Another term for space opera?

Laer Carroll

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I apologize. I overstepped the line by dissing other people's works in another thread. Is it OK to mention some books I admired? These are from another "best books 2020" list, this one from BookPage.com.

https://bookpage.com/features/25731-best-books-2020-sci-fi-fantasy#.X75uaVlKgWM

Here are three books which impressed me, the one by Jimenez especially since it is his debut novel.

Unconquerable Sun, Kate Elliott

A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik

The Vanished Birds, Simon Jimenez

Two of the books might be called space opera. This is because they happen in a future where space travel and traveling to various worlds are important parts of the background, maybe even essential to the stories. But the term suggests melodrama. Is there another better term than space opera?
 
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lizmonster

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I don't see melodrama as a negative, so I'm okay with "space opera." :)

Subgenres really only have two purposes: to help marketing people market, and to help readers understand what other books they might like. I think the latter reason is far less important, really; most readers I know wouldn't say "Know any good space operas?" They'd just say "I really liked X book; you know of anything similar?"
 

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I think of space opera as SF stories set in space (obviously) where the plot could work quite well in another setting. So Star Wars would be a space opera, because it's essentially a Samurai story set in space. Dune is a space opera, because it could have worked as a fantasy story (though some might differ, since it mostly takes place on a planet, not technically on space ships). I don't think of this as a negative, but to me "harder" SF are stories where the technological setting is more central and indispensable to the story. So a story that studies the implications of the development of a FTL drive, or of developing a particular weapon, or of discovering a way to prolong human lifespan, would be more "hard" SF than a story where these things are more in the background to add interest to a setting.

There is also a category of SF some call "social," where the setting could be space, or the near future, or an alien planet or wherever, but it provides a backdrop for a plot that explores sociological issues. Halfway Human by Caroline Ives Gilman fits this bill for me, as does LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness or the Dispossessed. Many would argue that Dune is heavily Sociological in nature as well. So is most of CJ Cheryyh's SF. In addition to being adventure stories set in space, they definitely explore alien cultural norms, or the socioeconomic/political issues pertaining to human expansion into space, or contact between species. Some also call sociological SF "soft" SF, but others extend the category to all SF that isn't based on extremely plausible science and whose central plot isn't focused on technology.

Of course, boundaries are never completely sharp, categories (and readerships) overlap, and opinions may differ about what counts as "indispensable to the story." Plus there are so many other subgenres that are not mutually exclusive, such as MilSF and so on (I mean, a story can be a pirate story set in space that focuses on life on a military ship, plus exploring the way such a society might develop under those circumstances, right?)

In any case, a good story, intriguing and relatable characters, and well-rendered setting are important to me in any subgenre of SF or fantasy. So splitting hairs over which genres are most worthy of literary respect seems silly.
 
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Liz_V

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FWIW, the fact that you called them space opera was enough to make me click through on the two books I wasn't familiar with.

"Space opera" is one of those terms that started out derogatory but turns out to be quite useful to the very people who are supposed to be embarrassed by it. Do I want FTL spaceships and alien planets and adventure? Yes, absolutely. Do I want a detailed dissertation about how the spaceships work? No. I just want to get on with the story.

I'm even pitching the book I'm currently querying as a space opera. Do I explain how the FTL works? No, because I don't care. There are people who do care, and there are books that cater to them. This is not that book. The sooner we get that established, the better for all concerned, and "space opera" does that in a single swift stroke. And then we can get on with the spies and the cyborg platypus and the grues.
 

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The term "space opera" has changed in meaning significantly from its original, derogatory origin in 1941 (almost 80 years ago now), and IME very few readers still regard that original definition as in any way canonical, much less an accurate depiction of the state of what has evolved into a highly fluid & diverse subgenre. And as Roxxsmom points out, the lines between subgenres are so blurry as to be pretty much doomed to inaccuracy the moment someone tries to specify one (and that effort is all too often more for reasons of gatekeeping than objective classification) and that has always been true.

As such, many of us are very happy to self-brand as space opera, because it's a big fun tent with a lot of cool people wandering in and out.
 

micahkolding

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I've used the term "space fantasy" before; in my mind, it communicates a Star-Wars-esque genre that takes place in a sci-fi-style setting, but really doesn't have anything to do with science.
 

lonestarlibrarian

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I don't think space opera is very derogatory nowadays--- bad writing is always going to be bad writing, but in general, it's science fiction with a broad scope, doesn't get bogged down with the mechanics of reality, has a plethora of earthlike planets that are capable of supporting a large variety of life which might look weird but is usually capable of interacting positively/communicating freely with humans. There's usually a degree of strategy and military involved, and possibly more intergalactic empires than you can shake a stick at, but it's also usually pretty upbeat, with the good guys always winning in the end, and usually acting decently heroic in the process.

I don't read as heavily in science fiction as I might, but I'd say Bujold's Vorkosigan series would be a good candidate for "space opera." Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Star Trek are probably more vintage examples of space opera. I'd expect Cowboy Bebop to count as well.
 

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As such, many of us are very happy to self-brand as space opera, because it's a big fun tent with a lot of cool people wandering in and out.

This! I appreciate so many of the responses here, I wish there were a "like" button. I'd been querying my book as a space opera but recently shifted to science fantasy, as the story is mostly set on a moon and there's not a whole lot of space travel, though a couple of key scenes do take place on ships. Anyway, good insights. UNCONQUERABLE SUN is on my tbr!
 

Laer Carroll

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..."Space opera" is one of those terms that started out derogatory but turns out to be quite useful to the very people who are supposed to be embarrassed by it...

The term "space opera" has changed in meaning significantly from its original, derogatory origin in 1941 (almost 80 years ago now), and IME very few readers still regard that original definition as in any way canonical...

I'm a long time SF reader who became a fan when I was a kid & read a kids book with a spaceship in it in the 1960s. Back then "space opera" was an insult. So thanks all. I'll quit being worried about using the term to describe any of my writing.

So was "sci-fi" and I'm still shy about using this label for my writing.
 

frimble3

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'X' opera is more of a diminutive than an insult:
Soap opera - TV show about overblown drama in domestic situations.
Horse opera - the classic Saturday-morning Western: a man, his horse, his enemy and either a town, a ranch, or landscape.
Space opera is just the same idea - an exciting story, an interesting local and stock characters.
Star Trek has been described as 'Wagon Train to the Stars'.
Star Wars in knee deep in common tropes from other genres - the plucky orphan, the wise old mentor, the feisty young woman.

And, no matter what they're called, they're all popular. That's what labels are for - to help you identify what you're looking for.
 

Albedo

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The 'new' space opera is at least 25 years old at this point, and has always been self-serious as, so it's a long time since 'space opera' meant that of yore. Thanks for the recommendations, Laer. I wish I'd had time to read more this year!

Really, we ought to have more kind of operas across more genres, to go with space or horse opera. Cop opera in crime fiction. Book club opera in contemporary fiction.
 

Liz_V

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I'll admit, I'm still leery about using "sci-fi", because that to me has always meant cheesy D-movie-level science fiction, and been thrown around as a derogatory term by people who thought that's all science fiction was or could be. But I think even that one is getting reclaimed in the popular parlance; I wouldn't use it myself, but I don't necessarily take umbrage when somebody else does.

it's a big fun tent with a lot of cool people wandering in and out.

This, exactly. And what more could one want from a genre, really?
 

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I read E.E. 'Doc' Smith's "Lensman" series as a kid. Published in the late 1940s - 1950s, they may not have invented "space opera", but they're a classic example of it. Thrills! Aliens! Explosions! Space battles! Evil! Good! Love interests (at least for the manly heroes)! I doubt I could sit and read one now, but they were great fun when I was young. Pretty sure the author didn't intend for them to be anything but entertaining?

Ian M. Banks' "Culture" novels are what space opera became when it went to school and got a bachelor's degree in physics and a PhD in anthropology. Much more aspirational, much more character-driven, more "literary".

I honestly don't think anyone reading SF cares today whether you call it SF or "sci-fi"? I've been reading it for over 50 years, and I don't care. I don't consider "space opera" derogatory, nor do I cringe to be called a "Trekkie".

Mostly terms like "space opera" are nothing more than marketing labels anyways. Sometimes useful, sometimes abused, sometimes utterly useless.