Missed the first time around
One of the downsides of reviewing for Locus is that most of the fiction that I read is newly released. There are many upsides, mind.
But on a practical note, with limited reading time, some of which needs to be filled with work-related titles, I don’t get to read many titles that I missed the first time around. And those titles are legion.
While I’d love to go all Jo Walton and post a new review of an old book on a frighteningly brisk schedule, that will never happen under my current set of circumstances. Still, I’d like to toss a few recent reads of older titles out sporadically. Like Walter Jon Williams’ Dread Empire’s Fall trilogy, which I’d started after thoroughly enjoying his recent This Is Not A Game. (For a full description of the Dread Empire, Jo herself offers up a concise review at Tor.com)
The Dread Empire books scratch that space opera itch that I can never seem to get enough Calamine lotion on. I yearn for wars writ over galaxies, characters bolder than hurricanes. I desire faster-than-light drives and grand gestures. Give me Banks on his best days. I will always have a crush on Miles. And, now, I long for more about the Dread Empire.
At his World Con KaffeeKlatsch, Williams himself admitted that he’d always imagined the three books in the trilogy as the start of a much longer cycle of books – either nine or twelve in total. Because the first books didn’t sell as strongly as the publisher had hoped, it’s unlikely that those ideas will ever leave Williams’ head. Which makes me sad, if only because their existence in a tangible form would give me a bunch of books to add to the pile.
So I’m going to poll the Locus hive mind: Which books scratch your space opera itch? Why?
c.j. cherryh's Alliance-Union universe does it for me. The Faded Sun Trilogy, Cyteen, Downbelow Station, and Cuckoo's Egg are all amazing books in their own individual way and yet they fit into this one universe so well.
Almost anything by Alastair Reynolds, The XEELEE stuff from Stephen Baxter, Scott Westerfield's duology THE RISEN EMPIRE/KILLING OF WORLDS, Delany's BABEL and NOVA, most of Dan Simmons SF, NATURAL HISTORY by Justina Robson, the culture novels of Iain M. Banks. Those are the ones that come readily to mind.
Bob Blough
Certainly the ones you mention … Banks, Bujold (though I don't think of her stuff as quite as operatic), and I indeed loved the DREAD EMPIRE books. I also greatly enjoy Elizabeth Moon's various SF series. NOVA was an inspiration to me … I love it, and I credit it with the return of serious Space Opera. Westerfeld's diptych was indeed fine as well.
I agree strongly about Bujold (Miles), Westerfeld's two, the Dread Empire books (terrific), Banks, and the Vatta's War series by Moon. I also enjoyed Scalzi's Old Man's War series a great deal. There are also some older works along similar lines, like Jack Vance's SF, Glen Cook's SF (the Dragon Never Sleeps singleton might not be as sophisticated as some of the others, but it was a lot of fun), some of Poul Anderson's older SF, etc.
I'd like to give some kudos to David Drake's RCN series as well; while Drake is clearly is in the military SF subgenre instead of space opera, this series is probably the closest he has come to space opera, and the most accessible of his SF to a wider audience.
I wonder if part of the reason the Dread Empire books didn't sell as well as the publisher liked (or they deserved) is because of the confusing way they chopped up the books when transitioning between hardback and mass market editions…
I've had this conversation with myself yesterday and the day before that and so on. I am truly at my happiest when I am reading a big fat dark dense space opera. Where are they hiding of late? I loved the Williams. Damn I wish there would be more Dread Empire books. I think one reason they don't sell is that Williams is at the end of the book cases and once one get's to Tolkien they get exhausted and leave – just a bit of a joke but not really. Seriously though the series that not only scratched that itch but punched me in the side of the head and left me in love was the Alastair Reynolds series with Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, and Absolution Gap. Dark, dense, multi-layered space opera love in 3 fat packages. On the other hand when I'm in the mood for big dark dense Space Opera I find myself stuck in Space Opera Light. A bit tongue and cheek sunniness. Example of that is Reynold's own House of Suns. I enjoyed House of Suns but a bit to light of a touch for me. Of course another example of good dark dense Space Opera is The Gap series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I'd love to see him hit up some more juicy Space Opera after he finishes Covenant.
Peter Hamilton, his early stuff is good. Asher, all, but esp. Spatterjay-related. I've been reading lots of Short stories by various authors too, and found myself enjoying them more than I expected. Reynolds, Banks, Simmons. Cherryh, Willis. Heinlein, Asimov's Foundation books, Clarke. Edmond Hamilton, van Vogt. Most of the long-form works of the authors in " The Space Opera Renaissance"
All I can recall at the moment.
Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap series was excellent, based loosely on the tales of The Ring of the Nibelung. I read it at a time when I thought I had outgrown the good old fashioned Space Opera and found myself fascinated and compelled to read on. I also very much love David Brin's two Uplift series, although a good portion of the action in the books are planet-side, the intergalactic action is a delight, as are the various alien races he creates.