Need space opera recommendations

[fantasyfan]

Neal Asher has written some fantastic Space Opera. In Skinner and Cowl he created some remarkable worlds and aliens--including a hive mind and a great AI! The Polity series is pretty good too. I have his work in hard copy {published by Tor}, but would be surprised if it isn't available in e-book format.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

Neal Asher has written some fantastic Space Opera. In Skinner and Cowl he created some remarkable worlds and aliens--including a hive mind and a great AI! The Polity series is pretty good too. I have his work in hard copy {published by Tor}, but would be surprised if it isn't available in e-book format.

Neal is a great author and suprisingly his work seem to be quite easy to get in ebook format. He is one of the few sci-fi authors whose work is available to Africa in the Kindle store (I regularly check various of my favourite authors to see if it's worth getting a Kindle). I'm sure those in the US won't have any problems getting ebook versions.

Getting printed copies might be more difficult to obtain. The best option would be order those from a UK site.

[moyogi2]

Check out Nathan Lowell - his novels Quarter Share and Half Share are great, and the rest of the series is available as audiobooks for free at www.solarclipper.com

[Dopedangel]

I read thru the thread for recommendations most either I have already read or are in pile.
But no one has mentioned one of my favorite series so I am mentioning it.
Walter Jon Williams - Dread Empire's Fall

[Dopedangel]

I read thru the thread for recommendations most either I have already read or are in pile.
But no one has mentioned one of my favorite series so I am mentioning it.
Walter Jon Williams - Dread Empire's Fall

[Joykins]

Just finished _Song of Scarabaeus_ by Sara Creasy-- very good. I was turned onto it by romance fans, but it isn't really a romance, it's a good space opera with a romantic subplot that is not yet fully developed.

[gwynevans]

I've just come across a recommendation for the above series and from what I've read of them so far, it seems worth passing it on here, particulalry as I've not found any mention of them on the forum so far.

The series is "A Galaxy Unknown" by Thomas DePrima, with the first being entitled the same, i.e. "A Galaxy Unknown".

From the authors website: http://www.deprima.com/novels.html

" As with C.S. Forester's popular Horatio Hornblower novels, this series offers a slightly larger-than-life military officer whose involvement in epic space battles manifest a destiny of renown and prestige.

Newly graduated from the Northern Hemisphere Space Academy, our young Ensign is a victim of events that frequently spiral out of control, and seem to conspire to move her from obscurity to galactic fame. Space pirates, arch criminals, and alien civilizations envious of the territories controlled by the Galactic Alliance, provide a unceasing labyrinth of problems for our heroine. "

Currently 6 books in the series, from Amazon for Kindle & offthebookshelf.com for ePub.
Amazon UK Amazon US
(Disclosure: Theroretically, I get a commission if you purchase after following the Amazon links.)

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

I read thru the thread for recommendations most either I have already read or are in pile.
But no one has mentioned one of my favorite series so I am mentioning it.
Walter Jon Williams - Dread Empire's Fall

I love Walter Jon Williams, but my favorites are the Drake Majistral books.

Drake is the protagonist of a series set in a future in which humanity has encountered and been conquered by a dog-like alien species. He's the son of a human noble in the alien empire, but has a small problem: humanity has successfully revolted against their conquerors - the first time this has happened in the alien's history - and his family wealth is a casualty of the rebellion.

The aliens take the attitude that various crimes are acceptable if done with sufficient style, so Majistral makes his living as an Approved Burglar, whose crimes are carried out under the watchful eye of news service remotes, and he competes for ratings as well as treasure.

These are comedies of manners, resembling the old Alexie Panshin "Anthony Villiers" novels. For instance, the aliens have an ancient and rather static culture, where status is critical and there are a nearly infinite number of fine distinctions involved in knowing one's place and where one ranks in the society. The traditional alien greeting has been a polite sniff of the ears, but humanity has introduced the handshake, and the aliens are still happily sorting out the ramifications. They don't simply offer the whole hand. One may offer one or more fingers, dependent on one's status relative to the one being greeted. Offering too few fingers may be seen as looking down upon the one being greeted. Offering too many may be an admission of inferior position. The aliens are all agog at the possibilities.

There were only three, alas: The Crown Jewels (1987), House of Shards (1988), and Rock of Ages (1995) (collected as Ten Points for Style by the SF Book Club), but they are well worth reading if you like this sort of thing.

Another Williams work I recommend, though not space opera, is _Hardwired_. It's perhaps the best cyberpunk novel I've read (and yes, that includes William Gibson.) The protagonist is a panzerboy: a smuggler piloting a hi-tech speedster by direct neural interface through a balkanized future United States in a world conquered by orbital habitats. The space dwellers control the high orbitals, and when hostilities broke out, shot the attacking groundside fighters out of the sky before they could even reach the upper atmosphere. The space dwellers consider themselves superior to those below and keep those on Earth in a state of subjugation, valuable only for their contribution to the orbital's wealth and power. It's a meditation on the aftermath of shattered dreams in a future where there seems little left to believe in, and the difficulty of trust when it's each for himself and chance circumstance may determine whether another is friend or enemy.
______
Dennis

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

I've just come across a recommendation for the above series and from what I've read of them so far, it seems worth passing it on here, particulalry as I've not found any mention of them on the forum so far.

The series is "A Galaxy Unknown" by Thomas DePrima, with the first being entitled the same, i.e. "A Galaxy Unknown".

From the authors website: http://www.deprima.com/novels.html

" As with C.S. Forester's popular Horatio Hornblower novels, this series offers a slightly larger-than-life military officer whose involvement in epic space battles manifest a destiny of renown and prestige.

Newly graduated from the Northern Hemisphere Space Academy, our young Ensign is a victim of events that frequently spiral out of control, and seem to conspire to move her from obscurity to galactic fame. Space pirates, arch criminals, and alien civilizations envious of the territories controlled by the Galactic Alliance, provide a unceasing labyrinth of problems for our heroine. "

Currently 6 books in the series, from Amazon for Kindle & offthebookshelf.com for ePub.
Amazon UK Amazon US
(Disclosure: Theroretically, I get a commission if you purchase after following the Amazon links.)

I am currently reading the 5th book in the series "Milor!" and it is a cracking read.

I would second the recommendation, though would place it as military SF rather than Space Opera.

[fantasyfan]

Heinlein wrote a series of excellent "juveniles" and one of them, Citizen of the Galaxy, is a terrific example of the space opera genre. The fact that it is classed as a juvenile shouldn't put anyone off. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction rates it as one of his finest works and IMHO it is splendid!

[ATDrake]

Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy is my favourite Heinlein novel ever and I count it as a major personal influence.

It's available DRM-free via Baen, who still haven't raised the pricing of the Heinlein bundle yet even though it was set to expire February (maybe they meant end of?; watch them raise it right after I post this).

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

Heinlein wrote a series of excellent "juveniles" and one of them, Citizen of the Galaxy, is a terrific example of the space opera genre. The fact that it is classed as a juvenile shouldn't put anyone off. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction rates it as one of his finest works and IMHO it is splendid!

I'm not sure I'd class it as space opera, but I concur on the recommendation.

Citizen of the Galaxy was originally written for the Scribners Juvenile/YA line, but could as easily have been published as one of RAH's adult efforts. (I believe his later "Starship Troopers", which won the Hugo Award in 1960, was originally intended for that line, but published as an adult offering)

Baen has an ebook version available through their Webscriptions program:
http://www.webscription.net//p-1337-...he-galaxy.aspx
______
Dennis

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

(Ahem)

Space opera, you say? Strong female characters, you say?



Hey, no one else said anything.

(I gotta find some new places to hang... )

[snipenekkid]

I'll give Steve's Kestral series an atta-boy because they have been fun...so far anyway! So don't change that mister!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Whoa, wotta tough crowd!...