Space Opera Fans discussion

Greetings Space Opera Fans!

This is a general purpose thread to announce what Space Opera themed book you're reading at the moment, or THINKING of reading and want to know if anybody else has read that book before you cough up your hard-earned money to buy it. It's a good way to share hot tips and ideas.

You're also free to discuss it. Remember that we have a BOOK BUDDY folder down at the bottom of the community where you can open up your own no-holds-barred spoiler-filled discussion of any Space Opera themed book you like if you can round up a group to read with you. Kinda like Book of the Month club, only fewer rules 3:-)

As always, NO SELF-PROMOTIONAL SPAM!!! If somebody asks a question about a similar kind of book and your book is dead-on, by all means speak up, but otherwise unrelated 'buy my book' spam won't be tolerated. That's why we have LISTOPIAS to help parse out sub-sub-genres and make them discoverable for people hankerin' for something particular.

Happy sharing!

Anna
SOF Borg Queen

I haven't been reading any sci-fi lately, but between library books I'd been dipping in and out of the series by James White.

Just a few pages into Polity Agent by Neal Asher. I'm pretty much immersed in the Agent Cormac series, so I'm enjoying this. I have to admit that Asher manages to load his tales up with lots of unique characters and situations, but that's where much of the fun comes from.

A couple of months ago, I read The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly.

Really enjoyed it, well worth reading.

I'm on the Star Wars kick so I'm reading Lost Stars: Star Wars by Claudia Gray.

I have something like 20+ books on my "Currently Reading" shelf but there are three that are active reads. Only one is SF though. The books are
Clark Darlton: Quest Through Time and Space (Perry Rhodan #9)
Don Thompson and Dick Lupoff, editors: All in Color for a Dime
George Egerton, editor: Anglican Essentials
As you can see I have somewhat diverse tastes and interests in my reading choices.

Forgot. I am also reading a book on drag racing but I managed to misplace it a few weeks ago when I came home from the kids' bowling.

Reading Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God and getting ready to read Pico's Crush and Time Heist The third one is an audiobook.

Shadow of Empire is on my currently reading shelf but I really don't think i'm going to be able to finish it (especially since it is due back to the library soon).

Just finished reading Galaxy Games: The Challengers by Greg R. Fishbone

I loved this book! I think it's a perfect book for kids. Not only is it fun (and funny) but it also presents a wonderful message of peace and tolerance. There's not just aliens but different cultures and ethnic groups, and very strong girl characters! Sure hope he comes out with the followup.

Beware the Dwobleys!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading
Forbidden the Stars which is pretty good so far.

I just finished the first three books of Scalzi's Old Man's War series.

The big one currently:

Drysine Legacy: by Joel Shepherd

Loved the first book in the series so this was a no brainer. Been a fan of his since the Crossover (Cassandra Kresnov, #1) days.

I just finished reading Caliban's War, the second book of The Expanse series, which I thought was really good.

I'm currently reading a non-scifi book called Strange Weather in Tokyo, but I'm planning to read A Long Way To a Small Angry Planet after that. Has anyone read that book yet?

Not reading space opera at the moment, but reading The Rosetta Man which involves aliens communicating with Earth....

I am currently rereading a fantasy series, but before that I reread the three main Mageworlds books by Debra Doyle and James MacDonald (The Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, By Honor Betray'd)

Currently reading Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds. I'm less than 5% through and I'm already hooked. The level of detail in Reynold's world is remarkable which is what I love in my fiction: the ability to place the protagonists in the context of the world/society they inhabit.

Readers, I am reading a semi-history book At Day's Close: A History Of Nighttime, not really space opera, but it talks about the night and the dark and the fears associated with it. And today we have street lighting so it's less scary. But space is still scary like the movies, Gravity and the movie Event Horizon. For me night time and space are places where the unknown is scary as in the Alien series as well.

I'm currently reading Hero by Belinda Crawford which I'm really enjoying so far. It should probably go on our YA listopia :)

I'm reading American Gods at the moment (which, I'm fairly certain, is NOT space opera, but which is quite an excellent book so far!), but before that, I read The Dosadi Experiment (which, according to some of the definitions I read a moment ago in the "what is space opera" thread in this forum, perhaps could be categorized as such). It was a good story, set in a very interesting universe, but toward the end it almost lost me.

Just finished re-reading "Quest Through Time and Space" (Perry Rhodan #9). I am now reading a new mystery (To Brew or Not to Brew, first of a series). I like to vary my reading materials.

Just finished whilch is pure, unadulterated space opera, and am re-reading which also qualifies.

Deborah wrote: "Just finished whilch is pure, unadulterated space opera, and am re-reading which also qualifies."

And.... done! My review for Prison of Night is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm about halfway through Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr.

Got it in a book bundle along with a bunch of other women authors I've never read. Pretty good so far, though it's gone from a 4-star start to a 3-star mid-read. The story's hit a bit of a slump for me, but at least it's very well written.

On audio-Fire Upon on the Deep-listening time affected mostly by commute methods (more listening done on the bus than train, but I'm on the train more nowadays).

Crossover-Joel Shepherd-not exactly space opera but Cassandra Kresnov is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters (also breaking me of my concern that I'm not handling books with female leads well because of T.A. Pratt, Laurell Hamilton and David Weber characters).

The 36 Hour Day-my significant's mother has recently been diagnosed with dementia. So this is "homework" Very good and useful, but it meant putting Crossover aside for now.

Ronnie wrote: "I haven't been reading any sci-fi lately, but between library books I'd been dipping in and out of the series by James White."

I really enjoy his work, and I think he does a good job of writing "alien" aliens (as in he doesn't do humans in alien clothing type of characters)

I just finished reading Star Trek Child of Two Worlds paperback novel; am reading Atlantis Bermuda Triangle on my kindle for my free borrow as an Amazon prime member; and just received in the mail my copy of Lois McMaster Bujold's new Vor novel - Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, which is beckoning me but which I am holding off on until I have a day to devote to it as once I start it I am unlikely to willingly stop until the last page.

Started Pico's Crush by Carol Van Natta last night. Will start the audiobook of Time Heist by Anthony Vicino when I finish Inferno by Dan Brown.

Just finished The Rosetta Man, which I thoroughly recommend for those who enjoy first-contact stories.

Just starting Forgotten Suns...

I just came across Wreaths of Empire . I apologize if it is in the bookshelves, which I tried to search.

Here is the blurb: Naval Intelligence Commander Jade Lafrey retrieves a dying agent’s last report from the wreckage of his ship and stumbles into a conspiracy that may destroy any chance of peace between the Terran Hegemony and the alien Gara’nesh Suzerainty. The garbled message implies that someone is developing the ultimate weapon – but who? Together with her super-geek aide and an Information Officer she’s not sure can be trusted, Jade must negotiate both the treacherous political starscape and the stirrings of her heart in order to avert catastrophe.

Onto right now. Not sure what to think of it. It's good writing, got over 50 pages into in an hour. I'm hoping it can hold my attention the entire way through.

I'm reading Star Wars : The Old Republic : Annihilation at the moment. So much better than Fatal Alliance, but still it is quite far from what I would consider really good. After this I'm getting in to the second book of the Expanse series, can't wait!

I finished all 3. Now I have a copy of Margolin's Violent Crimes that I received a hard copy in exchange for a review. So it is next.

In all honesty, I am going through my currently reading list and going to the books I should have started last year but didn't.

The Powder Mage was pretty fun. But as far as sci fi goes, working on catching up on the expanse books too.

I'm reading Home World - pretty classy old-school sci fi, enjoying it thoroughly. Reminds me of when I used to play Traveller RPG back in the day.

Just finishing a great debut novel. Just great, but make sure you read to at least chapter 4 to 5 before you decide. by 15 you will be up all night reading.

Just finishing up by Pierce Brown and so far it is everything I hoped for. Going to start as my next read.

So I was at the BOSKONE science-fiction conference this weekend where Sharon Lee and Steve Miller were featured speakers and, yeah... I did it.

[* I couldn't help it ... please don't tell my husband *]

A bagful of space opera books (with a few epic fantasy thrown in) somehow mysteriously teleported themselves onto my bookshelf 3:-)



REALLY!!! They found their own way home! So anticipate I'll be nominating Liaden Universe books for the BOTM club :-)

About to try out Odin's Eye by Maria Haskins - collection of sci fi short stories. Read a couple of her free stories over on her blog, has a very nice turn of phrase.

Listening to On Basilisk Station by David Weber. I read the ebook a year or two ago and decided to get the audiobook from Audible. I am enjoying it so far. I am on chapter 16 at the moment.

Mighty Good Road by Melissa Scott. My last visit to a used book store, i bought 5 or her books. I had not read her work before. Two of then is The Road to Heaven series.The first book in the series, they didn't have so I just found a used copy on Amazon. I visited Bookmans to replace my Sassinak series because I saw it had moved to my daughter's shelf in WI. $75 later ... I can relate Anna.

(I wish I knew how to insert the books by link or cover. If anyone want to provide me with directions?)

Lizzie wrote: "(I wish I knew how to insert the books by link or cover. If anyone want to provide me with directions?)"

Just above the box in which you type your comment there is a small grey text link "add book/author". Click that when you want to add a link to a book or an author. When the dialog pops up, select the tab for book or author, depending on what you want to insert, also check at the bottom whether you want to insert a link (text) or the cover, then type the name of the book/author in the search box and click search. It should bring up a list of potential matches. Find the one you want and click Add. That will insert the link at the location of your cursor in the comment box. Note the search doesn't always work very well; you may need to try different search parameters. For instance I often have trouble when the title of a book has a colon followed by the subtitle. In that case I can sometimes get better results searching for just the subtitle. Special characters seem to be problematical. Just keep trying.

All in Color for a Dime which has a chapter on Fiction House's Planet Comics. Some of the stuff in that comic would probably qualify as Space Opera

I've just finished Peter F. Hamilton's The Commonwealth Saga. Wow.

Betsy wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "(I wish I knew how to insert the books by link or cover.

Thank you.

Lizzie wrote: "Betsy wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "(I wish I knew how to insert the books by link or cover.

Thank you."

Just to add that some app versions don't seem to carry the add book/author link.

For me that won't be a problem. All my Goodreads stuff is done on the computer.

I have three chapter left of On Basilisk Station by David Weber. Should be finished with it in a little less than two hours.

Betsy wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "(I wish I knew how to insert the books by link or cover. If anyone want to provide me with directions?)"

Just above the box in which you type your comment there is a small grey text..."

I did it as to book names in a thread I started asking about two series I am thinking about. Thanks for the help.

Currently reading which is the sequel to . I loved Linesman, but Alliance didn't grab me as hard. I stopped in the middle of chapter one to reread Linesman to try to figure out who the heck those people were in Alliance. I still loved Linesman so I started over on Alliance. The familiar characters show up in chapter two. Enjoying the book even if it is not quite as gripping as the first one.