The 2020 Look at Space Opera Book. edited by Allan Kaster. 2020
The 2020 Look at Space Opera Book is rated 85%.
AVERAGE STORY: 3.85
20 Stories: 3 great / 13 good / 2 average / 2 poor / 0 DNF
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I had always took Space Opera to me synonymous with adventures like Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and swashbuckling tales transplanted to a far away galaxy. This is not how Allan Kaster views Space Opera.
A space opera is a drama set in space within a grandiose backdrop that is either subtle or overt. It can take place on a starship, space station, planet, moon, etc. It has many form such as alien contact, military science fiction, anthropological science fiction, planetary romance, or starship saga.
On this definition, Kaster has really delivered. This collection is full of generational starships, ruins of vast alien civilizations, war, politics, revolution, and discovery. It is a very solid collection that was quite easy to enjoy with enough diversity and good stories that were long enough to tell their tale, but never bloated.
There were three stories that made my “Great” list.
“On the Orion Line” by Stephen Baxter. This begins with a bag. Literally. The military spaceship of our main character is destroyed within the first paragraphs. The young man protagonist is sent spiraling out of control, behind enemy lines, in to a war he isn’t prepared for. Lots of action plus a true sense of interstellar grandeur. Plus some thoughtful point and counterpoint as the other survivors have very different perspectives on the right course of action.
“Slow Life” by Michael Swanwick. The mortal risks of scientific exploration smash against the reality of an ‘entertainment-first’ society. Oh, and there are really unique and interesting aliens here.
“Mayflower II” by Stephen Baxter. What begins as an intimate tale of a flight of panic to escape a horrible invasion, makes multiple complete changes over the course of this novella. The main thrust is a compelling picture of a generational starship and the ruthless challenges that might be necessary for the preservation of the species.
The 2020 Look at Space Opera Book is rated 85%.
20 Stories: 3 great / 13 good / 2 average / 2 poor / 0 DNF
How do I arrive at a rating?
On the Orion Line by Stephen Baxter. 2000
Great. When their military spaceship is destroyed, three very different people find themselves trapped in a bubble of enemy space. They are surrounded by danger and have competing objectives and perspectives.
The Days Between by Allen M. Steele. 2001
Good. An astronaut comes out of cryogenic sleep too early and must deal with that reality.
Slow Life by Michael Swanwick. 2002
Great. A vain astronaut, on the verge of death, believes that she is communicating with an alien species in her dreams.
The Third Party by David Moles. 2004
Average. Political intrigue between competing business factions on a world.
Mayflower II by Stephen Baxter. 2004
Great. What begins as a race to escape a planet about to be destroyed by an uncompromising enemy, becomes an enthralling look at society on a generational starship.
Bright Red Star by Bud Sparhawk. 2005
Good. Brutal offbeat tale of special soldiers sent to ‘rescue’ settlers who refuse to leave a planet about to be overrun by aliens.
Dead Men Walking by Paul McAuley. 2006
Good. A military clone must risk revealing himself when a series of brutal murders occurs on his adopted planet.
Glory by Greg Egan. 2007
Good. Provincial squabbles get in the way of exploration of an ancient civilization’s mathematic remnants.
Saving Tiamaat by Gwyneth Jones. 2007
Good. A diplomat’s biases get in the way of negotiations between two factions on a primitive planet.
Boojum by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette. 2008
Good. A living pirate ship. A horrible booty. An act of mercy. A new frontier.
City of the Dead by Paul McAuley. 2008
Good. A woman who researches violent rats on a tomb-filled planet befriends the new town constable. Then trouble comes for both of them.
The Hero by Karl Schroeder. 2008
Good. A dying young man searches for treasure within the body on a giant space bug.
The Island by Peter Watts. 2009
Good. They built the paths by which others travel throughout space, but what happens when a giant life form is in the way.
The Ice Owl by Carolyn Ives Gilman. 2011
Good. Scatterbrained, but interesting story of a young girl who is educated - in the middle of a political tension and revolution - by a wise collector with a complex past.
Weep for Day by Indrapramit Das. 2012
Good. On a planet with permanent Dayside and Nightside, a family trip to see a “Nightmare” starts a chain reaction that will change a young woman’s life - and the future of the entire planet.
Someday by James Patrick Kelly. 2014
Poor. Strange mating rituals amongst a group of humans who have different biology.
Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan by Ian McDonald. 2015
Poor. Didn’t connect with this story of an aristocrats trip to Venus. Told through paper cuttings.
Jonas and the Fox by Rich Larson. 2016
Good. A revolutionary poet hides with his family until a tragic death and a surprise discovery change the entire situation.
Extracurricular Activities by Yoon Ha Lee. 2017
Good. A super spy warrior infiltrates a space station on a rescue mission.
By the Warmth of Their Calculus by Tobias S. Buckell. 2019
Average. A ship attempts to escape ‘Hunter-Killers’ until the hard truths of mathematics challenge their safety.
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