.
Thanks. And yes Old Man's War is definitely one of Scalzi's best. Too bad you can't get into the Expanse, but I totally respect no book is going to work for everyone
I agree, Scalzi never topped the the first Two books of the Old Mans War Trilogy.
agree love that series
Originally, 'Space Opera' was a derogatory phrase used to keep Science Fictiton in the ghetto of genre fiction considered less-than-respectable like adventure, mystery, westerns and romance (by the association of less-than-acceptable with pornography) by members of the 'serious' academic and publishing literary establishments. The 'silver age' writers of the sixties adopted it to describe a lot of the pulp writers they grew up reading and intended to surplant. The most prominent and well known of these early writters was E. E. (Doc) Smith, author of the Lensman and Skylark series, who while a cut above the majority of those early authors was raised and educated during the Edwardian Era. Many other commenters here have already mentiond him.
The writers of the 'Golden Age' of the forties and fifties like Asimov, Clarke Herbert, and Heinlein which a lot of young people now think of as 'classic science fiction' were never really considered space opera, as their writing was on the whole a cut above the pulp writers in terms of character developement and they used their fiction to explore a wide variety of concepts extrapolating the effect of technology and new environmets on the human condition until science fiction as a whole began to be thought of by it's supporters as the literature of "What If?"
"New Wave'' writers like Vonegut, Ellison, LeGuin, and so many others were successful in breaking out of the genre appelation and garnering critical aclaim and a wider audience were more concerned with innovative storytelling, exploring different stylistic choices and examining sociological and psychologic themes which were then in vogue than the Golden Age writers. Their success was capitalized on by their their conteporaries and the paperback boom in science fiction really took off, with reprints of earlier classics and work by new authors, until it was actually near to dominating publishing as a whole in the seventies and eighties. This is the period of the expanding novel when writers (paid by the word) began inflating the size of their works.
Then "Star Wars" happened.
After that, everyone was on the bandwagon and science fiction began the current mass infiltration and near dominance of popular culture. During this period of wider acceptance, 'space opera' (and "Star Wars" was definitely space opera, as well as a succesor to the serialized adventure movies that inspired Lucas and Speilberg) became a classifcation for the part of the genre that basically borrowed common tropes like starship drives and blasters as setting but whose writting focused on drama, interpersonal relationships and romance. Just like the original "Soap Operas" which were radio and televison dramas, (typically sponsered by makers of consumer goods like laundry detergent and cleaning products as a very effective form of early mass media advertising) that the 'intelligensia' and those with 'refined tastes' liked to look down their noses at.
There are many entries in this section of our genre that have exceptionally high writing standards like Lois McMMasters Bujold's Vorkosigian stories or Miller and Lee's Liaden universe, so the term gradually lost it's original derogatory inference and has become just another descriptor of a sub-genre within science fiction, like military sci-fi, dystopias, or post-apoctalyptic stories.
The current use of the term from what I'm seeing on RUclips seems to have evolved again into meaning any science fiction that has an established "universe" set in a civilization that encompases space travel outside of the local neighborhood. I've even seen "Dune" described as Space Opera!
What's amazing is that there are authors like Poul Anderson who have careers that span the entire progression. He has writing encompassing two sequential political organizations as well as an Empire (the Dominic Flandry. stories: James Bond in space created years before Ian Fleming ever set pen to paper). Do yourself a favor and read his fantasy novel "Operation Chaos".
There are many others like Robert Silverberg and L. Sprague DeCamp that also span the pulp to modren era. Don't limit yourself to what is currently being published.
Thank you for sharing all this. It's very interesting and I will admit I was not aware of a lot of this
As a lifelong fan of science fiction, I consider good space opera to be the likes of E.E, "Doc" Smith and Cordwainer Smith, a high adventure story that plays fast and loose with the science. Like Star Wars.
While it is quite an adventure and a great character story, The Expanse is very firmly rooted in the known laws of science which to my mind makes it excellent science fiction.
Thanks for the recs. And you are absolutely right. While The Expanse doesn't spend much time on scientific explanation, it is still very grounded in a very possible future
I just started Dune (my first ever sci fi) and see a lot of channels rec the Hyperion cantos, you would probably like it too
Thanks for the Recs. I'm dying to read Dune!
@@TheShadesofOrange I've heard the first Dune is amazing then gets worse from there
@@TheDeathOfLucifer maybe you should read it yourself, then you would know what you're talking about.
@@bmoneybby oh come on…God Emperor of Dune is a toughy 😉 But Chapter House is fantastic.
The Hyperion Cantos are brilliant.
As I watched this video, I purchased 3 of the books on your description alone. I'll let you know my thoughts when done. I do recommend, Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series. If there is an epic space opera series, this is it. Cheers.
Thanks for the rec!
My space opera tastes involve escapism and grand scales. They revolve around E, E. (Doc) Smith's Lensman and Skylark Series. Main Lensman series is six books. The first book takes us from pre-Earth days through World War 3! The sky is no limit for the next 5 books. The series features the worst villains and the most capable protagonists of my acquaintance. The Skylark series is on an even grander scale.
I will have to look up that series... thanks!
@@TheShadesofOrange Thank you for your reply. Please be aware the books were first published in the 1920's and 30's and have some old-fashioned stereotypes that would not be welcomed by many today. Also, the writing quality seems to range widely from juvenile to Hugo-worthy. Still, for me, all that is dwarfed by the sweeping extent of the adventures and combatants.
Thanks Rachel - a lot of those were new to me. Can I suggest The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is technically the second book in a series, but is the first from the pov of the main character in the series. It’s great if you like a story where intelligence overcomes brawn. Extremely well written, funny, sad, great.
Thanks for the rec
One interesting note about Old Man's War, it's a love story first and the war stuff fills out the situation.
Yeah I always say that it's the kind of military science fiction for people who don't love military fiction
Totally missed Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan series. Some of the best writing and very accessible by all.
I know! I've embarrassingly only read one book in the series so far
You might want to look at the Union-Alliance books by C.J. Cherryh. It's mostly not a series, but actually a constellation, with excellent interpersonal (and inter-species) interaction. One sub-series is the Chanur books, with the non-humans being the focus.
Also, Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy, about an AI who was a ship having to survive in a single human body/mind. One of the best recent space operas.
Thanks for the recs! And yes I love the Ancillary books
'Finity's End is my favorite of the C.J. Cherryh books, followed by Rim Runners.
Most excited to check out leviathan wakes and escaping exodus. You have such a calm and soothing voice.
Oh thank you! I hoe you enjoy those books!
I've been DYING to read Leviathan Wakes for a while now, but for some reason, maybe the length and size of the series, it intimidates me. Although I adore reading sci-fi, i'm always afraid of not understanding the novels, which is ridiculous because it's never actually happened, but such is the mind 😂 Definitely adding some of these to my wishlist, Old Man's War sounds so good.
Oooh yes PLEASE read The Expanse. I've pushed it on so many readers and everyone agrees that it's very easy to get into... deapite the size of the books
Me: I don't need more books, I have to lower my tbr for next year
Also me: Adds every book in this video to my tbr
Seriously thank you so much for these video because I always wanted to get into sci-fi books but have always been intimidated by them
Haha sorry to add to your TBR. These books are definitely more accessible scifi so I'm hope you enjoy them!
I recommend some old favorites:
Bio of a Space Tyrant - Piers Anthony
Voyage of the Space Beagle - A. E. van Vogt
Forbidden Borders Trilogy - W Michael Gear
Thanks for the recs
A space opera I read last year I can recommend is Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series - it contains some fascinating sci-fi ideas and elements of Lovecraftian horror.
I really want to read that trilogy
Revelation is NOT space opera, it is excellent hard science fiction.
Distinction without much of a difference. Revelation Space is a space opera as much as the next book
Excellent choices and d excellent discussion of each. Thank you!!!!
I appreciated your video and then read all the comments. I'm an older reader of SF, left that for a while, engaged in different reading projects from time to time and then decided to read what was being rated or ranked as the best SF today -- lots of depressing stuff out there and i just recently decided to clear my head by looking for something closer to what I enjoyed in the early days (adding, here, my appreciated for the oft recommended Lensman series, sorry). I appreciated the purpose of this video, offering some books that provide an easy entrance into SF. Coming to you after depressing myself reading several depressing SF novels, "easy" sounded good to me.
I listed your recommendations, none of which I had read, and then read through the comments and listed several more books I might read.
Again, well done.
Glad this was interesting. Since filming this I've read more of the classics and would absolutely recommend them. But for me, I had to start with some of these modern points to give me an entry point into sci fi
Currently reading The Wrong Stars right now and loving it! Was really surprised to see it on this list. Picked it up on a last second whim at the bookstore for like 7 bucks and couldn’t be more pleased. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. I highly recommend it, especially for someone entering the sci-fi realm!
Oh wonderful! I am planning to reread the Wrong Stars this month
No discussion of space opera is complete without mentioning at least one of Doc Smith's series. Lensman, Skylark, D'Alembert.
I definitely need to read them
Highly recommend ‘Long way to a small and angry planet’ by Becky Chambers.
For beginners, I recommend starting with the two series by E. E. "Doc" Smith - Lensman series and Skylark series.
The Greg Mandel trilogy by Peter F Hamilton, the first being Mindstar Rising, an ex-army psi operative turned private detective investigates corporate sabotage.
The David Weber Honor Harrington series in military space opera.
Thanks for the recs. I'm slowly working through the Honor Harrington Series now
Just Bought escaping exodus after watching, the whole idea of huge space animal corpse as a ship blows my mind and i cant wait to read and let you know what i think. I probably would have never heard this author or book with out this video. Thx
I hope you enjoy it
The wrong stars is great! Tim Pratt is a friend of a friend, and he's a very good person. So you can feel good about reading his stuff.
Glad to hear it! I had a feeling he was a good guy
1. Old Man's War
2. Embers of War
3. Leviathan wakes
4. Roboteer
5. Escaping Exodus
6. Star Nomad
7. The Wrong Stars
I loved Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga (comprised of Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained). I also enjoyed his Night’s Dawn trilogy but didn’t find it quite as captivating. I’ll also add my 2 cents in to recommend James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series.
I definitely need to read Hamilton's novels
I love Hamiltons books. Everything is set in an expanded universe where separate stories are related.
Old Man's War is wonderful. Currently on the second in the series
Peter F. Hamilton, the King of modern Space Opera. Any of them (in order) Start with The Reality Dysfunction. It blew my doors off 20 years ago.
Thanks for the recs. I definitely need to read his full length novels
Rachel I love all of your reviews clear concise and energetic. Thank you.
Oh thank you 💕
I would add Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space and Jason Russell's 224-Verse to the pile. Both wonderful space opera series.
I see have to check those out!
The Granddaddy of Space Opera series is The Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith still in print by NESFA Press. For more modern Space Opera series I would recommend the Honor Harrington series by David Weber
Thank you! I definitely hope to include more classics when I film an updated list in the future
OOOPS I goofed Lensman series is available on Kindle not NESFA
Slight correction... the FIRST space opera book was Smith's "Skylark of Space" which was written between 1915 and 1921, published about 1928. From the success of the first 2-3 books of the Skylark series, he went on to write the Lensman series.
As an anodyne to Doc Smith, read “Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers” by Harry Harrison. I enjoyed his parody.
When I hear the phrase "Space Opera" I think David Weber's Honorverse series with about 20 novels with Honor Harrington as the protagonist and various offshoots.
Ah yes I need to try that series. Everyone people keep recommending it to me
Love, love, love Leviathan Wakes (and the Expanse TV series too)!! Also, I've never heard of Escaping Exodus before, but holy smokes, that's a gorgeous cover.
I know! The cover is gorgeous!
Expanse is the first time that the books and the show complement each other.
How about Alastair Reynolds? I like Alastair Reynolds a lot. Also, Iain M Banks and Peter F Hamilton. And did I mention Alastair Reynolds? UK space opera's the most epic!!
Yes I definitely need to read more by all of them
The Star Nomad series was so entertaining, I'll be checking out the other recs!
Nice to hear from someone else who's read that one
Uh… I’m really not trying to be a jerk with this post, but (yeah, there’s always one, huh?)…
Not a one of the books you suggest are older than 2005. Though they may qualify as “Space Opera” under the modern (much more loose) classification, they are far from embodying the style that birthed the genre.
I refer you to E.E. “Doc” Smith - considered the father of the Space Opera - and his two great series: The Skylark novels and the Lensman novels. Volume 1 of the Skylark books, The Skylark of Space, is the very book that is pointed to as the first great space opera and the poster child for what the genre exemplifies.
Telling people space opera is fun is a good thing. Not pointing them to where the genre began, seemingly avoiding anything older than a couple of decades (when the genre is nearly 90 years old) is doing them - to me - a gross disservice.
If you haven’t read them, I highly recommend them because they are quintessential space opera.
You don't sound like a jerk at all. I think you made valid points. In response, I will say that this video was filmed nearly two years ago and I've been working to fill in the gaps of my own reading with more classics. I appreciate your specific recommendations and will certainly look them up. I also never intended this video to be a "quintessential list" of the iconic space opera works. Instead this was a list of the space opera books I read when I first got into the science fiction genre. I think I am now better prepared to appreciate the classics after getting a tastes with these lighter, more modern reads. A lot of my audience doesn't read science fiction at all so I'm always trying to push them to try something in order to get them hooked on the genre. (And then hopefully dive into the older works like I am now doing)
I really love your channel. You speak so well, without noises, without anything distracting… and your books recommendations are so great. 😁
Oh thank you! More sci-fi videos coming in the next few weeks so I hope you stick around
Very well put together! Thank you for sharing your recommendations, I will definitely be adding a couple of these I’ve never heard of to my TBR.
Thanks
So so excited to finally be picking up Leviathan Wakes this month! This was a fantastic video, I had my goodreads open while watching and just added every single recommendation to my TBR 😂
I recommend David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series. Emense scope, great character building. It will inspire rage and crying (I know I've done both). Political intrigue, religious wars. A galazy encompassing arena and all human participants (no alien races)..
Thanks for the rec
While it is a great series, it is also massive. A beginner has to take care to get the first one so they don't come in at the middle.
I've been reading scifi since I was about 10 -- more than 50 years ago -- and love space opera. The Honor Harrington series is one of my favorites because of its epic scope, its quite frequent and superbly written battle scenes, the well-drawn characters, the sophisticated and nuanced political, and religious elements Weber weaves in, and last but certainly not least, treecats, who are a vital part of the storyline. (Treecats are six-limbed, intelligent, empathic 'cats' who bond with select humans -- Honor being one -- and become their constant companions.) I would also recommend the Safehold series by Weber. Fair warning, especially to newbies: Weber can sometimes go into quite long digressions in which he provides a lot of details that aren't really vital to the story, so on a first read you may want to skip over them.
Thanks for the recommendations....... I probably know after an hour if I'm going to like a book or not, if I add those hours up, I've probably wasted days, weeks or even years reading books I don't like!
Thank you. I'd never even heard of most of these books. Always looking for good SF material to read.
Glad I could add to your tbr. And agreed... I find it so hard to find enough adult SF book recommendations on Booktube
I love sci-fi booktube!!!
Thank you so much for making this- I'm definitely looking into The Wrong Stars!
I hope you enjoy it!
the older classic sci fi is so much better than todays offerings... no one is ever going to match Heinlein, Asimov, Clark to name a very few...
I’d match Lois McMaster Bujold against any of them.
I have been looking for space opera books! Perfect video timing! ❤️
Awesome! Happy to help!
Look up EE Doc Smith. Best space opera ever
Your Nicky Drayden link goes to Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni Checkmate. I loves me the Deryni, but that’s not exactly Space Opera.
Thanks for letting me know! I just fixed it
I can understand your selection to introduce space opera. I have two suggestions, (a) space opera is never complete without the mention of Iain M. Banks (b) in recent times, I have really enjoyed John Scalzi's 'The Interdependency Trilogy.'
Ahh yes, I'm hoping to read some Banks this month to fill that noticeable void! And I liked the Collapsing Empire but I never did finish the trilogy
@@TheShadesofOrange... finish it, Scalzi has outdone himself. It is better than Old Man's War Series. The audiobook with narration by Wil Wheaton is fabulous.
@@Arkapravo I love Wil Wheaton's narration!
@@TheShadesofOrange 😊
@@TheShadesofOrange One more - consider trying out 'Bobiverse' trilogy by Dennis E Taylor. The audiobook is just hilarious. Happy reading (listening).
Thank you for the list. Your wish came true and "Escaping Exodus" now has a sequel "Symbiosis" ;} Hopefully you will \ have enjoyed it.
I know! I was thrilled... but I didn't even up love it as much
Hi Rachel
Excellent video as usual. I know you are speaking to beginners in this one and although I am far from that there still things of interest for me here. Leviathan Wakes and the rest of the series are superb thats a great pick here. I read all the epic Space Opera around but don't know many of these.
Thanks
If you want REAL space opera, you cant beat the EE Doc Smith series of The Lensman"
I definitely need to check them out!
I've actually read all the books on this list except Old Man's War. I would HIGHLY suggest "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini." It's not only a space opera but pretty much defines "go big or go home." It's a hell of a first book in a space opera series.
I've heard mixed things about Sleep in Stars so I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much
Agree, To Sleep is one of my favorite newer sci-fi reads, and Paolini did a hell of a job for it being his first entry in sci-fi
The lost fleet by Jack Campbell was really good imo
The Expanse series is by far my favorite of the modern era but also you should look at The Honor Harrington Series by David Weber
Thanks for the rec. I will check that series out
Leviathan Wakes is enthralling 😊
Agreed!
If you havent i definitely recommend
Pandora's Star Book by Peter F. Hamilton really great world building long but enjoyable
also The fear saga" goes into what would happened if we were warned of an incomming alien attacks years away. Very political but good
Thanks for the rec! I still need to read that one!
True Space Opera starts with Doc E. E. Smith's Skylark series.
Noted
Honor Harrington by David Weber is basically Horatio Hornblower in space, mixed with a bit of Cold War military technology thriller stuff. It's essentially a British Empire in space, oddly allied with a sort of Kaiser's German Empire, against an enemy that is a combination of French Revolution and the Soviet Union. Fun, yes, and entertaining, for however long one can handle that sort of thing. I read several of those books myself.
I've read the first 3 since filming this video and am enjoying them so far!
When one member of the enemy’s government is named Rob S. Pierre, I felt the entire series could use a whiff of grapeshot.
I always look for a good space book recommendation, sometimes its your usual stuff thats not so interesting or somewhat u already either read or watched a movie. I'm glad you posted this video.. Most of these i havent read and picked few on my Space Tbr..🌠 Yet I'm so happy u have the old mans war on this list, I'm on second book the ghost brigades. I love John and Jane's character, this is such a unique and interesting plotline. Loving it. 😊
Ahh yes I really should keep going with the Old Man's War series. Glad to hear that the second book is good!
Great stuff. Thanks.
I can see it's come up in the comments, but Peter F Hamilton. I loved the "Night's dawn trilogy" and the "void" trilogy.
Yes it's definitely on my tbr!
@@TheShadesofOrange great series both!
Thank you for your work I enjoyed the vid 😊👍
Thanks
@Arkapravo Bhaumik mentioned the "We are Legion" in the Bobiverse somewhere in the comments. Bobiverse is really fun, something about the Bob(s) reminds me of Tom Hanks when he was doing comedies in the 80s. It's not as dense and serious as a lot of Scifi can be. Lots of pop culture references and humorous situations embedded in larger science fiction thriller/drama. - Also thanks for the recommendations, without spoilers!
Yes that's a fun one!
If you like older series, try these ones:
The Sten Adventures by Chris Bunch and Allan Cole
The Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen
Three From The Legion by Jack WIlliamson
Thanks for the recs!
I’d suggest Ryk Browns Frontiers Saga
I'm such a sucker for good space opera😊 roboteer, old man's war, escaping exodus are going on my tbr📚
Yay!
I’ve just finished the expeditionary force series of books by Craig Alanson, I’ve listened on audible and the narration is done magnificently by RC Bray. It’s 15 books long but we’ll worth it.. it sounds like it would tick a lot of your boxes
Thanks for the rec!
I'm on book 7 of fallen Empire its great every book so far..
Great recommendations!
Have you read Yoshiki Tanaka's 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes'? It's a space opera from Japan that's recently been translated into English.
I have not, but that sounds amazing! I'll see id I can track it down
@@TheShadesofOrange It's from the late 80s and its also known as the 'Star Wars' of Japan. It's more military sci-fi and it explores political themes. :)
@@keanchan888 I am definitely going to check it out! I can't believe I haven't heard of it before
nathan lowell the "shares" series is unique in its focus on the everyday live of a ships crew. highly recommended
Oh that sounds cool. I haven't heard of that one
Start with “Quarter Share.”
I would say there's no need to read the whole Expanse series. I didn't think that books 7, 8 , & 9 added much value compared to the length of the books. One can read as many of the first six books as desired and have it be a worthwhile use of reading time. Character development was somewhat slow in the books. I think the TV series was able to develop the characters a bit faster thanks to them being visible.
Good recs, thanks.
Just ordered a copy of Roboteer. Never heard of it till you mentioned it here. I just stumbled across this video and channel now by sheer fluke. You have a new subscriber now! ;) Thoroughly enjoyed this video!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it. It wasn't a perfect read, but still an underhyped gem!
@@TheShadesofOrange you're welcome. I'll let you know how I found it when I get round to reading it haha. I have a bit of a backlog but I might jump the queue with this one 😁
Old Mans War is great. I want read The Wrong Stars.
I have been wanting to pick up Old Man's War. I have heard SUCH good things about it!
I just picked up Leviathan Wakes and plan to read it in October so I am super excited!
The Expanse is amazing!
EE Doc Smith the lensman series is really excellent. And the Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Thanks for the recs
Not "modern" but E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman and Skylark series are good starting points.
Thanks for the rec
Rachel great job as usual. I was wondering if you have ever read Brandon Morris he is a hard Science Fiction writer. His novels are really good.
No I'm not familiar with that author
Another great video. As you know, I love Space Opera, too. You have given me a few new options. Thank you. Unfortunately, the options that I wanted to give you...you had already read (some you like and other's you didn't). Thank you for making these types of videos.
Thanks again Graff. Glad I was able to add a few to your TBR. (I still need to compare our Goodreads shelves so I can see what you've all read!)
@@TheShadesofOrange - love to hear about what you see.
Thank you for this and for explaining the difference between 'space opera' and other sci-fi space stories. The two books that interest me the most are 'Old Man's War' and 'Escaping Exodus'.
Yeah I've heard slightly different definitions, but to me... these books are true space operas
Excellent book recommendations. Thank you very much !
Thanks
THE ALIEN PLAN by Jack Fleming on Amazon
Oh I have Escaping Exodus! I just haven't read it yet, but I need to!!
Yes! You do!
I'd argue that the expanse is more hard scifi than space opera due to the amount of detail went into the tech of the expanse
I've heard a few people make that argument. The authors have stated in interviews that I've read that they weren't too worried about the science and described their series as soft science fiction. But I do know what you are saying
I love Leviathan Wakes. Old Man's War and Embers of war are on my TBR. Great recommendations.
Thanks. I hope you enjoy those ones!
Thank you for another outstanding video. Your content is always solid!
Oh thank you so much
Have you read Spin by Robert Charles Wilson?
I recently bought it and I’m curious what you would think of it.
I started it but I had to return it to the library before I got very fair in. I do want to read it at some point!
I ordered Leviathan wakes just yesterday.
I hope you enjoy it!
@@TheShadesofOrange it is actually my first space opera. I mostly read thriller, horror and extreme horror. But recently I really got interested in sci fi and this one pops up everywhere, so I will give it a shot.
The Culture series by the late, great Iain M. Banks. That's all you need to know 🙂
Definitely need to read it
The Finder Chronicles by Suzanne Palmer ❤
In the tbr!
"The Wrong Stars" was a fun read - and a trilogy that didn't require a big commitment. There's the "Weird Space" series by Eric Brown and Una McCormack, another fast-paced space opera series with shorter, easily digestible novels. "Retribution Falls", is book one in "Tales of the Ketty Jay" series, which is sort of a steampunk fantasy series that wonderfully reminds me of the old "Firefly" sci-fi tv show and its Serenity crew. None of these books require much time to read so if you don't like 'em ...
Thanks for the mention of Roboteer and Escaping Exodus. I'm intrigued! The Expanse series and Scalzi's Old Man's War series have long been favs. But I'll admit, I haven't progressed past Expanse Bk. 5. I guess I now prefer trilogies.
Ooh thanks for all the recommendations. I will definitely look them up. I loved Firefly so I'm always on board for any books with similar vibes. And yes, I like recommending The Wrong Stars because it doesn't have the 9 book commitment of the Expanse.
@@TheShadesofOrange Point of interest I noticed there are now a series of ‘Firefly’ novels, set between events of Firefly series on box and ‘Serenity’ feature film. I haven’t read any yet but I’m definitely going to read the first of them
I would recommend Nova by Delany
Enjoyed these suggestions. Thank you.
Glad to hear it!
Loved your suggestions! Of the ones you mention that I have read, all are favorites. Looks like I have a bunch of new series to check out- thanks! Since you like books about AI ships, have you read the Culture novels by Banks? How about “Ancillary Justice”?
I shamefully still need to read the Culture books. And yes I loved Ancillary Justice but it didn't come to mind when I was thinking about space opera
Thanks, that was an enjoyable watch. I agree about Old Man’s War - very good. I also enjoyed the next three, and the Collapsing Empire series too. I’ll check out the others you mention.
My accessible recommendations -
Peter F Hamilton - The Commonwealth Saga.
Pandora’s Star is possibly my single favourite space opera novel. From the great opening, there’s a lot going on with a large cast of diverse characters but it’s quite easy to get into and if you enjoy it, Judas Unchained completes the saga.
He wrote further series set in this universe as well as other unrelated series - all really good but I’d start with the ones above.
As a standalone read, I also liked Fallen Dragon in particular.
Jack McDevitt - Infinity Beach is a very readable standalone - another of my favourites.
He also did two unrelated series - the Alex Benedict ones (he’s an antiquities dealer) and the Priscilla Hutchins/Academy ones (she’s a pilot). McDevitt can be a little formulaic sometimes but I’ve read the lot at least twice over the years and enjoyed them all.
Alastair Reynolds - for accessibility I would recommend starting with House Of Suns and Pushing Ice. If you like these two unrelated standalones, then I’d try Revelation Space - his first and the first of a trilogy. Chasm City was a decent standalone set in the same universe.
Simon Haynes - The Hal Spacejock series - these are more light-hearted and humorous than any of the others I’ve listed, but I’ve read several and they’re really good fun.
Finally, Gary Gibson’s Stealing Light is very good, and I’ve read the next two in the Shoal sequence too.
Thanks for all these awesome recommendations!
@@TheShadesofOrange You're welcome - if and when you get round to it, it would be great to hear if you liked any of them. Hamilton and Reynolds are both pretty well-known, at least in the UK, but I've never come across anyone else who's read McDevitt, so it would be nice to introduce someone to him because I think he's really good.