Gridlinked and the first few books in that series feel like they were published before they'd fully baked... they're great books, but Neal Asher had become a noticeably FAR better author by a few books into the series. Reading the first few after reading his later stuff and you can really see that he was still learning his craft and finding his voice. It's a bit of a petty quibble, because they're still excellent books, just that what comes after is even better and you don't usually get to see authors "learning on the job" like that.
After reading all of The Culture series, I used Asher's, Ian Cormac series as my methadone treatment for withdrawal. Earth Central, the AI in Gridlinked is a little similar to the culture's AI ship minds.
Honestly one of my absolute faves remains Teh Vorkosigan Saga. But for me the intimate is an earmark of the cosmic. Plus the REVELATION SPACE series plus EARTHCLAN.
Instant thumbs up for mentioning A Fire Upon the Deep. The entire Zones of Thought series is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. Easily my favorite space operas.
David Weber is such a great author! I love the Honor Harrington books. I'm also quite fond of the Legacy of the Aldenata (John Ringo). Great sense of humor in those books.
A Fire Upon the Deep also does a huge amount of exploration into parallel processing computing architectures (the Tines). Vernor Vinge (RIP) was a professor of Computer Science at UC Irvine. He even DEDICATED the book to the attendees of the previous year;s International Conference on Parallel Processing!
I'm a retired CS professor who used to teach this stuff. The Tines are actually distributed systems, rather than parallel computers, and are one of the most original alien species in all of SF. There's also a lightly-disguised equivalent of the old USENET online discussion forum which I found amusing (though quite dated no of course).
@@patrickocallaghan3429 True! Vinge dedicated A Fire Upon the Deep to the organizers of Arctic ‘88, the iteration of the conference held in Scandanavia. I was at Finger Lakes ‘89, the iteration held at Cornell. I must correct myself that this was not the ICPP. I got mixed up because I also presented at the ICPP around the sane time. So… yes, dustributed systems, not parallel processing.
@@AJ_12-09 yes, it is not a difficult read. But very thought-provoking. Might want to review 1990s Usenet culture to get some of the references in the first few chapters
The Gap Cycle is a masterpiece! I read it as it was released and voraciously consumed it as quickly as possible each time. Having been familiar with Donaldson's style from the Thomas Covenant series, I knew his space opera would be DEEEEEP, and was not disappointed! 10/10, Recommend!
Books mentioned: 1:07 Fallen Dragon, Peter F. Hamilton 2:42 Light, M. John Harrison 4:19 Gridlinked, Neal Asher 5:25 The Icarus Hunt, Timothy Zahn 7:04 A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
Fallen Dragon is IMHO an absolute masterpiece. The ending at the very last is particularily revelatory and extremely cool. Oh and I have read it four times in the last 10 or so years.
That would likely be me having it removed by altering the space time continuum 😂. Couldnt take more than the first book (skimmed to finish) and DNFd the second
To me, these stand out: Weber - Honor Harrington Weber/White - Starfire Series (which includes the incredible 'In Death Ground'). Ringo - Legacy of the Aldenata Michael Z. Williamson - Freehold Series/Universe I've read a ton of early scifi also (I'm in my 60s). My father was a huge fan and I picked up the bug. A.E. Van Vogt, Heinlein, Asimov, E. E. Doc Smith, Clifford D. Simak, Poul Anderson, Fritz Lieber, Arthur C. Clarke and Frank Herbert (these are just the ones that come immediately to mind.. there are many many more I've read over the years).
The Honor Harrington series is pure awesomeness. #1 On Basilisk Station is the only book that has ever had me literally on the edge of my seat. Starfire was good but wasn't re-readable. I'll give Legacy of the Aldenata and Freehold a look!
My list would have to include Tiger Tiger - Alfred Bester (still heavily ripped off by everyone haha including Gibson, the Expanse guys and Banks) Nova - Sam Delaney The Instrumentality of Man books - Cordwainer Smith (completely mad and wonderful) And here’s an obscure one - I remember loving The Star Child trilogy by Fred Pohl and Jack Williamson. Good luck tracking that down haha. It’s probably rubbish. But I liked it when I was 15 My parents book collection was a trip
Moments ago I was recommending Nova by Samuel R. Delany to someone else. And I recommend it here too. There is so much in that book, totally worth a reread too.
@@lisagulick4144 I think he was very highly rated in the 60s and 70s, won plenty of awards etc. it’s more that a lot of those older writers are a bit overlooked today unless it’s the Big Names like Asimov, Herbert etc
Nice to see Neal Asher's Polity series getting some attention. I'm old fashioned enough to see space opera as being a series of books at least beyond a trilogy. Asher's work has evolved way past this level. Maybe not the most innovative, nor the most polished writing. However when an Asher book drops I'm not available for for several hours till it's been devoured. A similar series is Marko Kloos' Frontlines book sit well within my conception of Space Opera, and is highly recommended.
Me too! And best hard science fiction series too. Benford is a physics professor after all. And yet nobody ever mentions it. The only reason I can think of is that it is from the eighties and for most people that is too long ago
Even tho Space Opera is my favorite Genre, I never heard of those before and they all sound like exactly up my ally! Thanks for the recommendations! I will check them all out!
Adrian Tchaikovsky's series starting with Children of Time is my favorite from recent works, and David Brin's Uplift novels from the older side. I'm also going to read anything by Alistair Reynolds or Lois McMaster Bujold.
I think Currently Underrated might be a better title for this list, I remember all of these titles and have read 4 out of 5 them. We have to remember these books were published 20+ years ago now and the filter of time is setting in for books of this age, after 15-20 years even the award winners fall off. Thinking back, it may be my personal golden age of reading 1990 - 2010ish, with so many mid-list writers and a strong short story market. * personal Favorite: Pandora's Star by Peter F Hamilton, well maybe the whole Common Wealth series
@@epimetheaus1214 If I remember it correctly, the initial reviews had actually been pretty positive and excited across the board, BUT around the fifth book, I think, some critics began to assert that Anderson had begun to either repeat himself or unnecessarily prolong things, that the series had begun to run out of steam, and that the depth of the storyline(s) and of the mythos of the fictional universe did not justify that many sequels. Just saying...
@@discobolos4227 That wasn't my experience at least. My biggest criticism was for the follow up books. I didn't enjoy the sequel trilogy the saga of shadows. It felt unnecessary.
@@Ambient_Scenes Thank you for your question. This is strictly subjective, but "Deepness" is every bit as complex and layered as "Fire." However, I found "Deepness" to be a darker novel, with some disturbing imagery near the end. Don't misunderstand, I think it's an excellent novel, but it stayed with me for days after I finished it. But then again, some art is meant to make one uncomfortable, and to get one to think about new things, or to look at things in a different way.
You, can add Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant, David Webber's Honor Harrington Series. The Undying Mercenary Series by BV Larson, or The Omega Force by Joshua Dalzell, and Jim Butcher's The Furies of Calderon. I could go on but I'd have to refer to my authors list. At present Rick Partlow's Tahini Books are such.
Dang I thought I was the only one that read omega force 😳. I loved that series till about book 10 then it lost the fun. Try the lost starship series , I thought those were fun.
Ironically, "Fallen Dragon" is the only space-opera I know of which starts out with a character learning that the whole concept of space-opera is utterly ridiculous. Don't be put off by that -- Hamilton makes it work.
I read A Fire Upon The Deep when it was first published and it along with A Deepness In The Sky are amongst my absolute favorite novels. As for it being underrated that's hard to judge. I don't see it discussed often but when it is it is always in the glowing terms you lavished on it.
Did you say "underratedocity"? 😃 I've read Fallen Dragon. I don't remember much about it, but I did like it. Same for Icarus Hunt. A Fire Upon the Deep is one of my top books. I've read it numerous times. Another favorite is the seemingly unknown In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman.
It's not just one novel, but C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe is all one big space opera, and I would say that her Faded Sun trilogy also qualifies.
better known for her fantasy, but an underated sci fi author, downbelow station is one of my favourite books. i can also recommend ancillary justice by ann leckie, subtle and intelligent writing.
I have read many in this universe. cherryh was one of my late husband's favorite authors. We would scour library and garage sales to fill our library. Once we had both read a book we would have long discussions on what happened in the story. I did find them a little hard to read though.
@@constancepullen810 I know what you mean. Downbelow Station is not an "exciting" novel insofar as space action and adventure is concerned, but it is fascinating nevertheless, and easy to see why it won a Hugo. I tell people it's more of a political thriller than anything science fiction-y, it just happens to be set mainly on a space station. And Cyteen was one of the most difficult novels I have ever read - and one of the most rewarding. C.J. Cherryh is one of my favorite authors; she builds characters like nobody else.
Nice. I have read the first two and last out the 5 and highly recommend. Will check out the others. And added black milk to my reading list… sounds great.
After reading The Culture series by Banks and the Revelation Space series by Reynolds I've been hard pressed to find anything matching the level of these writers. I fear my life is going to become an endless saga of re-reading. I have tried the Polity books and Light plus Vinge but they seem like hard work for minimal reward. Thank you for some more suggestions, I'll definitely give them a go.
#1 is Startide Rising by David Brin. #2 is a tie between E.Moon's Trading in Danger series, Raltsbloodthorne's First Contact series, the first third/half of Hambone's Deathworlders series and its surviving offshoots (pre-ring destruct), and [K.Laumer]'s Retief (less space interaction, more swashbuckling). [Edit due to @christophersmith8316 correcting my mistake and supplying additional information. Thanks, sir.]
Retief is Keith Laumer. Harry Harrison has Bill the Galactic Hero, Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers (parodies), and the Stainless Steel Rat series and Deathworld Series.
Minor correction -Vinge is pronounced Vin-Gee. Also he sadly passed away recently. But his stories are fantastic. It's rare that a deeply philosophical scifi book is so VISUAL. I can still picture scenes such as the fall of _____, even though it's been over a decade.. But absolutely checking out Fallen Dragon. The Commonwealth saga is an absolute favorite and I really don't understand the hate that series gets.
I strongly recommend The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson. It's an incredible 5 book series that begins with "The Real Story." I'm not entirely certain that it qualifies as a space opera, but since it's based on/inspired by composer Richard Wagner's Des Ring Der Nibelungen music dramas, aka The Ring Cycle, which includes the famous piece The Ride of the Valkyries, I figure it can't be far off.
Im going to have to read Fallen Dragon - I LOVE Peter F Hamilton. Particularly the Commonwealth books (all 7 of them not just the Saga), but enjoyed the Nights Dawn Trilogy as well - its a lot darker lol. I do need to find more though... Ive been stuck reading either Hamilton or Ian Banks for over a decade lol.
David Weber had some good epics early on, including the Honor Harrington series up to about 8 or 9. I just reread Ashes of Empire and the first two books are solid, interesting books. (Don't much care for book 3, but YMMV).
The Honorverse is a pretty great setting, especially as Manticore's interaction, through the characters, with that universe expands and escalates. But really "only" the books with Honor in them do much for me. And with so many books, you can see why Weber went for "space vampires from earth vs alien invaders" for more recent new series.
The "Empire of Man" series by John Ringo and David Drake are solid military sci-fi space operas. They may not be as "highbrow" as some of the harder sci-fi series, but they are an awful lot of fun to read.
Yes for all the neal asher books set in the Polity universe. Also a vote for Altered Carbon and its associated follow ons. Not sure if its Space Opera though.
For some reason this brings to mind W. Michael Gear's Warriors of Spider trilogy. His Forbidden Borders trilogy is good too--but annoying about the border. Too much cave bear stuff with the wife for a follow-up trilogy I guess. Anyway you might like those too; circa 1990.
I have indeed. My intro to the CoDominium was a Pournelle short story called "He Fell into a Dark Hole," about a CoDom mission to find a lost ship that has encountered a black hole...a phenomenon about which they know nothing, as that branch of physics is forbidden by the CoDominium!
@@lisagulick4144 oh, i don’t remember much about that story, except that it featured Sergei Lermontov. My introduction was Peace with Honor but my favorite story is The Mercenary, featuring John Christian Falkenberg
@@rapid13 i don’t have that much chances to get my hands on many jerry pournelle works as where i got them don’t usually have that many. (I only know Mote, CoDominium and Heorot) but i recently heard about the gripping hand! Thanks!
I was weaned on the Lensman series by E.E. Doc Smith. Not literature by any means, and with some out-dated ideas on genetics, these stories fired my young imagination. But I also agree with you that Fire Upon the Deep is a classic, brilliantly written by Vinge.
I’ve read a lot of Peter Hamilton, but NOT “Fallen Dragon”. It is sitting on my bookshelf, so I think I’ll put it next in my queue. Except for Vernor Vinge (I’ve read “A Fire Upon the Deep”, I hadn’t known of the others you highlighted. Thanks for this.
I have to confess that I would never have considered anything by Timothy Zahn due to my deep and abiding dislike for his Star Wars books! Love Vernor Vinge's works.
I will make a point to read all of these, I have read Gridlocked, showing a A.I based future and Fallen Dragon which is really great in that it shows the realistic aftermath and consequence of space travel and galactic colonisation, - that is the overwhelming cost in money, resources and such vs any benefit. Eventual the good times come to an end and space travel is deemed to expensive.
Yes, I read and loved Well World series. I only read the first 5 books, because that's all that existed when I was reading. Also, I read the Four Lords and loved it. Both of those series are incredible. I actually wrote Mr. Chalker and asked him if he had more WW books coming, and he said that more were planned and coming. But, he replied to me quickly, as he said he was in hospital and said it was "nothing really that serious" when I wrote him an email, and I was surprised that he wrote back (like really quickly) and (actually) spoke with me a little in the email. Very nice guy. But, I think he was sick or maybe passed shortly after. Not sure, but I was laid off from that job. And, then later looked to see if any more WW books, and I found that he passed around that end of my job dates. So, I only wish that I still had that email, but it was in my Lotus Notes (or whatever email they had) ... and, I didn't think to copy my emails and save them for later.
A great plot, characters with believable personal grievances and a bold imagination to blend the largest and smallest structures in the universe makes "Light" by M. J. Harrison by far the most valuable novel in literary terms.
I've been trying to find this Vernor Vinge series forever! I read about half of it 20 years ago and wanted to find it nowadays but I didn't really know what to search for
Thanks for these recommendations. I've read _The Icarus Hunt_ and _A Fire upon the Deep, and own _Fallen Dragon_, but not yet read it. I will have to examine Asher's Polity series. Sorry, but with _Light,_ you lost me with one of the main characgters being a "serial killer."
Throwing Starship's Mage series by Glynn Stewart out there for space opera. For some reason I can't stop reading Glynn's stuff, and there's a lot of it. Not sure Starship's Mage but for all his various settings.
Based on your descriptions, I wouldn't classify all of these as space opera. Try Julian May's Rampart Worlds trilogy published between 1999 and 2001. That flew under the radar but I enjoyed it immensely.
Your definition of Space Opera is quite different than the definition I've learned. Dune would be considered just science fiction. Star Wars is often cited as the epitome of space opera. It's a derivative of 'soap' opera. Melodrama is key. Dune, The Expanse, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Asimov's Foundation series, Hyperion et al do not fall into the space opera subgenre. In other words, just because the story takes place in space does not make it a space opera. It's important to identify genre's accurately especially when recommending works.
I find the genre label a bit vague, so not sure if experts would agree these fit the category: The Culture novels by Banks, and _A Memory Called Empire_ by Arkady Martine
