Space Opera Fans discussion

Leonie wrote: "I'm a bit of a sucker for animals in space which is probably one of my reading quirks. "

Hi Leonie ... Have you read David Brin's Uplift Saga?

Sundiver

Startide Rising

The Uplift War

You might find the idea of Terran ships with human and dolphin crews very interesting ;-)

I have, Rotuma. Not for a fair few years, but I really enjoyed them :)

Rotuma wrote: "Have you read David Brin's Uplift Saga?..."

I have not read those yet, but I've enjoyed David Brin's other works. I'm surprised (or perhaps I should say grimly un-surprised) they never made it into my local library ... it's highly rated. Maybe you could hope on over to the Book of the Month nomination thread and nominate the series for a SERIES PICK? HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Anna wrote: "Rotuma wrote: "Have you read David Brin's Uplift Saga?..."

I have not read those yet, but I've enjoyed David Brin's other works. I'm surprised (or perhaps I should say grimly un-surprised) they n..."

I had a quick look over there, Anna, but the series pick isn't up this month? As there's another one already on the go?

Leonie wrote: "I had a quick look over there, Anna, but the series pick isn't up this month? As there's another one already on the go?..."

There's always READER PICK :-)

Hello everyone my Name is Joshua.

My favourite books: Anything really,I really enjoy many genres of books.Mostly Science Fiction and warfare history. My all time favourite book is Bravo Two Zero.

My Favourite genres: Science fiction, historical fiction,warfare fiction & non-fiction, fantasy, horror, novels of video game series and many others.

My favourite movies: Too many to list but I 'll list a few The Dollars Trilogy,Judge Dredd, Dredd, Ronin, ALIENS and I Come in Peace ( Dark Angel).

My favourite food: Subway subs, fries with hamburgers and hotdogs, anything pizza and Miss Vickie's S&V Chips.

My day job: Don't currently have a job but I'm currently enrolled to get my Grade 12 then onto college for Environmental Sciences.

Hobbies: reading lots of books, doing historical research, video games, watching movies and socializing with friends.

Other: I have two cats, and I collect game guides and books series.

Joshua wrote: "My favourite movies: Too many to list but I 'll list a few ... I Come in Peace (Dark Angel)..."

Ahh! Another B-grade sci-fi movie lover!


Bad Alien: I come in peace.

Jack Caine: And you go in pieces, a$$#ho!e.

Welcome to Space Opera Fans! since you seem to enjoy warfare sci-fi, we have a nice little Military Sci-Fi section and soon-to-be (when I have time to punch all the suggested books into a database) listopia.

Howdy folks! My name is Andy. I came across this group when looking at a member's profile (he's in another group that I belong to). I don't actually read a ton of space opera, but I've wanted to get to know the genre a little better. Books I have enjoyed in this category include: Old Man's War, The Forever War, Ancillary Justice, and Consider Phlebas.

My other favorite genres include other varieties of sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction, horror, historical fiction, and non-fiction (history and science mostly).
Favorite TV shows: The Walking Dead, True Detective, Game of Thrones.
Day Job: paralegal.
Hobbies: reading, running, biking.

Looking forward to discovering new books to read and maybe participating in a group read here and there.

Andy wrote: "Howdy folks! My name is Andy. I came across this group when looking at a member's profile (he's in another group that I belong to). I don't actually read a ton of space opera, but I've wanted to..."

Welcome Andy! Space Opera is the genre of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Guardians of the Galaxy (movie-wise). A lot of books that end up on the big screen start out here, and vice-versa. So welcome! I hope you like it here, and feel free to drop a nomination into our Book of the Month club for a December read while you're here :-)

My name is Donald Ralston
Favorite Books: Ender's Game
Favorite Genres: Scyfy
Favorite TV shows: Dr. Who (Classic and New)
Favorite Movies: Star Wars
Favorite Food: Humburgers
Day Job: Security Specialist
Hobbies: Model Railroad, Ham Radio, and reading

Donald wrote: "Hobbies: Model Railroad, Ham Radio,..."

Welcome Donald! I'm a fellow ham, and also sometimes an ARES volunteer responder.

Hi fellow Space Opera Fans, I'm Richard from Sydney, Australia!

I've been reading space opera ever since I started reading sci-fi with Asmiov's foundation series and the Dune series as a teenager (a few years ago now... ok, many years ago)

Current Sci-fi Favourites are Peter F Hamilton and the late great Ian M. Banks, but I'm always looking for new voices in the genre.

I've even started my own sci-fi book review blog www.internetbookreview.com just for the fun of it.

Look forward to chatting with you all about galaxy spanning, empire building and/or crushing, sci-fi drama!

Richard wrote: "Hi fellow Space Opera Fans, I'm Richard from Sydney, Australia! I've been reading space opera ever since I started reading sci-fi with Asmiov's foundation series and the Dune series as a teenager ..."

Welcome Richard! You're in the right place, and be sure to POST topics if you come across something fascinating (like theoretical physics you'd like to see in a future space opera). As for new voices, I suggest you start with our Book of the Month Club, especially the Indie Pick as that is where all the exciting new stuff is coming out of, including some genre mashups.

Oooh ... nice blog. If you're looking for people to submit books for review, why not post a promo down in the Authors / Bloggers Corner folder? Though I warn you, you might just find yourself quickly overwhelmed. And if you happen to come across books you'd like to ADD to one of our Listopias, please do. I've been working very hard to flesh them out the way the fantasy sub-categories are.

Anna wrote: "Richard wrote: "Hi fellow Space Opera Fans, I'm Richard from Sydney, Australia! I've been reading space opera ever since I started reading sci-fi with Asmiov's foundation series and the Dune series..."

Thanks for the welcome... some great suggestions there that I'll take up! Thanks for the kind words on the blog it's work in progress, but I'm learning everyday...

Hi Folks,

My name is Bob.
I'm unsure if this book I'm about to mention could be classified as a space opera. It was the book that as a young man I found in a beat up attic and got me into reading. Star trek: next generation Q-Squared by Peter David. It was epic in it's scoop and crossed dimensions. It featured characters that I loved from the TV show.
It was a thick book and daunting to me as a teenager. I loved it though and I found myself finishing it.
As for movies I am a Star Wars fan. I find myself saying to my niece "You know it's not recommended to upset a Wookie" and "These are not the dolls(droids) your looking for" as I playfully run down the hall with her Barbies under my arms.
TV series I like, Star Trek the Next Generation. Being a disabled person watching Jordy and Data solve tough problems to save everyone on the Enterprise was a confident boost. I also like Fire Fly, and My Little Pony.
For books, I started Dune, though had a tough time finishing it. I enjoyed the epicness of the story though I seemed to get lost in it. Not the good kind of lost but the kind of lost that makes you shake your head wondering where you are in the story.
I hope this group might help me with finding titles in this genre that are easier to read.

Bob wrote: "For books, I started Dune, though had a tough time finishing it. I enjoyed the epicness of the story though I seemed to get lost in it. Not the good kind of lost but the kind of lost that makes you shake your head wondering where you are in the story.
I hope this group might help me with finding titles in this genre that are easier to read...."

Welcome Bob! If you like the Star Trek TNG tie-in novels, you would probably enjoy some of the more 'classic' style space opera like the Lensmen series by E.E. "Doc" Smith and the more contemporary works by his protege Stephen Goldin, who also happens to be a member of this community and drops in to say 'hi' once in a while. This was the style which spawned the Star Wars space opera 'feel.'

Most of E.E. Doc Smith's works are out-of-copyright and can be downloaded free from Project Guttenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/sear...

You can snag Stephen Goldin's first novel for free HERE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AYELBM

Now as for the Star Trek tie-in novels, TNG was heavy on the techno-porn. The modern-day equivalent would be watching Iron Man work down in his lab in his basement. Unfortunately, the IM comics really don't go into it the way a sci-fi fan would enjoy. Space Opera Fans? Can anybody recommend some good techno-porn that doesn't get too convoluted?

Wow thanks Anna for the suggestions. I didn't expect such a warm and informative answer to my question. I am sure to try out E.E. Doc Smith and downloaded Stephen Goldin's first novel when I first saw the link to the sales page in your post. Thanks again.

Bob wrote: "Hi Folks,

My name is Bob.
I'm unsure if this book I'm about to mention could be classified as a space opera. It was the book that as a young man I found in a beat up attic and got me into readin..."

Hey Bob and welcome! Star Trek: TNG is one of my favorite shows as well. I'm currently on the last season with only a few episodes left. Data is definitely my favorite character.

Cory wrote: "Bob wrote: "Hi Folks,

My name is Bob.
I'm unsure if this book I'm about to mention could be classified as a space opera. It was the book that as a young man I found in a beat up attic and got me..."

Got to love Data!

Been posting a little bit, so I thought I'd say hi. Bookseller living in sunny post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Generally read lots of speculative fiction and history nonfiction, don't branch out as much as I used to. Fav space opera writers are Alastair Reynolds and Iain Banks, like Reynolds a little bit more solely because FTL bugs me. Recently read some Paul McAuley recently, liked him a lot but kind of read like one big infodump at times. Little ambivalent about Westerfield, Doctorow, and Stross, though they're all cool guys. Also recently got really, really in to Laird Barron (thank you, True Detective), like Kelly Link, and loved Aaron Starmer's 'The Riverman', which is sort of a middle-grade horror novel. Not much to say about TV or movies, I watch a bit of TV but kind of hate movies (unless I see a good one), my main hobbies include kickin' it and kickin' it with dogs. And of course, I have a novel I'm working on.

Best!

Name: Joe
Favorite Books: Too many to list. But I enjoy early sci-fi, and dungeonpunk fantasy.
Favorite Genres: Sci-Fi, Mecha, Fantasy
Favorite TV shows: Babylon 5, StarGate SG1
Favorite Movies: Tron, Aliens, Big Trouble in Little China
Favorite Food: Suchi, Pizza
Day Job: Engineering
Hobbies: Rolplaying - Like tabletop man.
Other: I'm a doof.

Helene wrote: "Favorite Movies ... Pitch Black
Hobbies: Non-sight archery..."

Welcome Helene! I laughed when I read 'Pitch Black' and 'non-sight archery.' But of course!

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Chumofchance wrote: "Bookseller living in sunny post-apocalyptic Los Angeles...."

Welcome Chumofchance! It's funny to hear you describe Los Angeles such. :-) Accurate, but funny...

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Joseph wrote: " I enjoy early sci-fi, and dungeonpunk fantasy..."

Welcome Joseph! Dungeonpunk? Now that's one I hadn't heard of yet! Had to Google it.

J.H. wrote: "Hi, I'm Julie. I published my book earlier this year but I've been lurking around, enjoying some of the suggestions I've seen on here. Space Opera has been one of my favorite genres ever since I wa..."

Welcome J.H.! SCA, eh? I'm one of the Events Liasons for the ARISIA Boston Sci-fi/fantasy conference and helping the SCA up here pull together a weapons demonstration. And then they'll do a dance, and costuming, and all that other cool stuff!

Another Nightbreed fan? Do you prefer the theatrical cut? Or the remastered cut?

Welcome to Space Opera Fans!

Name: Brendan
Favorite Books: Culture Series, Dune, Foundation
Favorite Genres: Space Opera, New Weird
Favorite TV shows: Firefly I guess? Not much of a tv watcher
Favorite Movies: Pan's Labyrinth, Moon, 24 Hour Party People
Favorite Food: Coffee
Day Job: Grad Student
Hobbies: Reading, 80's punk rock music, mtg

Hello all! Pretty new to goodreads and this looks like an interesting group. So ummm... Hi! I see A Deepness in the Sky is the book under discussion which is perfect, I've read A Fire Upon the Deep but not the sequel yet.

Brendan wrote: "Name: Brendan
Favorite Books: Culture Series, Dune, Foundation
Favorite Genres: Space Opera, New Weird
Favorite TV shows: Firefly I guess? Not much of a tv watcher
Favorite Movies: Pan's Labyrinth,..."

Welcome Brendan! Not a tv watcher? Me neither. I kinda started boycotting it after they killed off Stargate SG-1, and with the demise of Firefly and then BSG I just stopped watching ... completely.

We've got a few avid fans of Vernor Vinge, so why not drop your name into the book thread if you're up for reading the series and give them some good company :-)

Name: Kristina
Favorite Books: Dune, Honorverse, Halo series ect.
Favorite Genres: Sci-fi, Superhero, Horror
Favorite TV shows: Babylon 5, Gargoyles
Favorite Movies: Too many
Favorite Food: Pizza
Day Job: Customer service
Hobbies: Gaming (PC or Console)
Other: Help...my cat destroyed my first kindle...oh look the upgraded one is nice. Yay warranties.

Name:Cat
Favorite Books:Dune, Contact, Hitchhiker's Guide, Final Blackout, Conquest of Space, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and 100,000 more.
Favorite Genres: Space Opera, forensic science, vintage fantasy, occasional romance...
Favorite TV shows: Not much into TV
Favorite Movies: ANYTHING SPACE OPERA
Favorite Food: Chocolate and artichoke hearts. Not together.
Day Job: I work at Galaxy Press
Hobbies: obviously reading sci-fi, cons, fencing, swing dancing
Other: Engage.

Fiannawolf wrote: "Name: Kristina
Favorite Books: Dune, Honorverse..."

Welcome Fiannawolf! A Honor Harrigan fan, ey? You'll be in really good company here :-)

Yes ... yah, warranties! How on Earth did your cat destroy your Kindle?

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Galaxy Press wrote: "Name: Cat
Hobbies: ...cons, fencing..."

Hey ... somebody else with an obsession with pretty shiny deadly things! Personally, I think swords-in-space are sensible. After all, you wouldn't want your pulse rifle to blast a hole in the side of your spaceship? Ey? Explosive decompression ... very bad :-) Welcome to SOF!

Anna wrote: "Hey ... somebody else with an obsession with pretty shiny deadly things! Personally, I think swords-in-space are sensible. After all, you wouldn't want your pulse rifle to blast a hole in the side of your spaceship? Ey? Explosive decompression ... very bad ..."

Absolutely! Swords make more sense for hand-to-hand combat, at least.

Kindle vs Gravity vs Curious Cat= one very broken screen. The new one is secured at night in my computer desk.

Fiannawolf wrote: "Kindle vs Gravity vs Curious Cat= one very broken screen. The new one is secured at night in my computer desk."

Oh dear. Our Christmas tree is currently suffering from repeated climbing by cat.

Fiannawolf wrote: "Kindle vs Gravity vs Curious Cat= one very broken screen. The new one is secured at night in my computer desk."

That gives new meaning to the Theory of Cat Gravity!!!

Anna wrote: "That gives new meaning to the Theory of Cat Gravity!!!"

And depending on how mad you were, the paradox of Schrödinger's Cat was answered definitely...

♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press

Hi there guys, name's Sree I'm 25!

I've been away from reading Scifi for a while. Got back into it this last year. I'm mostly going to list Sci Fi stuff below

Favorite Books: Thrawn Triology, Old Man's War, Leviathan Wakes, Forever War, Culture Series, Ancillary Series, 2312, Left Hand of Darkness, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Dune etc
Most of these are pretty Bog Standard I don't have many eccentric picks, mostly cause im new :'(

Favorite Genres: Sci Fi, Fantasy (High more than Dark), Contempary Fiction I mostly like my books with a romantic undertone, can't stand YA but I enjoy books with a good going romantic subplot

Favorite TV shows: Better off Ted (I consider it SciFi'ish), BSG, SG-1 except for the final arc, Star Trek TNG - not a fan of TOS or Voyager (eww), a Japanese Anime called Planetes (highly recommend it to a Western Audience), Fringe, other stuff, Brain kinda on frtiz right now

Favorite Movies: man i really cant remember too many

Favorite Food: this is a really weird question, but to be honest I've been eating so many bagels with cream cheese and Bacon I'd be hard pressed not to call it my current favourite thing.

Day Job: well, I'm a doctor (internal medicine physician to be specific)

Hobbies: BOARD GAMES! Scuba Diving, Basketball, and Snowboarding (although I'm shit at it, I still can't really manage Red)

Bagels with cream cheese and bacon sounds wonderful.

Sree wrote: "Favorite Books: Thrawn Triology, Old Man's War, Leviathan Wakes, Forever War, Culture Series, Ancillary Series, 2312, Left Hand of Darkness, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Dune etc Most of these are pretty Bog Standard I don't have many eccentric picks, mostly cause im new :'(..."

Welcome Sree! You have a respectable reading list of mainstream science fiction / space opera :-) If you want to try out some of the newer, quirky sci-fi, watch what books get nominated for 'Indie Pick' when we announce our Book of the Month Club nominations and see if any of them catch your eye.

This month's indie pick Dakiti has a strong romantic sub-plot and the author E.J. Fisch has been answering questions about the book in the discussion thread, so maybe you'd enjoy starting there? HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Anna wrote: "Sree wrote: "Favorite Books: Thrawn Triology, Old Man's War, Leviathan Wakes, Forever War, Culture Series, Ancillary Series, 2312, Left Hand of Darkness, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Dune etc Most of..."

your suggestion is duly noted and kindle'd! is that a word? kindle'd?! it really should be its a great word

Hello, space opera fans. My name is Bill, and I'm a mathematics professor who is close to retirement. Heinlein's "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" hit me like a bomb in junior high, and I've never been the same. My tastes have broadened considerably over the years, and I have written more high fantasy than true science fiction lately.

I watched the original "Star Trek" series in its first edition form. At the time it was easy to take for granted. However, I soon realized its quality was the exception. The first "Star Wars" movie hit me in the sweet spot, not because it was a great movie, but because Hollywood finally put out a movie that buckled all the swashes. (Don't get me started about Jar Jar Binks or the latest "Star Trek" reboot.)

Like others I have seen, I have noticed a lack of interest in "sciencey" science fiction lately. Some of the dystopian science fiction that is out there these days is very good, but, gee whiz, doesn't anybody write about a positive future any more?

Looking forward to seeing some interesting discussions here.

Dystopian Sci-Fi seems to be all the rage right now, and that is really too bad. I grew up reading the classic authors Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Assimov and Robert Heinlein. I still prefer to re-read the classics over most of what is being written today. I like the Honor Harrington series by David Weber, but that is really the only modern sci-fi that I have really enjoyed lately. Maybe that will change. I have a lot of sci-fi on my Kindle that I haven't read yet so maybe I will find someone in there to become my new favorite author or series.

William wrote: "Like others I have seen, I have noticed a lack of interest in "sciencey" science fiction lately. Some of the dystopian science fiction that is out there these days is very good, but, gee whiz, doesn't anybody write about a positive future any more?..."

Welcome William! Yes ... dystopia... The first dystopian novel is like eating a Lays potato chip. It's not spectacular, but hits enough of those salt-carb-fat tastebuds that you keep eating them out of the can, but after a while you realize you've erupted in pimples and gained 25 pounds. :-P

Bring back the hopeful, 'we can solve this problem' science fiction!

Jeffrey wrote: "Dystopian Sci-Fi seems to be all the rage right now, and that is really too bad. I grew up reading the classic authors Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Assimov and Robert Heinlein. I still prefer to re-rea..."

Welcome Jeffrey! There are a lot of good INDIE books being written by a lot of tiny little authors that hope to capture that hopeful sci-fi vibe. If you can tolerate a bit of romance and don't mind some family themes mixed in with your hard science fiction, there are some very good 'bridge' books being written by female authors that look spacewards and have that hopeful attitude.

Anybody want to make some good recommendations for Jeffrey of a 'hopeful' can-do space opera? Off the top of my head you might like Tsar Wars by community member Stephen Goldin ... a tongue-in-cheek retake on Star Wars that's just plain FUN to read.

That is good. It gives me hope that not all is lost. Actually I don't mind family themes and a bit of romance at all as long as the sci-fi is good. I will check out the link for Tsar Wars that you mentioned above. I am a Star Wars fan so a little tongue-in-cheek fun poking my just brighten my day.

Well then! That was quite a surprise. I checked out the link on above on Goodreads and put on my "Want to Read" shelf then went to Amazon.com to put the book on my Wish List for later. Lo and Behold the paperback was 16.99 and the Kindle edition was free, so now it's on my Kindle TBR after Overload Flux. Merry Christmas to me! :)

Jeffrey wrote: "Well then! That was quite a surprise. I checked out the link on above on Goodreads and put on my "Want to Read" shelf then went to Amazon.com to put the book on my Wish List for later. Lo and Behol..."

If you like Tsar Wars, you can follow the link at the back of the book to the Parsina Press website and the author has some kind of read-and-review one, get a second one at a discount thingamabob going. I'm a fan of his from way back in his Eternity Brigade days, but that's more grim, while Tsar Wars is light-hearted and fun like the original Star Wars Episode IV was.

HELLO! I never introduced myself. I'm David Monster, and I just published a Sexy SciFi/Fantasy novel. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's NOT 50 Shades of Gray, with a SciFi twist. THANKS.

Name:Nathan
Favorite Books:Shantaram, Pandoras star, Old mans war, Crime and punishment, Wizards first rule, Enders game, The technician, ready player one, Reamde, Cloud atlas, Outliers, Physicks of the future.. off the top of my head
Favorite Genres: Only recently started pursuing specific genres.. Space Opera I think....
Favorite TV shows:More of a movies fan
Favorite Movies: No real favorite... just good stories
Favorite Food: Anything I am eating while backpacking ;)
Day Job: Bartender
Hobbies: Photography, Gaming, Anything Tech related, Scuba Diving, Drawing, Reading, Learning

Nathan wrote: "Name:Nathan Favorite Books:Shantaram, Pandoras star..."

Welcome Nathan! Favorite food ... backpacking? When I backpack I survive off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That must be some good trail mix!

Hi, all. I've recently joined Goodreads because someone on here was kind enough to review one of my books, so it seemed like a nice friendly place. I was looking for a couple of groups to join and this one seemed great. I've always been a fan of space opera, as opposed to science fiction, and still remember having to explain the difference to some friends down the pub (although they still didn't get it).

I'm a fan of Buck Rogers (and that hugely does include the TV series), the various Edgar Rice Burroughs series (Mars, Venus, etc), and the original Guardians of the Galaxy (although the new stuff's good as well, just nowhere near as good as the 31st Century team). I like a shot of Heinlein once in a while, L Neil Smith and Rom Spaceknight (although no one's going to know what that is).

Happy New Year, all!

Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself:

I'm Jennifer, and I love science fiction in all of its forms, and definitely have a weakness for space opera. I'm going to age myself by mentioning Blake's 7.

I also love Star Wars, Heinlein, Alastair Reynolds (not all of his stuff counts as space opera, but I'd definitely include House Of Suns). Loved the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Jennifer wrote: "Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself:

I'm Jennifer, and I love science fiction in all of its forms, and definitely have a weakness for space opera. I'm going to age myself by mentioning Blake's..."

Blake's 7!!! I absolutely love that show. Wonderful to find someone else who knows it too.