Space Opera Should Be Your New Favorite Subgenre
Science fiction is by far my favorite genre to experience. And I do mean experience, because it does not matter if I am reading it, writing it, watching it in movies and in shows, it’s all great. This also means, that I don’t want to just get my feet wet, I want to jump all in and get lost in the larger-then-life worlds and situations that can only be crafted through great science fiction. We have all experienced it, the story you just don’t want to end, you don’t want it to be over, or to have to say goodbye to the characters you’ve come to love. This is how bingeing became a thing we do, binge watching, and reading are definitely acts I am happily guilty of.
Thusly, I am a huge fan of sagas, and in the world of science fiction, there is perhaps nothing more attached to the idea of ‘saga’ then Star Wars. I grew up with it, I immersed myself in the movies and the many, MANY, books and even bonded with my best friend over that shared love. The whole point of me telling you all of this is:
Space Opera should be your new favorite subgenre.
It’s got everything in it that you could possibly want! All of the technological innovations, advancements, and wonderment are there (just like hard sci-fi but presented in a softer way), but so is the action, adventure, romance, fanatical worlds, dicey risks, and usually awesome alien races. Nothing else best describes the mix of these elements of science fiction the ‘Space Opera’ because it’s really about the characters, their hardships and desires, then the harder aspects of the technology. In other words, it’s definitely soft sci-fi. This works great in today’s binge culture too, because most Space Opera stories are series (read sagas), meaning fans get the huge adventurous experiences they want. For a visual representation of just what this means, look at ANY Star War's poster, the spacey aspects are in the background, and the characters are front and center.
Goodreads has a great listing of Space Opera reads here that you can check out for yourself. Even if you are on the fence about science fiction or the softer side of space operas, I highly recommend you give at least one story a chance to convince you otherwise. On this list is the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown which I recently completed thanks to a recommendation from our very own Editor Chandler. I cannot recommend the series enough.
Do you have a recommendation for a Space Opera for me?
I would love to add it to my never-ending to-read list! Leave a comment here or on our Facebook page telling everyone why they should your favorites too!
Until next time friends,
May the Force be with You.