Month of Joy: Space Opera and Me by Cora Buhlert
When I got the invitation to take part in this year’s Month of Joy project at the Skiffy and Fanty Show, I wondered what to write about. So I jotted down a list of things that bring me joy. One item immediately jumped out at me and that was space opera. I sometimes describe myself as a lifelong science fiction fan. Though technically, a lifelong space opera fan would be more correct, because all of my early science fiction influences, which ignited my love of the genre, were space opera.
Book Review: The Disasters by M. K. England
The Disasters is an enthusiastic exploration of teenage underdogs trying to find their place in a universe that is intent on discarding the rejects. Add a diverse cast of characters, tense action scenes, high stakes, and the complicated mess of emotions that are teenage hormones, and you’ve got a perfect young adult sci-fi adventure. M. K. England sets up a unique and brilliant world of Earth and space in the year 2194. Space travel is a constant, there are hundreds of fully-functioning colonies, and Earth has a strict no-return policy. Hotshot Earth boy, Nax Hall, has a history of poor life choices and a shoddy criminal record, but he’s ready to rule the school—until he’s rejected from the Academy in less than 24 hours. But when his one-way trip back to Earth is cut short by a surprise terrorist attack on the Academy, Nax must get the word out about the biggest crime in the universe—alongside three other washouts. This ramshackle team are the only witnesses to wholesale slaughter—and the perfect troublemakers to pin the whole thing on. On the run from the government, Nax and the rest of his unfortunate crew must stay alive long enough to get the word out to the rest of the universe, and it’ll take the biggest heist any of them have ever pulled to get through it.
Review: Static Ruin and Memory’s Blade
Corey J. White’s Static Ruin and Spencer Ellsworth’s Memory’s Blade each willingly bring to a conclusion a space opera trilogy started in the flush of Tor.com’s season of space opera two years back.
Book Review: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera combines a love of popular music, Eurovision and a space science fiction sensibility in the grand tradition set by novels like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes were once THE punk band in music. But a death, a breakup, a failed career as a soloist, and Decibel Jones’ post Absolute Zero career is in the toilet. Pity that now that the aliens have arrived, Decibel Jones is the last hope for humanity. The aliens have a test, you see, to determine if a species is worthy of joining the galactic family, or should be blasted into oblivion—whether they can perform decently at the Metagalactic Grand Prix, a song and performance contest that the galactic civilizations put on every year as a way to channel energies that once caused the galaxy to erupt in interstellar war.
Book Review: Gate Crashers by Patrick Tomlinson
In Patrick Tomlinson’s Gate Crashers, the author takes the worldbuilding, dry sense of humor and relatable characters of his previous series to a new universe where First Contact has gone far wilder than expected. The Magellan, state of the art spacecraft for the American-European Union, is thirty light years from our Solar System, the furthest any human spaceship has voyaged into space, in the mid 24th century. More than a half century of travel, the Magellan’s crew is on ice, the AI of the Magellan guiding the ship toward the star it is targeted toward. However, a chance encounter with a stationary alien probe launches humanity into a first contact scenario that it is not prepared for. And, frankly, neither are the aliens.
349. Gareth L. Powell (a.k.a. The Baron), Embers of War
https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode349GarethLPowellEmbersOfWar/Sandf–Episode349–GarethLPowellEmbersOfWar.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpy vs. Spy, sentient ships, and Star Wars, oh my! Gareth Powell joins Becca and Paul to discuss his newest novel, Embers of War! They discuss why Gareth switched gears to Space Opera, how the Titanic inspired the rescue organization that plays a prominent role in the novel, everyone’s favorite characters, how Embers of War (and science fiction in general) endeavors to inspire a readers’ imagination, and so much more! We hope you enjoy the episode!
