SF Signal: POLL RESULTS: The Most Underrated Space Opera Novel

POLL RESULTS: The Most Underrated Space Opera Novel

Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.

QUESTION
Which of these space operas of the last 10 years is the most underrated?

RESULTS

(127 total votes)

Thanks to James Keith who wrote in with a poll suggestion!

Be sure to vote in this week's poll on The 2007 Hugo Nominees for Best Book!

I find the new poll interesting - primarily becuase I've read none of them. If you haven't read all 5, are you qualified to respond?

If the review history is a guide, from the regular posters here at SFSignal, only JP has read any (and he's only read 3.) I don't see him getting to that dragon book any time soon, either.

Are the hugo voters expected to read all 5 between now and the convention?

Posted by scottsh on Monday April 02, 2007 at 7:43 AM

I have read 4 (no Vinge for me since I do not like his style), and while the Novik book is acceptable fluff (though books 2 and 3 go downhill so bad for me that I do not plan on reading anything else in that series), the other 3 books are all excellent Hugo candidates. Blindsight is the most audacious hard SF novel in a long time so it deserves to win, while Eifelheim is excellent literary SF and Glasshouse is the best Stross novel to date.

Posted by Liviu on Monday April 02, 2007 at 8:01 AM

Out of all the ones listed above (and of the ones I've read), I think I'd say the Gap series comes out slightly ahead of The Golden Age series. For being a space opera, Gap has a very claustrophobic feel to it, and Donaldson does a great job of creating characters, then turning the perception of those characters completely around. It was very impressive. And we all know how much we liked The Golden Age stuff.

Mr. Wright needs to return to space opera!

Posted by jp on Monday April 02, 2007 at 9:34 AM

Ooops I just realized that John read Blindsight as well, sorry John!

Posted by scottsh on Monday April 02, 2007 at 9:35 AM

No big. Yeah, Blindsight wasn't for me, which just goes to show how I wouldn't be able to predict an award-nominated (or -winning) novel if it came up and bit me on the Klausner.

Posted by John on Monday April 02, 2007 at 11:41 AM

I just read the except from His Majesty's Dragon from Naomi Novik's web site and it was pretty good. It made me want to get the book anyway - now off to Amazon...

Posted by scottsh on Monday April 02, 2007 at 12:04 PM