rec me.

[bedlamsbard]

So it struck me the other day that I've never exactly read a lot of sci-fi of the space opera variety. By which I mean, the only thing I can think of reading in that category in the past ten years is Darkover and the S.M. Stirling Mars and Venus books (which is of the old-school Edgar Rice Burroughs flavor). I watch a lot of sci-fi on film (Star Wars, Stargate SG-1 and SGA, BSG, Farscape, Space: Above and Beyond), but I've never really read much. So, if I wanted to read some sci-fi of that variety, what do y'all recommend? I enjoy ladies, ass-kicking, snark, the military, and third-person POV, though I'm willing to let that last slide in rare situations.

Comments

[cofax7]

Space opera with ladies:

Elizabeth Moon's stuff, particularly the Emily Suiza novels, but also the Heris Serrano novels. Those all have women protagonists, doing classic space opera stuff.

Bujold's Vorkosigan novels are mostly about a guy, Miles, but his mother is the protagonist of the first two, and those are definitely space opera, with space battles and politics.

R.M. Meluch's Merrimack novels are classic old-school space opera, but the characterization of women in them isn't very complicated, and the primary relationship is two guys, in a very slashy relationship.

[lotesse]

Seconding the Vorkosigan Saga rec - because although Miles is admittedly male, Bujold consistently does interesting and imo mostly successful work with gender, sexuality, and reproduction speculation, which is really cool. And also because they're just banging books.

[bessemerprocess]

If he doesn't drive you up the wall, David Weber's Honor Harrington books fit those requirements.

(3rding Vorkosigan books.)

[starlady]

Yes, Honor Harrington by all means! But stop at Echoes of Honor if you don't want to be driven out of your tree.

[cofax7]

Forgot some more:

CJ Cherryh does great space opera: I suggest starting with The Pride of Chanur, which has politics and space ships and alien cultures galore. And women: since Pyanfar Chanur, the protagonist, is a sapient feline who is captain of her own ship.

[rachelmanija]

The Risen Empire (Succession), by Scott Westerfeld. Really fun adult novel with great ideas and everything you mention, plus a sweet lesbian romance between a human on the autism spectrum and a stranded alien. Flaw: it stops rather than ending.

Aristoi, by Walter Jon Williams. Excellent, unusual space opera in which some of the advanced technology is psychology: people generate multiple personalities as a means of tapping into their highest potential. Great ass-kicking, good snark, third-person, but a bit light on the ladies.

I highly recommend the Bujold novels. I don't really think of them as space opera, though. They're not quite sweeping and huge enough.

[rachelmanija]

YES! Cherryh! But I would start with Cyteen: clone-slaves, fascinating and disturbing issues of slavery and identity, amazing female characters, young assassins, tormented forbidden love between a clone and his (male) owner, etc.

[alexseanchai]

YES HONOR HARRINGTON.

[kayloulee]

I came here to say Lois McMaster Bujold, but, uh. Well. x-th'ing that rec, then.

[iopgod]

Ditto bujold. Cordelia's Honour (collection of Shards and Barrayar), in particular, has a most kick-assing woman protag. Also: Ethan of Athos, sort of. All are good, though, with lots of females in good kick-ass, though not always view point, roles.

ditto webber, if you can get past the info dumps, stupid people being evil for the sake of it and telepathically-bonded drag... sorry, treecats. I find my tolerance isnt exceeded before the 5th or 6th main sequence novel. The battles remain good throughout, though.

Ditto WJW, though would point you towards the Dread Empire Falls trilogy for space opera.

[snacky]

I never read space operas either! But omg this reminded me that I have several copies of the Space: Above and Beyond novels because I kept finding them in bargain bins for 99 cents and I'd feel bad so I'd rescue them.

I am aware this is odd behavior. :D

[(Anonymous)]

There's a second book in that series by Westerfeld, it was orriginally one novel, but the publishers cut it in half for one reason or another and that's why The Risen Empire ends so suddenly. The second book is Killing of Worlds, and together they really are awesome space opera.

[rachelmanija]

No, I know that. The second book also ends very abruptly.

[cursor_mundi]

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liadan Universe series. There's an omnibus, Partners in Necessity (2000), which collects Agent of Change (1988), Conflict of Honors (1988), and Carpe Diem (1989). Books 4 and 5 in that first sequence are Plan B (1999) and I Dare (2002), respectively. They are wonderful space opera, and I adore Lee and Miller's writing style.

[edenfalling]

I am kind of partial to David Brin's Uplift saga, most especially The Uplift War and Startide Rising, because the idea of humans genetically engineering chimpanzees and dolphins to have human-style sentience and it working out (instead of going all Planet of the Apes or whatever) is crazy awesome cool. Plus Brin seems to operate on the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink school of space opera. Why have one form of FTL travel when you could have five? Or six? And so on.

They're a little annoying in pairing everybody up by the ends of books, especially when romance is generally not a main plot point, but basically they're great fun.

[edenfalling]

Oh! Also read Andre Norton. She wrote far more books than I can hope to remember, let alone list, but the science fiction ones tend to be space opera of various types -- though occasionally with bits of fantasy in them, just as her fantasies often have bits of science fiction in them.