Space Opera Fans discussion

IMO there are far too few older protagonists in SF, and most of those that are chronologically older have had some kind of treatment that slows aging.

In Methuselah's Children and Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein, Lazarus Long is hundreds or thousands of years old, due to a combination of heredity, mutation, and longevity treatments. Lots of books have similar characters.

Ofelia in Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon is downright elderly, but she still makes a definite impact on the world, even without rejuvenation.

Can you think of another SF book with a protagonist who is elderly, as in any possible longevity treatments are starting to fail?

I don't know whether you would count Old Man's War by John Scalzi, since an old man's consciousness was moved into a young body. But I do. It's the mind that counts.

Not SF, but I loved the Tanyth Fairport fantasy series by Nathan Lowell, and the implication that her magical abilities developed as a result of menopause.

In Assassin's Orbit by John Appel, the two women who work to solve the murder on the space station may not be elderly, but they're definitely "mature".

Lots of fantasy stories and cozy mystery stories have main characters that are post menopausal women. I’ve read the Tanyth Fairport books several times.

When I was growing up, very few SF stories had even minor characters who were intelligent women, of any age. I’ll check my Goodreads science fiction shelf to see if a spot any more with main characters who are 50+, of any gender. Not that 60 is elderly, at least now that I’m closer to 70 than 60.

Mirabile by Janet Kagan doesn’t have an elderly protagonist however the two main characters are mature and the male one has grown grandchildren so it sort of fits this theme. There’s no mention of any longevity treatments.

In the Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon, there is a secondary but crucial character who is elderly: the aunt who gifts homemade fruitcakes. (view spoiler)[with diamonds and whatnot hidden inside (hide spoiler)]

In Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper Pappy Jack was an old man.

In the Liaden Universe, does the Uncle count? He's not what I'd call a protagonist, but he's an important character in many of the books. And he's apparently hundreds of years old. Of course, since his longevity is apparently due to cloning, it may not count.

Not exactly what I’d call Elderly but I’d throw the Chanur Saga by CJ Cherryh. The main character is an aging (probably 50s esque) space captain that gets involved in a big political scheme as she is the first of her people to meet a human. The main character, Pyanfar, is very experienced but getting older and the later books focus quite a bit on her difficulties with the new generation.

I would definitely count Pyanfar from the Chanur Saga! She’s old enough to have an adult niece on her crew whom she sometimes has trouble relating to due to the generation gap.

Just read Waystation by Clifford Simak and I’d classify the protagonist as an old man. He’s a civil war veteran that has stopped aging due to alien tech but he’s over 100 at the time of the novel. Lots of scenes of him looking at the state of the world like a wizened old man

Excel wrote: "Just read Waystation by Clifford Simak and I’d classify the protagonist as an old man. He’s a civil war veteran that has stopped aging due to alien tech but he’s over 100 at the time of the novel. ..."

I loved Waystation. It was one of the books that really got me hooked on sci-fi.

I almost listed Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold, then recalled that, while the heroine is labeled as over the hill, she is only in her thirties. Times have changed (thank goodness).

Bujold's Paladin of Souls is a wonderful example of a middle aged protagoinst, but that's fantasy.

We need more mature protagoinsts in SF for sure!

The protagonist of Michael Mammay’s Planetside series is a retired military guy. I enjoyed these novels and a new one is coming soon.

The Rolling Stones by Heinlein has a 3-generation family living aboard a spaceship, and grandma Hazel is probably the most badass.

Larry Niven’s Known Space universe features many secondary characters who are older, often through life extension tech such as boosterspice. Other characters like the humanoid Pak can live for hundreds or thousands of years. I think the only main character who is of advanced age is Louis Wu, who was 200 years old during the expedition to Ringworld.

I’m not sure this counts, but in Jack L. Chalker’s Well World saga one of the main characters is starship captain Nathan Brazil, who might be immortal. Definitely not Space Opera, but Chalker’s A War of Shadows is a thriller about germ warfare used by terrorists and the people tasked with stopping them are mature professionals. I remember thinking that Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) would be perfect as the main guy.

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon is specifically about an elderly woman who refuses to leave her planet when a corporation decides to forcibly resettle the populace. She’s the last human left, but when a spaceship lands its crew is murdered! Mystery-solving time!

The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson features older professionals, some in their 50s and 60s, and at least one centenarian.

Hari Seldon in Asimov’s Foundation is an older man. I don’t recall his exact age, but Michael Whelan’s cover depicts him as an old man in a wheelchair: https://images.app.goo.gl/SsgmS6Nw3Uj...

Mary Robinette Kowal has a new book coming out in October. "Apprehension" is a novella about a grandmother on vacation to another planet with her son-in-law and grandchild, when the child is kidnapped for political reasons. It's bundled with another book, Red Star Hustle / Apprehension in the same volume.