I agree with Xanthe:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xanthe
I wouldn't agree with those ten rules. That just seems too tongue-in-cheek, and I think that space opera has evolved into a more respectable genre than just mere melodrama.
To me, space opera is an story arc that lasts for at least three books, involves primarily a non-Earth setting (though Earth/Terra might be a secondary/tertiary/or-merely-referenced setting), involves multiple subplots, is set in a well-defined socio-economic-political system or systems, and the plots and characters evolve as time progresses. There is usually some basic conflict - cultural misunderstandings and/or bigotry, political unrest, interstellar conflict, clan/family disputes, etc. There are elements of romance to it, but usually in the sense that when you're following characters over years of their lives, personal attachments do happen with all the associated joys and miseries.
A successful space opera gets me invested in the characters and the created universe. They become real to me and I want to find out "what happens next".
Examples:
David Weber's Honor Harrington Series
David Weber & John Ringo's Empire of Man series
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller's Liaden Universe series
Catherine Asaro's Saga of the Skolian Empire
Karen Traviss' Wess'har series
Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series
Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series
C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner series
Kristine Smith's Jani Kilian series
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I can suggest one 'space opera' that everyone should read, even those that don't like science fiction: The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. It is sublime. If anyone could suggest me another work of equal beauty, I would be ever so grateful.