Space Opera
Space Opera is a sub-genre that is usually set mainly in outer space and often deals with large scale events and themes. The definition has changed over time and used to represent really bad scifi, now though it's usually defined as dramatic, heroic and large scale with much of the story character driven (hence the term space opera, like soap opera). It's also probably the broadest and most popular category to fall into.
Books Reviewed
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![Children of TimeAdrian Tchaikovsky]()
Science FictionDesperate to find a new home amongst the stars, the last remnants of the human race are cast out into deep space. Thousands upon thousands asleep aboard a colossal colony ship, hibernating until a habitable planet is located. Eventually they discover a world which was terraformed by humanity long ag...
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![Poseidon's WakeAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionPoseidon's Wake is set in the same universe as Reynolds previous two Poseidon's Children novels ( Blue Rembered Earth and On the Steel Breeze ) but is written as an informal conclusion to the trilogy, a book that works equally well as a stand-alone story. The story begins on Crucible, a distant plan...
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![RevengerAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionAlastair Reynolds has the kind of scientific imagination that few can match, his stories often explored on a grand scale. While the Universe in Revenger is certainly grand and gloriously imagined, the story itself it much more personal. The far future Galaxy of Revenger has seen vast Empires rise an...
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![Elysium FireAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionElysium Fire is the sequel to Aurora Rising (also known as The Prefect), set in Reynold's Revelation Space universe but before events of his previous novels. Like Aurora Rising, it can be read as a stand-alone novel. It's the 25th century (with no Buck Rogers in sight) and humanity has, in many ways...
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![Bone SilenceAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionBone Silence is the third book in Alastair Reynolds Revenger series and follows on from the events of Shadow Captain and Revenger . First off, if you haven't read the first two books in the series, I suggest you do before starting Bone Silence. You could read it stand alone but it wouldn't make as m...
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![Inhibitor PhaseAlastair Reynolds]()
Science FictionWhen I talk to readers who do not like Science Fiction, I have found they say their minds just cannot get around the fantastical nature of the ideas contained within. They cannot understand sentient spaceships or aliens that think differently to ourselves. I try to point out that the genre is a vast...
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![The Red Scholar's WakeAliette de Bodard]()
Science FictionLove is love and that is truer in science fiction than any other genre as you can fall in love with anyone or anything. Someone of the same species, an alien or even a spaceship. With AI advancing who is to say that one day their personality will not appeal, couple that to an avatar they can create...
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![CoyoteAllen Steele]()
Science FictionI first found this novel during a book hunt back in 2006, at that time I hadn't heard of the author however I had just read Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars and as such was looking for another space opera "settlement" style novel. What I found with Coyote impressed me so much that I went straight out...
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![FearlessAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionIt's 2118 and humanity has not only got over the coronavirus, but have reached out into space - colonising the Moon, Mars, Ceres and Europa. It's still early days of mankind's expansion though and the ship Khidr is part of a small fleet who travel between the different colonies, assisting the huge c...
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![ResilientAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionResilient is the second book in Allen Stroud's Fractal series , picking up right after the events of Fearless . As such it's impossible not to provide some minor spoilers about Fearless while talking about Resilient . I will however try my best to give away as little as possible, and anything mentio...
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![VigilanceAllen Stroud]()
Science FictionVigilance is the third book in the Fractal series from Allen Stroud, following Fearless and Resilient . You know how it is with series; by the time you hit book three, you've got a pretty good idea of what you're getting into. The big question is whether the author can keep the momentum going, or if...
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![Architects of DestinyAmy DuBoff]()
Science FictionYoung adult science fantasy is a story type that has existed in various forms since the 1950s. The writing quality can vary, but the intention – to convey a vision where humanity has become an interstellar society always fires the imagination of impressionable readers. Architects of Destiny is a bo...
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![A Memory Called EmpireArkady Martine]()
Science FictionA Memory called Empire is the debut of Arkady Martine, although reading the book you'd be forgiven for thinking she's been writing best-sellers for years. The vast, interstellar Empire of the Teixcalaanli have appointed Mahit Dzmare as new Ambassador to the capital. When she arrives she realises tha...
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![The Long Way to a Small Angry PlanetBecky Chambers]()
Science FictionThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was originally funded as a small kickstarter project and self-published as a result. It was such a hit that it found a big publisher, got nominated for a ton of awards and has been raved about by many, many people. What struck me in particular wasn't just what ev...
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![A Closed and Common OrbitBecky Chambers]()
Science FictionA Book that brings you Home: Becky Chambers’ A Close and Common Orbit. It took me a while to work up the emotional energy to read Becky Chambers’ A Close and Common Orbit . This is Chambers’ second novel. Her first novel, A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet , was a unique self-published sci-fi nove...
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![Liege-KillerChristopher Hinz]()
Science FictionScience Fiction does not have to be epic. It can tell a small story about a single person or family as they struggle against a strange new world, but sometimes you want to read a stonking great space opera where an individual's actions can alter worlds. Liege-Killer by Christopher Hinz is one such...
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![Empire of SilenceChristopher Ruocchio]()
Science FictionEmpire of Silence is the debut of Christopher Ruocchio and the first in the Sun Eater series. It describes the early life of Hadrian Marlowe, an infamous figure who is remembered galaxy-wide as both hero and monster. The man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. The man who destroyed a s...
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![BluebirdCiel Pierlot]()
Science FictionThere is nothing quite like space for great action sci fi. The spaceships, the weapons, the futuristic or alien technology. Massive explosions and body parts flying about the place is great, but it is nothing without characters that you care about. Somone losing a hand means nothing if it is just an...
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![Master & ApprenticeClaudia Gray]()
Science FictionWith the new films, TV shows and cartoons it is sometimes hard to keep up with the Star Wars Universe and all its moving parts. Some of the less fashionable elements could be ignored in favour of big flashy characters like Han Solo or Boba Fett. Thankfully, the Star Wars books are continuing to expl...
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![GhostmakerDan Abnett]()
Science FictionThe second novel in the Warhammer 40k Gaunt's Ghosts Series and written by that insanely talented author Dan Abnett, Ghostmaker acts as a reflection on the history of the Ghost's and focuses on telling the story of the major characters within the regiment. This is done through the use of connected s...
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![Know no FearDan Abnett]()
Science FictionI can't really imagine a more exciting sounding Warhammer 40K novel, a battle during the Horus Heresy conflict that depicts the Ultramarines (my favorite Legion) against the Word Bearers - told with energy and grace by that master of battles Dan Abnett. The Primarch of the Ultramarines - Roboute Gui...
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![Prospero BurnsDan Abnett]()
Science FictionThis is the third audio book to be reviewed within the pages of SFBook and again we are firmly within the realms of Warhammer 40k, this time during that tremulous period of the Horus Heresy. Dan Abnett is the author and Prospero Burns the novel, narrated by Gareth Armstrong on eleven CD's representi...
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![Endymion OmnibusDan Simmons]()
Science FictionSequel to Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion – there's no reason to read this book if you haven't read those two books. Actually the question is if there's any reason to read this book at all! Fall of Hyperion ends the story of the Cantos and the Web quite nicely, with nearly no loose ends. So that's no...
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![HyperionDan Simmons]()
Science FictionHyperion is a science fiction novel by the author Dan Simmons. This is the first book that I've read by Dan Simmons, but definitely not the last - actually I've already started on the sequel. Hyperion is the tale of a bunch of pilgrims, on their way to the Time Tombs on remote planet of Hyperion. Al...
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![The Fall of HyperionDan Simmons]()
Science FictionThe Fall of Hyperion is the follow up novel to Hyperian (winner of the Hugo award) by Dan Simmons. I've been putting of writing this review for the last few days, hoping that time would make it easier for me to write it. Unfortunately I don't find it any easier to write now – but I'll try, giving up...
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![Startide RisingDavid Brin]()
Science FictionStartide Rising is a science fiction novel by the acclaimed author David Brin. Finally I have some luck with a Brin book. SR has its good sides even if parts of it make me kind of sick. Sorry, but intelligent dolphins not my cup of tea. I'm not sure why, but I think its because I really loath the ki...
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![Where it Rains in ColorDenise Crittendon]()
Science FictionThe future is full of an almost infinite sea of possibilities and that’s what makes science fiction such a great genre. Whilst I may imagine a dystopian future of bleak radioactive zombies, you may think of a utopia. The best books should be a mix of the two, a dark future with a glimmer of hope, or...
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![Ancestral NightElizabeth Bear]()
Science FictionHaimey is the engineer aboard the Singer, an interstellar salvage vessel named after its shipboard Intelligence. Haimey is genetically modified for zero-G, and she has brain-enhancing implants that connect her to the rest of the crew and chemically manage her emotional state. Haimey, Singer, and the...
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![The EmpireElizabeth Lang]()
Science FictionThe Empire is a science fiction space opera by Elizabeth Lang. The Centuries old war with Andromedans is heating up and the Empire is the only force that can stand it's way. One brilliant scientist may hold the key to a weapon that could swing the tide and save the galaxy but the method's of the Emp...
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![DuneFrank Herbert]()
Science FictionThroughout history many have searched for ways to live longer, from healthy eating and exercise to eliminating illness and seeking an elixir of life. I think it’s fair to say it’s a common goal to extend our lifespan. What would you say if I told you there was a substance that, if ingested regularly...
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![The RecollectionGareth L Powell]()
Science FictionStrange arches are appearing all over the world and the brother of failed artist Ed disappears through one that suddenly jumps into being at the bottom of a London Escalator. With no visible way back Ed must put aside his differences with his brother's wife and go find him. Four hundred years into t...
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![The Bastard LegionGavin Smith]()
Science FictionThe Bastard Legion is the latest Military Science Fiction from Gavin Smith, very much in the style of his earlier book Veteran and its sequel War in Heaven , although not connected in terms of plot or characters. Smith’s hard hitting protagonist is Miska Corbin, a thief and hacker who steals a pris...
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![Hull Zero ThreeGreg Bear]()
Science FictionA starship hurtles through the empty void of space towards an unknown destination, it's purpose and history lost in the midst of time. One man finds himself ripped from his dream of a new home and partner and awakens to the freezing cold and dark halls of Hull Zero One, a place that seems full of da...
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![ExcessionIain M Banks]()
Science FictionI feel kind of ambiguous about this book – one thing is certain it will never be my banks favourite, but on the other hand it's a must read if you are interested in the Culture. First of all I found it hard to follow, all too often I found myself in doubt as to who was who (or maybe what was what)....
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![InversionsIain M Banks]()
Science FictionInversions is a Culture series novel by the noted British author Iain M Banks. If I had to sum up Inversions with one word it would probably be "Different". It's released under Iain M. Banks which usually means that it's a Science Fiction story. You have to look really closely to find anything that...
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![Look to WindwardIain M Banks]()
Science FictionTo think that it has been nearly a year since I read any Banks last – not strange that I had to consume this one over a single weekend. Sometimes a book is just so good, that it becomes hard to review properly, without reverting to long sentences overflowing with superlatives (which quickly becomes...
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![The Player of GamesIain M Banks]()
Science FictionThe Player of games is a Culture series novel by the noted author Iain M Banks. I've been looking for Player of Games (PoG) for quite some time now (it has been out of print for some years) but finally I got lucky and found it in Gatwick Airport - So the big question for me was whether or not it wou...
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![The State of The ArtIain M Banks]()
Science FictionThe State of The Art is an anthology collection by Iain M Banks. The State of The Art is a collection of eight stories with the story The State of The Art making up one hundred of the two hundred pages. As can be expected with Banks all of the stories are well written and interesting, but I will sti...
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![Use of WeaponsIain M Banks]()
Science FictionBuying Bank's Use of Weapons was a long shot - a friend had recommended the danish translation of Player of Games, but the (American) bookstore where I mail order most of my books didn't have PoG stocked, so I decided to try another Banks book (I have been wanting to read something by him, for quite...
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![The Ion RaiderIan Whates]()
Science FictionThe Ion Raiders is book two of Ian Whate’s Dark Angels series, however despite featuring some if the same characters as book one, Pelquin’s Comet , it is not a direct continuation of the same story so can be read without knowledge of the first. Not to give to many spoilers, but the story does conti...
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![OutiesJ R Pournelle]()
Science FictionOuties is the sequel to the much acclaimed novel The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. This novel has been written by Jerry Pournelle's daughter, Jennifer. It has been a very long time since I read The Mote in God's Eye, the review on this site was written by my predecessor TC. I...
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![Guardians of ParadiseJaine Fenn]()
Science FictionFor most people, the race of the Sidhe are little more than legend, believed to be extinct for centuries after the males of the race rose up and fought alongside the humans subjugated and enslaved by the female Sidhe. Jarek Reen however know different, he's seen them alive and well, still messing wi...
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![Zoe's TaleJohn Scalzi]()
Science FictionZoe’s Tale is one of the Old Man War series of books by John Scalzi and covers the same time period and events as The Last Colony , (the previous book in the series) but from a different character’s perspective. Despite this, it can be read as a standalone novel. Zoe is moving to a new colony with...
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![CetagandaLois McMaster Bujold]()
Science FictionCetaganda is a science fiction novel in the Miles Vorkosigan Adventures series by Lois McMaster Bujold. This time Miles go to Cetaganda to attend the funeral of the Empress and ends up in a lot of trouble (now where have I heard that before?). The Cetagandan empire is build on a power division betwe...
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![Falling FreeLois McMaster Bujold]()
Science FictionFalling Free is a science fiction novel by the award winning American author Lois McMaster Bujold and takes place within the Vorkosigan Saga. Taking place in the same universe as the Vorkosigan adventures, but not featuring any of our beloved characters, for the simple reason that Falling Free takes...
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![KomarrLois McMaster Bujold]()
Science FictionKomarr is a novel in the Miles Vorkosigan Adventures series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Probably the strongest book yet in the continuing saga of Miles Vorkosigan. Bujold has moved a step beyond her usual "let's keep it simple and stick to Miles' point-of-view" for this story and is letting one of the...
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![MemoryLois McMaster Bujold]()
Science FictionMemory is a science fiction novel in the Miles Vorkosigan Adventures series by Lois McMaster Bujold. On an otherwise successful mission Miles Naismith (a.k.a. Admiral Naismith a.k.a. Lord Miles Vorkosigan) have a seizure and nearly cuts the rescued hostage in half. Miles has to go home and become Lo...
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![Mirror DanceLois McMaster Bujold]()
Science FictionMirror Dance is a science fiction novel by the author Lois McMaster Bujold. A friend gave this to me to read after I had given him Use of Weapons by Banks, and again I'm positively surprised at how many excellent writers there are out there - all of which have written tons of books, just waiting for...
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![All Systems RedMartha Wells]()
Science FictionAs I write this, the fifth book and first full-length novel in the Murderbot diaries , Network Effect , has won the Hugo award 2021 for best novel, already having won the Nebula and Locus . The series itself has also won the 2021 Hugo for best series. I guess I have some catching up to do. All Syste...
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![Rogue ProtocolMartha Wells]()
Science FictionMurderbot, the gruff yet lovable , media obsessed Security AI is back in Rogue Protocol , the latest tale in Martha Wells ’ The Murderbot Diaries , a Tor.com series of novellas. In the first story, the Nebula Award winning All Systems Red , Murderbot, a self-nicknamed security robot, secretly hacks...
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![Exit StrategyMartha Wells]()
Science FictionThe sassy, media loving AI ‘Murderbot’ returns in Exit Strategy , the fourth entry in The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Murderbot first burst on to the scene in 2017’s All Systems Red . In that first instalment, Murderbot was hired as a security unit (SecUnit) to protect a team of scientists le...
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![Artificial ConditionMartha Wells]()
Science FictionArtificial Condition is the second book in The Murderbot Diaries , and the follow up to All Systems Red . It won the 2019 Hugo and Locus awards for best novella, and like the others in the series, has received a great deal of praise. It is highly recommended (but not imperative) you read All Systems...
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![Network EffectMartha Wells]()
Science FictionAfter a string of novellas that were, frankly, brilliant, the fifth book and first full-size novel in The Murderbot Diaries , Network Effect stormed the science fiction scene when it was released, winning the holy trinity of Hugo , Locus and Nebula awards for best novel. As I write this the first (i...
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![RedsightMeredith Mooring]()
Science FictionThere are space books and then there are Space Operas. What makes a good Space Opera is a sense of scale – the big and the small. Characters making decisions that define the entire Universe, but also their place in the local power struggle. Who will rule, which family? Which sect? Which Goddess? Red...
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![Enders GameOrson Scott Card]()
Science FictionEnders Game is the award winning first novel in the Ender Saga, by Orson Scott Card. A trip to the library, nearly always bring something good with it. Just the feeling of being surrounded by all those books, can bring a joy to my heart, that can’t even be totally thwarted by the fact that they had...
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![Speaker for the DeadOrson Scott Card]()
Science FictionSpeaker for the Dead is the second volume in the Ender Saga, by Orson Scott Card and has won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula awards. This book could probably be read on it’s own, but it contains numerous spoilers for Enders Game and I can’t think of any good reasons why you wouldn’t want to read that one...
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![Fallen DragonPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionFallen Dragon is a science fiction novel by the British author Peter F Hamilton. There is a unrecognised Science Fiction genre, that deals with the transition from a society of limits and into one of plenty (an utopia or nirvana, if you want). Or maybe not the transition itself but the events that l...
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![Pandora's StarPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionPandora's Star is the first volume in the The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton. "Part one of the Commonwealth Saga" it says on page five. "Main characters" it says on page seven and then it goes on to list 44 characters. Then follows nearly nine hundred page of story which ends with the text "...
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![The Abyss Beyond DreamsPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionPeter Hamilton doesn't just write Space Opera, he defines it . The Abyss Beyond Dreams is the start of a new series that takes place in his wonderfully rich Commonwealth universe. It's no secret that we love the works of Peter Hamilton at SFBook and The Abyss beyond Dreams is no exception. To co-ins...
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![The Confederation HandbookPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionThe Confederation Handbook is a stand alone novel set within the same universe as the Nights Dawn Trilogy. "A Vital Guide To the Night’s Dawn Trilogy" the subtitle of The Confederation Handbook says and that pretty much says it all. Two hundred and thirty pages of facts about the culture, politics,...
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![The Naked GodPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionThe Naked God is the third novel in the Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. Sitting with the final and conclusive volume of The Nights Dawn and looking at it's massive 1150 pages (at 1.5Kg it's just about the heaviest book I've ever read), I felt kind of intimidated. My faith in Hamilton and hi...
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![The Neutronium AlchemistPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionThe Neutronium Alchemist is the second volume in the Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. In The Reality Dysfunction , the presence of an energy-based alien lifeform during the death of a human on the colony world of Lalonde somehow "jammed open" the interface between this universe and "the beyo...
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![The Reality DysfunctionPeter F Hamilton]()
Science FictionThe Reality Dysfunction is the first volume in the Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter Hamilton. In the far future, humanity has divided along a single major line. The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with telepathic affinity to their biotechnological homes and ships. Adamists are effecti...
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![Iron GoldPierce Brown]()
Science FictionBeing an author there are hard decisions to be made. Do you stick with the same characters or try to be someone who writes about different times and places in each book? After the original Red Rising trilogy, author Pierce Brown had the option to stop writing about Darrow’s rise and instead concen...
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![The Rebel WorldsPoul Anderson]()
Science FictionThe Rebel Worlds is a science fiction novel by author Poul Anderson. When I’m a bit stressed at my daytime job, I take a lot more care when I select a new book to read. It has to be fairly short if I want to finish it anytime soon, the story line has to be fairly simple and it has to keep me enterta...
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![Titan HoppersRob J Hayes]()
Science FictionHumanity is a parasite sucking the recourses from the Earth until there are no more. Like a remora attached to the undercarriage of a shark, humans will one day need find a new host. The alternative is to change our ways, but that does not seem likely. Titan Hoppers by Rob J Hayes follows a flotilla...
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![Death DropSean Allen]()
Science FictionDeath Drop is a science fiction novel by Sean Allen. The last known human was exterminated over 400,000 years ago and the known universe is ruled by the savage race known as the Durax, keeping control with their compelling mind powers. War rages against this vehement race and the free people have tw...
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![JubileeStephen K. Stanford]()
Science FictionWhat made people think that the middle of the desert was the right place to build a town like Los Vegas where people from around the world flock to get their vice on? It was the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere, safe from prying eyes and it was desperate to for people to visit. There should...
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![Stars Like UsStephen K. Stanford]()
Science FictionInvent any innovative technology and it won’t be long until someone finds a way to use it to make money via base entertainment. We are talking wine, woman, and song. The same can be said of future worlds; the Emperor may have thought he had an iron grip on all his subjects, but just below the surfac...
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![The Intergalactic Empire of WakandaSuyi Davies Okungbowa]()
Science FictionThe sheer number of comic books out there are a blessing and a curse. There are so many stories to catch up on and different versions of the same characters. It is wonderful for the explorer, but for the casual fan it can be daunting. We all know something about Black Panther , the character, Wakand...
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