In SciFi - what is a space opera & give some titles?

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

As a general rule, I consider it Space Opera if it is set in a universe where the stakes are higher than in most other science fiction novels and the setting is grand. The enemy doesn't hvae to be immensely old, but it helps. I agree with the idea that Earth is probably at best a minor player.
--
Bill

Ah! That would be Wagnerian space opera.

[xg4bx]

3 pages in and no mention of Dune? I'm surprised.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

3 pages in and no mention of Dune? I'm surprised.

Meh, some people say yes, some people say no. It's more of a "chosen one" fantasy story set in space, really, but there's a case to be made for space opera.

Also, we're still on my first page--second setting I change on any forum, after shutting off email notification

[crich70]

These by A.Bertram Chandler are pretty good.click

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Meh, some people say yes, some people say no. It's more of a "chosen one" fantasy story set in space, really, but there's a case to be made for space opera.

Also, we're still on my first page--second setting I change on any forum, after shutting off email notification

For me, I think Dune is not sufficiently space-based to be space opera. Planetary fiction feels like a different category.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

For me, I think Dune is not sufficiently space-based to be space opera. Planetary fiction feels like a different category.

Yeah. It's been a long, long time since I last read Dune, but I remember most of the story happening planetside.

[curtw]

Originally Posted by FatDog

...
The next morning I brought up Google and asked: "What is a space opera". I got several results but this first one bothered me:

I was a bit offended at the term "simplistic", but I kept digging.

I found this page that I cheerfully read to my wife until she laughed so hard she snorted her Starbucks out her nose (did I mention we are in Seattle?)

http://io9.com/5965187/top-ten-rules-of-space-opera

(Can someone tell me what story they were thinking of when saying a sassy stowaway is needed?)

I just re-read the original post, and then the io9 article. I'd say that Startide Rising meets all 10 of these rules, so that must make it a perfect space opera!

Rule 9 is the perfect example--the Captain is a Picard-esque dolphin, the special agent has a secret mission from the "Terragens Council," the cadet (midshipman) with a future falls in love with a beautiful scientist, the wisecracking stowaway is also a chimpanzee. It's awesome!

[Pulpmeister]

John W Campbell wrote some space opera under his own name (Arcot, Morey, Wade series) with such titles as "Invaders from the Infinite". It is VERY distinct from his Don A Stuart output.

I agree entirely about "Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers" by Harry Harrison, great fun indeed. Unfortunately I've lost my old paperback copy.

There's a Brian W Aldiss edited anthology called "Space Opera", by the way. It's a fun collection, companion to his "Evil Earths", "Perilous Planets" and "Galactic Empires" volumes.

For unadulterated vintage space opera, try the "Hawk Carse" stories by Harry Bates under the Anthony Gilmore pseudonym. Bates failed to renew the copyright of these 1931-2 stories, so they are now in the public domain in the USA only, and can be read on Project Gutenberg.***

***My mistake-- Hawk Carse is not on Gutenberg. Senior moment!

*** Yes he is-- under Gilmore, not Bates. Senior Moment Squared!

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by curtw

I just re-read the original post, and then the io9 article. I'd say that Startide Rising meets all 10 of these rules, so that must make it a perfect space opera!

Rule 9 is the perfect example--the Captain is a Picard-esque dolphin, the special agent has a secret mission from the "Terragens Council," the cadet (midshipman) with a future falls in love with a beautiful scientist, the wisecracking stowaway is also a chimpanzee. It's awesome!

The whole Uplift saga was unapologetic, gleeful space opera--in multiple kinds of space, no less.