Space Opera Fans discussion
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May Group Reads Nomination Thread
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Indie Pick:
(Am still nominating this one, because I'm sure it'll get picked one day!)YA pick:
Indie Pick:
Reader Pick:
Since we'e allowed to nominate our own books, I'll throw my newest into the mix for Indie: Star Cruise: Outbreak.
Karen wrote: "Reader pick.........Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang.....
Indie - [book:Last Exit Before Trolls Book 1 Swimming With Toasters|23630..."
Loved Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang!
Here I come with my usual three:READER:
INDIE:
YA:
For the YA: 
Joseph Lexxus and the Drug Runners of AltairClosest comparison: think Hardy Boys in space.
Indie pick: Seers of Verde: The Legend Fulfilled
Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Have we read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman? If not, that is my nomination for READER PICK."It's a much-acclaimed book, but I wouldn't think of it as space opera. It's all set on Earth.
Really? I thought it was a space adventure, sorry! I'll think again....
Mark wrote: "Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Have we read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman? If not, that is my nomination for READER PICK."It's a much-acclaimed bo..."
It has been awhile since I read this but I can tell you that this book is not all set on Earth. War is not the only concept within this book but a significant portion is related to it and the impact it has on the MC and all of this portion is fought a long way from Earth...
Mark wrote: "Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Have we read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman? If not, that is my nomination for READER PICK."It's a much-acclaimed book, but I wouldn't think of it as space opera. It's all set on Earth."
It's about people involved in an interstellar war against alien powers, so I think it qualifies.
Karen wrote: "Reader pick.........Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang....."Just finished "Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang". It's definitely not a Space Opera. Happens in West Virginia. No spaceships. No aliens. Many of the characters don't go out at night. It's not even an opera... ;-)
Heartily endorse The Forever War - great book, and very much not set on Earth all the time. Lots of great talking points, with the soldiers experiencing relativistic effects during their near-lightspeed travel, so many years pass during their journeys - and society changing as a result. For a YA pick - as a kid I read the Galactic Warlord series by Douglas Hill Galactic Warlord and it was a great adventure. That's a long time ago now, mind, I'd be intrigued to see how it's aged!
And sneakily can I mention an anthology I feature in for the indie pick? I suggest Tales From The Universe - Tales From The Universe: Ten Amazing Stories From Tomorrow with ten new and upcoming writers featured. Well, nine upcoming and little old me chasing in the back ;) I'll happily admit that a couple of the stories are grounded on a future Earth, but the rest hop in a rocket ship and soar off to new worlds, sometimes even new universes. Sneaky mention done ;)
Gaines wrote: "I'd like to nominate The Precipice by Ben Bova."Ooh, another good choice. But then, I'm not sure Ben Bova is ever a bad choice! :)
for Indie.Because I want people to suffer like I did
for reader.
Leo wrote: "Gaines wrote: "I'd like to nominate The Precipice by Ben Bova."Ooh, another good choice. But then, I'm not sure Ben Bova is ever a bad choice! :)"
Nope, he's never a bad choice. Is that one of the Grand Tour books?
lol @ Jonathan, I still have them in my backlog. Bought both when they were on flash sale for 2.99 each. For you Ill start reading it shortly. Reader: A Soldier's Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why #1)
YA: *not sure yet...will fill in later.
Indie: Vengeance from Ashes (Honor and Duty, #1)
Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Leo wrote: "Gaines wrote: "I'd like to nominate The Precipice by Ben Bova."Ooh, another good choice. But then, I'm not sure Ben Bova is ever a bad choice! :)"
Nope, ..."
Yes, it is one of the Grand Tour books - been a long while since I read it, so can't remember offhand where it sits in the order.
Fiannawolf wrote: "lol @ Jonathan, I still have them in my backlog. Bought both when they were on flash sale for 2.99 each. For you Ill start reading it shortly. Reader: A Soldier's Duty (Theirs Not to Reason Why #..."
I normally don't leave bad reviews but there was no way I could not say something about what I read with Lazarus War.
For Reader pick - Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. The latest in Bujold's Vorkosigan series is a bit unexpected, but still a great read.Indie Pick: I've put in two books - my Hathe series, which is only one story in reality, as these have been nominated in this year's RONE awards. Resistance Pay the Piper
Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Is that one of the Grand Tour books?"No, The Precipice is the first of Ben Bova's "Asteroid Wars" series. I read the second book in the series (not actually realizing it was part of a series at the time; although, it didn't really matter, as it felt like a stand-alone book)... and have always wanted to go back and read the first one.
Edit: Apparently I'm mistaken about that. It's both the first book in the "Asteroid Wars" series and the 8th book in the "Grand Tour" series. But there are so many books in the latter that I'm guessing that series was cobbled together to include a bunch of books after they were written, perhaps because they all take place in this solar system and therefore share a common theme. From what I can tell, however, the characters are not the same across all the books. Although there may be links between them, especially in the later books. *shrug*
Oh, okay, it doesn't really matter. I've never had a bad experience with Mr Bova yet.
Gaines wrote: "Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Is that one of the Grand Tour books?"No, The Precipice is the first of Ben Bova's "Asteroid Wars" series. I read the..."
I must be misremembering - thought it was. All the more reason for me to go back and re-read it if it gets to be the monthly pick :)
Aha, I see your edit - suspect you're probably right about linking some of those series retroactively!
Scroll up; I edited my post after digging around a bit more.
Gaines wrote: "Scroll up; I edited my post after digging around a bit more."I think we're both retroactively editing and ending up agreeing :)
Am I too late? I though Orbitsville by Bob Shaw might be a good one for the reader pick - it's about a Dyson Sphere.
For reader, how about DarkShip Thieves by Sarah Hoyt. Fun space opera with an awesome female protagonist. For indie, how about The Fallen Race by Kal Spriggs. For young adult The Rolling Stones is a great one.
Hi guys! So sorry, am running behind. That new screenwriting class I'm taking is absolutely kicking my butt time-wise :-P Thread is now closed.
Just randomized the results, but I've got to go nighty-night so I'll do all the fancy writeup part, post, and announcement part in the morning. But I threw the book covers up for now.
Winners are:
Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson
Quartershare by Nathan Lowell
And All the Stars by Andrea K. Host
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Space Opera Fans
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DarkShip Thieves (other topics)
Orbitsville (other topics)
The Precipice (other topics)
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Ben Bova (other topics)
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Whoops! Just realized it's the end of the month and I FORGOT to post the thread to gather nominations :-) I blame it on the emergence of spring. The birds. The flowers. The urge to read poetry instead of epic stories. Speaking of which, were y'all aware there's a science fiction poetry association?
Squirrel!
Anyways, spring is here and it's time to nominate which space opera books we'd like to read as a group in May.
Up this month we have the following categories:
READER PICK: Dead trees is where it's at for the Reader Pick, which should be widely available in both paperback and ebook at most chain bookstores and public libraries. Books can't be exclusive to Kindle Unlimited since we're a global community.
INDIE PICK: This is for those newer, edgier books where the author has to do it all. Books that have been published by a micropress that helps you upload the thing, but YOU otherwise do the work and marking are okay, or if you got your backlist back, still qualify.
YOUNG ADULT FRIENDLY PICK: This is where YOU guys help me
indoctrinateset a good example for my teenagers and hook them up with good books that won't make them roll their eyes. That means: Must be written FOR a young adult and STAR a young adult protagonist (age 17 or less) and not have been published any earlier than the year 2000 AD (yeah, I know you all think Heinlein is young adult, but the Y2K kids think he's sooooo 1966).(If the cover looks like THIS, it won't appeal to a 2016 teen)
Since it's hard to find purely space opera YA books, any sci-fi book that has a strong space or space-yearning element will probably be acceptable. Gotta still have spaceships and aliens.
Drop your nomination into the thread below and, on the first of the month (or so), we'll spin it through Random.org to pick three brand new group reads.
Be epic!
Anna Erishkigal
SOF Borg Queen
P.S. - drive-by spam nominations not allowed, so if you're not an active member, we reserve the right to disqualify anything fishy.