SFRevu takes a shot at defining "space opera" as a genre, in Space Opera Redefined.
Looking at the list of the contemporary space opera books, I'd have to say that, IMO, those books are the ones I consider SF first, and space opera second, if at all. I'm not sure I'd classify The Book of the New Sun as opera. To me, space opera takes place in, well, space, and has characters flying around in space ships blasting the hell out of each other. Night's Dawn Trilogy anyone? In other words, action uber alle, story secondary, good characters and/or lack of SF cliches last. Of course, Night's Dawn is a heckuva series and very enjoyable. Even with the ending....
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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday September 15, 2003 at 12:53 PM
© 2008 SF Signal
Interetsing article.
I, too, enjoyed the Night's Dawn series.
I also enjoyed Stephen Donaldson's Gap series and, if memory serves, the ending left me feeling more satisfied.
I recently picked up an omnibus of the first 3 books of the the Liaden Universe. I figured for 3 bucks, it was worth a try. It seems to rate fairly well on Amazon (whatever that means). One of these days, I'll get around to reading it.
Before I start another series though, I'd like to finish off Sten and the Posleen (oh, excuse me...The Legacy of the Aldenata) series, both of which I am mid-series.
Posted by John on Tuesday September 16, 2003 at 9:13 PM at 9:13 PM