Genre Primer: Stellar Space Operas
The key to a good space opera is that second word: opera. It hints at the sort of epic span these stories cross, and the scope and intensity of the emotions they stir. At its heart, a true space opera is about people and the decisions they make, and have to live with. If you read one, it’s a good bet you’ll be hooked, but their scale and length can sometimes be intimidating. That’s why we’ve assembled this list of essential space operas—series that fans old and new will surely find… operatic.
The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey
The Expanse series provides an ideal introduction to the genre because it smartly limits the scope of the story, at first, to just our familiar solar system, instead of the unfathomably huge galactic or even universal settings of other books. The human society described is intelligently imagined and feasible, and the socio-political divisions that are strained by the secret uncovered within a derelict ship at the beginning of the story ring true. With engaging characters and a storyline told in alternating points-of-view, The Expanse (starting with Leviathan Wakes; the latest volume is Cibola Burn) is the perfect gateway read: huge and complex, but with a human heart. For all these reasons and more, SyFy is turning it into the next big sci-fi TV series, starting next fall with Thomas Jane in a lead role.
Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds
For readers looking for a series with a bit more edge, they don’t get much edgier than Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space universe. With a fact-based (but still fantastical) approach to the fictional science than many novels, and twisting plots that jump around in time without losing the thread, this series (beginning with Revelation Space ) is a dark delight from the start, incorporating brain-bursting concepts (a nanomachine plague that infects humans, computers, and starships alike) with characters whose morality is colored in shades of grey.
The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
The long-running Culture series is a cornerstone of modern space opera. The Culture is a “post-scarcity” society—one in which citizens can have anything they wish, without the need to work for it. For this, they have to thank the “Minds,” vast artificial intelligences that take care of all the dirty work, leaving humanity free to explore its high-minded (or baser) whims. This is one of those series that throws out one big idea after another, packing enough cool stuff into each volume to fill a dozen less ambitious novels. They’ve also got a wicked sense of humor, as evidenced by the wry names the continent-sized starships give themselves, just for their own amusement (So Much for Subtlety is a particular favorite).
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
Structured similarly to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Hyperion is a singular creation and a singular universe, one that starts slowly and builds into one of the most fully-realized space operas of them all. Filled with fascinating, flawed characters, Simmons’ books tell the tale of a humanity that has formed a new Hegemony after ruining planet Earth. Arrogant and aggressive, the Hegemony protects itself by any means necessary. Introduced into this sprawling setting is the Shrike, one of the most memorable creations of modern sci-fi—a creature assembled from razor blades, half-organic, half-mechanical, able to control the flow of time, a deity worshipped by several cults. Across four books, The Hyperion Cantos chews up and spits out every grand genre idea in the playbook (inter-dimensional travel, revolt by artificial intelligences, time travel), and invents a few new ones in the bargain.
Imperial Radch Series, by Ann Leckie
If you haven’t heard of Ann Leckie or her debut novel Ancillary Justice (and its sequel, Ancillary Sword), you haven’t been paying attention to the genre: her name was at the top of virtually every award list in 2014, and the novel more than lives up to the hype. Thousands of years in the future, the galaxy is dominated by the powerful Radch Empire, which maintains control over its holdings with an advanced fleet of starships controlled by artificial intelligences that are housed as fragments of the whole within human “ancillaries,” enslaved, computer-controlled bodies. The story begins when one such ancillary survives the destruction of its ship, and sets off on a mission of revenge against the person responsible, who happens to be the Lord of the Radch.
Great North Road, by Peter F. Hamilton
A great choice for a reader unfamiliar with space opera, this is one of those great books that often gets overlooked. It’s a huge endeavor, more than 1,000 pages long, with a cast of more than 50 characters, set in a complicated universe. Yet the murder mystery at the center of the plot keeps the story grounded and gives a newcomer familiar ground to stand on. Then, just as you’re getting comfortable, Hamilton begins introducing new ideas and twistier twists, leading to an unexpected, unpredictable ending.