Monday 26 November 2007

Space Opera Reading List

As per the other reading lists, this list is not complete, merely a jumping off point for further reading. The books are in no particular order (except for the two anthologies at the beginning).

David G. Hartwell, Ed. - Space Opera Renaissance
Jonathan Strahan, Ed. - The New Space Opera
Ken MacLeod - Newton’s Wake
Brian W. Aldiss - Eighty-minute hour
Catherine Asaro - Skolian Empire series
Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan series
Elizabeth Bear - Hammered, Scardown, Worldwired
M. Buckner - War Surf
Simon Green - Deathstalker series
Mike Shephard - Kris Longknife series
Sharon Shinn - Heart of Gold
Linnea Sinclair - Finders Keepers, Gabriel’s Ghost, Accidental Goddess, Games of Command, Down Home Zombie Blues
S. L. Viehl - Stardoc series, Blade Dancer
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller - Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon
Julie Czerneda - Trade Pact Universe trilogy, Species Imperative trilogy, Web Shifters trilogy, A Thousand Words for Stranger
C. J. Ryan - Dexta, Fifth Quadrant, Glorious Treason, Burdens of Empire
Diana Palmer - Morcai Batallion
Elizabeth Moon - Vatta’s War series
David Weber - Honor Harrington series
Various - Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who, etc.

4 comments:

Ian Sales said...

You missed:

The Centauri Device, M John Harrison
Appleseed, John Clute
Iain M Banks' Culture novels
The Risen Empire, Scott Westerfeld
The Gap Cycle, Stephen Donaldson
Take Back Plenty and sequels, Colin Greenland
Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers and Bill, the Galactic Hero, Harry Harrison
Pretty much everything by EE 'Doc' Smith

In fact, looking at your reading list it seems - bar a few exceptions - to be mostly "space opera with feisty female lead characters"...

Jessica Strider said...

Additions, comments and criticisms are welcome provided they are given in a respectful manner. Rude posts will be deleted.

stir said...

Yes, considering myself a Space Opera fan of the male genre (look at all the ladies!), I would indeed add:

Iain M. Banks Culture novels for sure!
Peter F. Hamilton's powerhouse Naked God/Reality Dysfunction
Stephen Donaldson's Gap Series just one of the best next to Hamilton's
Alastair Reynolds' novels
Allen Steele - not so much, but kinda opera-y
Piers Anthony Bio of a Space Tyrant?
Weber and White's 2-book collaboration (forget, so long ago)
Timothy Zahn's Conquerers' Saga was nice
Dan Simmons Illium and Olympos, some kinda opera, kinda spacey, definitely fanstatic reads (heck Hyperion itself)
Sean Williams (esp w/ Shane Dix)
John Scalzi's work

Heck, Dune both past and present versions, and then the whole Asimov Foundation old and new books (the killer B series) are kinda sorta space opera-y.

When it comes to Space Opera -- I don't think you can put very many books/series above Hamilton's Naked God series. Donaldson's Gap series is right up there too. And Reynolds has really been delivering of late.

But thanks! A lot of authors outside my usual scope to check out! And awesome, this popped up in my Google Alerts for "Space Opera!"

Anonymous said...

theres al so any number of
WARHAMMER 40,000 books
eg: Gaunts Ghosts, Dan Abnett
Eisenhorn Trilogy, Dan Abnett
The Horus Heresy
The Blood Angels series
Ciaphas Cain series
Enforcer: Shira Calpurnia
The Space Wolf
The Ultramarines
and more