And how do I know if my novel IS a space opera?
I've had that word bandied about in terms of my work and I'm trying to figure out what they mean.
I've had that word bandied about in terms of my work and I'm trying to figure out what they mean.
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, usually involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap opera". Perhaps the most significant trait of space opera is that settings, characters, battles, powers, and themes tend to be very large-scale.
I would also agree, I feel like space western and space opera often collide. Making things up but may i dare to say space western is a subset of space opera. I only said space western because that is what I've heard it categorized as.As you'd expect, there's a Wiki for that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera
IMHO Firefly is indeed Space Opera, and there's a list with it on it...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_opera_media
- Star Trek (1966–present) created by Gene Roddenberry
- Star Wars (1977–present) created by George Lucas [25]
- Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979 and 2004–2009) created by Glen A. Larson & Ronald D. Moore[26][27][28]
- Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985) created by Jeffrey Scott
- Babylon 5 (1993–1998) created by J. Michael Straczynski [25]
- The Chronicles of Riddick, characters by Ken Wheat and direction and universe by David Twohy.
- Stargate (1994-2011[29]) created by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin
- Farscape (1999–2003) created by Rockne S. O'Bannon[30]
- Titan A.E. (1999) created by Ben Edlund, John August, and Joss Whedon
- Andromeda (2000–2005) created by Gene Roddenberry
- Firefly (2002) created by Joss Whedon
My understanding, based on reading quite a few modern books described by their publishers, authors, and fans as "space opera" is that it's the sci-fi version of epic fantasy. Lots of characters, huge settings filled with sweeping adventures, generally very advanced technology, epic stakes (not a single life or ship, but entire worlds, civilizations, or even the fate of the universe itself in danger). It's definitely very soft on the science and romanticized. Like epic fantasy, space operas are usually series.
Peter F. Hamilton is my favorite space opera writer. C.J. Cherryh wrote some good ones too.
I don't think it's a space opera.
I always had Flash Gordon and other futuristic serials from the 30s in my mind concerning "Space Opera". Also Almuric, John Carter From Mars, usw.
I agree with Reziac on seeing space opera as particularly character driven. I love me some space opera!