Space Opera Fans discussion

Greetings Military Space Opera buffs:

I'm on a list kick this month, finding ways to help readers find great space opera books in various sub-sub-genres, and enjoy a good kick-that-alien-butt military sci-fi story. But ... I need your help suggesting titles as the lists are rather thin. Since this is an all-inclusive category, I will gather names for not just books, but also tie-in universes (since in space opera, it's all about sinking into the universe). Okay ... give them to me:

BEST MILITARY SPACE OPERA STANDALONE BOOKS (not part of a series)

A Small Colonial War - Robert Frezza
Cain's Land - Robert Frezza
Consider Phlebas - Iain Banks
Ender's Game (Book 1) - Orson Scott Card
Fire in a Faraway Land - Robert Frezza
Gateway - Brian Christopher Dorsey
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven



BEST MILITARY SPACE OPERA BOOK SERIES:

Alicia Devries series - David Weber
All You Need Is Kill (2011) - Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Ark Royal series - Christopher Nuttall
Battletech series - assorted EU authors
Confederation - Tanya Huff
Dorsai Trilogy - Gordon R Dickson
Gateway Series - Brian Dorsey
Honor Harrington - David Weber
Jason Wander (Orphanage) series - Robert Buettner
Kris Longknife series - Mike Shepherd
Old Man's War series - by John Scalzi
Odyssey One - Evan C. Currie
Poor Man's Fight - Elliott Kay
Rogue Clone - Steven L. Kent
Space Captain Smith series - Toby Frost
Star Carrier - Ian Douglas
Star Force - B.V. Larson
Stark's War series - John G Henry (aka Jack Campbell)
Sten series - Chris Cole & Allen Bunch
The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles - Andrew Beery
The Exile Empire - Joshua Done
The First Formic War - Orson Scott Card
The Frontiers Saga series - Ryk Brown
The Horus Heresy series - (various authors)
The Lost Fleet - Jack Campbell
The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier - Jack Campbell
The Seafort Saga - David Feintuch
Tour of the Merrimack series - R.M. Meluch
Vatta's War - Elizabeth Moon



GIRLS WITH GUNS - MILITARY SPACE OPERA STARRING FEMALE SOLDIERS

We have a Listopia now! HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


MILITARY SPACE OPERA COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS/MANGA

Rogue Trooper/2000AD (1981-present) - Gerry Finley-Day (writer) and Dave Gibbons (artist)
The V.C.s/2000AD (1979-1980, 2002-2006) - Gerry Finley-Day (writer), Mike McMahon, Cam Kennedy, Garry Leach and John Richardson (artists)



BEST MILITARY SPACE OPERA TIE-INS

Movies:

Starship Troopers (1997)


Television Shows:

Battlestar Galactica TOS (1978-1979)
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
Space: Above And Beyond (1995-1996)


Video Games / MMORPG's:

EVE Online - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Halo


Table Top Card Games and RPG's

Battletech RPG
Warhammer: 40,000
WARS: Incursion RPG


Board Games:

Attack Vector: Tactical
Battletech
Risk: Halo
Saganami Island Tactical Simulator


Help me out here, guys? MMORPG's? Movies? Graphic novels/manga/comics? Video games? Table top, live-RPG and/or board games? Tell me what draws you into a military space opera universe and I'll list it here for you

Military Space Opera: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.
The Orphanage series, and the Orphan's Legacy series by Robert Buettner.
The USS Merrimack series by R.M. Meluch.
The Space Captain Smith series by Toby Frost.

Military Space Opera: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.
The Orphanage series, and the Orphan's Legacy series by Robert Buettner.
The USS Merrimack series by R.M. Meluch.
The Space Captain Smith series by Toby Frost.

Just added them all Ronnie ... thanks!!!

No problem. If I think of any more I'll let you know.

I'm not on my phone so I can't tag it but the Kris Longknife series comes to mind. I think the first one is called Kris Longknife: Mutineer. I need to re-read that.

Sarah wrote: "I'm not on my phone so I can't tag it but the Kris Longknife series comes to mind. I think the first one is called Kris Longknife: Mutineer. I need to re-read that."

Just added it to the list! Thanks...

"The Seafort Saga" byDavid Feintuch.

Thanks Ronnie! Added.

Another great list :) I'm actually more comfortable with Military Space Opera. I'm about to try Old Man's War.

John wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Another great list :) I'm actually more comfortable with Military Space Opera. I'm about to try Old Man's War."

What about The Forever War Joe Haldeman."

Thanks! I've added it to my to-read. It looks like fun.

I would like to suggest Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Also the Battletech Universe is Military Scifi Space Opera. There's a board game too.

I've probably read about 60 books from the Battletech Universe when I was a kid, but I can only recommend books 2-15 from the link above.

Added ... The Forever War (standalone), Ender's Game (standalone as the later books are clearly not military sci-fi), and Battletech universe.

TV: "Space: Above and Beyond" (1995-1996).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_A...

At the risk of sounding like a pedant and being wedgeyed whenever I show my face in public, Warhammer 40,000 is not a board game but rather a miniatures wargame. Then, if you want to go down the path of listing miniature wargames, there are many, many out there. Sci-fi wargaming is having a bit of a golden age amongst the wargames community with quite a few new ranges of miniatures and/or rules being released.

Ragnar wrote: "At the risk of sounding like a pedant and being wedgeyed whenever I show my face in public, Warhammer 40,000 is not a board game but rather a miniatures wargame. Then, if you want to go down the ..."

Ahh... New stuff? Okay, Ragnar. Here's your chance to shine. Educate an old Noob about the difference between a miniature wargame and a board game ... and then feel free to list your favorites. We have a 'Gaming Tie-In' section, so at some point I'll probably coordinate the lists.

I'm interested in the stuff that has spawned tie-in universes (not simply standalone games). I.e., the Warhammer universe has tie-in novels, RPG how-to books, games, and of course the video game.

Ronnie wrote: "TV: "Space: Above and Beyond" (1995-1996)."

Ronnie ... added Space Above & Beyond. Thanks!

I know Firefly has a big following.

Ragnar, I would like to hear the difference also. I've never done any gaming and would love to know.

Anna, it has nothing to do with Space Opera, but you seriously have to at least look at a book called Geekomancy. It's a hilarious mix of geekverse and magic.

Anna wrote: "stuff that has spawned tie-in universes (not simply standalone games)... "

I did of course miss this subtlety, ok, that narrows down the field. I shall think on this.

Anna wrote: "Educate an old Noob about the difference between a miniature wargame and a board game ... and then feel free to list your favorites. "


Ok, a board game tends to have a board which tends to have a grid on it to control movement. Ref. chess, Monopoly, Risk, Space Hulk, etc. and there is less emphasis on the playing pieces. A miniatures wargame tends to have a lot more emphasis on the playing pieces (miniatures) which are often works of art themselves and is usually played on ungridded, player created "terrain". 40k, although a very fantastical setting is closer to the traditional wargame in that your playing peices are moved distances rather than a number of 'squares' and can be played on any surface that the players choose.

How is this for a tie-in; one of the most famous wargamers was H. G. Wells, who wrote "Little Wars".

Edit; the other side of the coin are the wargames that were directly inspired by existing universes; Star Trek Attack Wing springs to mind. But there are probably also games out for Blakes Seven, Star Wars, Babylon 5....

That's fascinating.

What about Elliott Kay's Poor Man's Fight and Rich Man's War? I read a sample of PMF and it looks really promising.

Another series is the Confederation series staring with Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff. The main protagonist is Staff Sargent Torin Kerr.

Also would you consider Ancillary Justice military? Justice of Toren in a military ship after all.

Saga of the Skolian Empire starting with Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro.

Major Ariane Kedros series starting with Peacekeeper by Laura E. Reeve.

Sten series starting with Sten by Allan Cole.

Packi wrote: "I know Firefly has a big following."

Firefly isn't really military space opera, though. I've got it listed under TV/movie tie-ins. But thanks for suggesting it! :-)

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Sarah wrote: "Anna, it has nothing to do with Space Opera, but you seriously have to at least look at a book called Geekomancy. It's a hilarious mix of geekverse and magic..."

Thanks for the tip, Sarah! Geek stuff? Sounds right up my alley :-)

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Ragnar wrote: "A miniatures wargame tends to have a lot more emphasis on the playing pieces (miniatures) which are often works of art themselves and is usually played on ungridded, player created "terrain"..."

So it's almost like a little miniature RPG or LARP it sounds like? It's pretty interesting that H.G. Wells was a gamer, but gaming has been around almost as long as homo sapiens.

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@Tom - I added 'Poor Man's Fight' to the series list. Thanks!

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@Alicja - going through your list now and checking them out for suitability. So far they all look good.

@Alicja - I just researched your suggestions and while they're all clearly space opera, only Valor's Choice clearly falls under that category, while Sten is close enough that I added it as well. Ancillary Justice and Primary Inversion are more romantic or classic space opera, while Peacekeeper skirts the line but, because of a lack of a cohesive military unit, isn't quite military sci-fi. It wouldn't surprise me if later books in this series -do- become military sci-fi, though.

Would you be willing to add these titles to our main Listopia? Want to snag them :-)

For military space opera the consensus seems to be books that focus on the unit and mechanics of waging war (i.e., some 'brothers in arms' aspect).

Sorry, I was just searching out for female authors in military sci-fi. I was going with a more general definition of military sci-fi that places things such as Shards of Honour as #10 on the Military Science Fiction listopia list. I'll add them to the listopia (and a few more that aren't strictly military space operas).

I wish there was a "band of sisters" out there though. :P Makes me wish I had talent for writing myself.

I'm currently reading "The Attitude of Silence" by Jeff Mariotte, a novel based on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda...

I am nearly about to finish the last book of the lost fleet. and was wondering what to start next. where there is ships with guns men with guns guns with guns
battles over land and space.
if any one has not read lost fleet I recommend it

Dale wrote: "I am nearly about to finish the last book of the lost fleet. and was wondering what to start next. where there is ships with guns men with guns guns with guns battles over land and space..."

I posted a Space Opera For Men post with links to a helpful Listopia. Guns :-) Yup ... they got that. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Bruce wrote: "I'm currently reading "The Attitude of Silence" by Jeff Mariotte, a novel based on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda..."

Oooh! Andromeda tie-ins! I just scoped out the product write-up, though, and would classify it more as a classic space opera tie-in novel than military sci-fi. I was a huge Andromeda tv show fan!

Alicja wrote: "Sorry, I was just searching out for female authors in military sci-fi. I was going with a more general definition of military sci-fi that places things such as Shards of Honour as #10 ..."

Alicja ... I just posted a 'Romantic Space Opera Listopias' post with three possible listopias to start listing the Band of Sisters stuff that's got some romance in it :-) I'm trying to create more specialized listopias so people can find stuff they like because some people loathe any romance at all in their books, while other people want a supersized side-order of it. If you want to add your recommendations to the appropriate sub-listopias, that would be great to help other people find them. The links to the listopias are HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Anna wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Sorry, I was just searching out for female authors in military sci-fi. I was going with a more general definition of military sci-fi that places things such as [book:Shards of Honour..."

I wanted some band of sisters with no romance in it, just good 'ole fashioned kick assness with guns, girls wielding big guns.

Alicja wrote: "Anna wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Sorry, I was just searching out for female authors in military sci-fi. I was going with a more general definition of military sci-fi that places things such as [book:Sha..."

I just started a Girls With Guns master list. Right now, it only has two book series on it, but I'm throwing it open for more if you want to add what few stories you know of :-)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Comics: "Rogue Trooper" created by Gerry Finley-Day (writer) and Dave Gibbons (artist), appearing in 2000AD, 1981-present.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Tr...

"The V.C.s" created by Gerry Finley-Day (writer), Mike McMahon, Cam Kennedy, Garry Leach and John Richardson (artists), appearing in 2000AD, 1979-1980, and 2002-2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_V.C.s

@Alicja - Valor's Choice Added

@Ronnie - Rogue Trooper and The VC's added

Although it is part of the Culture series, I think Consider Phlebas may count as Military Space Opera as a standalone.

Packi wrote: "Although it is part of the Culture series, I think Consider Phlebas may count as Military Space Opera as a standalone."

I read the description and it's most definitely space opera, was a bit harder to tell from the book description how much it focused on the unit but I added it as it's definitely a war-story.

I've now reminded myself that Redshirts should be on here. That's military, right?

Redshirts struck me as more of a spoof of Star Trek, but it's been quite some time since I read it. The Old Man's War series is on here, though.

Where are hardcore true-and-blue military sci-fi readers? What say we all? Redshirts ... on the list or no?

I had a friend who described it as a love poem to Star Trek. It was a good way of putting it. :)

Ryk brown - Frontier Saga Series

Try Exile Empire by Joshua DoneJoshua Done

@ Luis - added - thanks!
@ Brian - added - thanks!

All You Need Is Kill was very good and I daresay better then the movie(Edge of Tommorow).

I really enjoyed a ton of David Weber's shorter works as well, such as In Fury Born and Excalibur Alternative.

Also you mention board games but fail to mention:

Attack Vector: Tactical the most complex and confusing and painstakingly accurate game I have ever played(don't forget your matlab/wolfram alpha)

Of course don't forget it's far simple successor, if you call 70 pages simple.

Saganami Island Tactical Simulator

Aaron wrote: "All You Need Is Kill was very good and I daresay better then the movie(Edge of Tommorow)..."

Thanks Aaron! Added the board games, manga, and the Alicia Devries series (Weber). Also, added the Devries series to my Girls with Guns Listopia. You're welcome to go over and 'vote' on it to make it rank higher on the listopia if you wish: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

Gateway by Christopher Brian Dorsey.

Joshua wrote: "Gateway by Christopher Brian Dorsey."

I can't find that book.

Brian Dorsey (Christopher Brian Dorsey)

Cool...I made the list :)
Kindle is here: http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Brian-D...
papeback and Nook will be available in a week or so. Also search under Goodreads for Gateway (Gateway Series, #1)