Best space opera recommendations on Reddit
178 reviews from r/printSF, r/audible, r/Fantasy and 9 more subreddits
178 reviews from
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#1
Lois McMaster Bujold
5.0
(10)
"Lois McMaster Bujold - The **Vorkosigan Saga**"
"Multiple Hugo award winner."
"It’s a fantastic space opera series."
"Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series."
"* **Vorkosigan** Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold"
"You can start with Shards of honor."
"If you like romance, start with *Shards of Honor*."
#2
James S.A. Corey
4.8
(9)
"The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey is fantastic"
"First book is Leviathan Wakes."
"Is a must read if you’re looking for a space opera."
"I think it fits what you're looking for."
"Expanse series by James Corey."
"I heartily recommend The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. Think Game of Thrones in space."
"I hear The Expanse is really good, but I have not read them, so may not be what you like or want.."
#3
Iain M. Banks
4.9
(8)
"Iain M. Banks is kind of the last word in space opera."
"The war raged across the galaxy."
"It's ten standalone books."
"I second the Banks recommendation, its exactly what you want. Intelligent, well written, expansive space opera."
"Iain Banks’ Culture series."
"The audiobooks are particularly great."
"Iain M. Banks Culture series, Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space series."
"The Culture-books by Iain M. Banks."
#4
David Weber
4.6
(8)
"*Honor Harrington* (starting with *On Basilisk Station*) is Space Opera through and through."
"IMO it has one of the best depictions of "classic naval warfare in space"."
"Is still ongoing and is my favorite current entry into the genre."
"Is a pretty good fit."
"Is great space opera."
"David Weber's, "Honor Harrington" series."
"If you can get past some of David Weber's odder quirks."
"A space opera that gets bigger with every book."
#5
Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.6
(8)
"I definitely second Children of Time and Project Hail Mary is another good choice."
"(And lots of other Adrian Tchaikovsky books, cos he's got loads of great stuff.)"
"The best current space opera is *The Final Architecture* trilogy"
"Was really cool."
"Children of Time is good if you want more Tchaikovsky."
"Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy might fit the bill."
"Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Ancient aliens, an existential threat to all life, galaxy spanning wars."
#6
Peter F. Hamilton
4.6
(8)
"Start with the nights dawn trilogy or the commonwealth saga."
"One of the best series I have read."
"Which seems to be exactly what you’re looking for."
"Of these I highly recommend the Commonwealth Saga."
"Genre defining space opera IMO."
"May work for you."
"His books can be slow to start."
"Is pretty fun and gets pretty kooky later in."
#7
Vernor Vinge
5.0
(7)
"Pure space opera with an added deep dive into how a pack intelligence might work."
"Best ever."
"Best ever."
"It's quite space opera, but not completely, and its one of my favourites of all time."
"I also highly recommend Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep."
"*A Fire Upon the Deep* was excellent, and highly recommended."
"It's a genre-changing space opera of galactic proportions."
#8
Alastair Reynolds
4.8
(6)
"Very much a hidden gem that doesn't get the attention it deserves in my opinion."
"Revelation space series by Alastair Reynolds."
"Or any of his other books."
"One of the very few 5 out of 5 books in my opinion."
"The series starting with Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds."
"If you only want novels, try Revelation Space, Chasm City, or The Prefect/Aurora Rising."
#9
John Scalzi
4.5
(6)
"It's definitely epic, there is a love story."
"Amazing (as is the reader for the main series)"
"Old Man's War series by John Scalzi."
"I found The Interdependency (Collapsing Empire) trilogy by John Scalzi to be a very satisfying space opera."
"(Unless you mean "no more Scalzi for me, thanks", rather than Redshirts is the only Scalzi you’ve read.)"
#10
Ann Leckie
4.4
(5)
"You might enjoy the Imperial Radch space opera trilogy by Ann Leckie."
"I highly recommend Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie."
"Consider reading Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice and 2 sequels."
"Starts out a little confusing but for a cool reason."
"I'd add The Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie."
#11
Craig Alanson
4.3
(4)
"Read it. Love it. Trust the Skippy."
"Maybe the Interdependency novels."
"Turns into 11 books of the Expeditionary Force series."
"Earth is thrust into the middle of a galactic war."
#12
Patrick S. Tomlinson
4.0
(4)
"Is a good read."
"Is a good read."
"Is a good read."
"Is a good read."
#13
Timothy Zahn
4.0
(4)
"I can personally vouch for."
"I can personally vouch for."
"I can personally vouch for."
"I can personally vouch for."
#14
Simon Jimenez
5.0
(3)
"I do recommend the Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez and maybe Ammonite by Nicola Griffith."
"*The Vanished Birds* by Simon Jimenez is very much literary space opera that hits all your criteria."
"Is my go-to recommendation for recent space opera."
#15
Frank Herbert
5.0
(3)
"I recommend Dune too. Its brilliant."
"Dune also has all those things plus religion and ecology."
"And of course if you havn't read it Dune."
#16
Pierce Brown
4.7
(3)
"Is absolutely brilliant."
"Pretty epic space opera."
"Red Rising - Pierce Brown"
#17
E.E. "Doc" Smith
4.3
(3)
"Everyone should read the Lensman series by EE "Doc" Smith."
"Books 3-6 are the real series."
#18
Elizabeth Moon
4.3
(3)
"My favourite example is Elizabeth Moon's 'Vatta's War'."
#19
Martha Wells
4.3
(3)
"You should definitely check them out."
"(I think a lot of the series is in the Plus Catalogue.)"
#20
Jack Campbell
4.3
(3)
"Fantastic."
"A mix of opera and military but great examples of both."
#21
C.S. Friedman
4.0
(3)
"Is a great read."
"Is a great read."
"Some really cool worldbuilding here, some riffing on the whole cyberpunk corporations-and-hackers thing."
#22
Tchaikovsky
5.0
(2)
"Is excellent."
"Now would be a good time to start as well with the final book coming out next month!"
#23
Catherine Asaro
5.0
(2)
"The Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro."
"Catherine Asaro's Saga of the Skolian Empire. It's my favorite space opera."
#24
Dan Simmons
5.0
(2)
"Others include the Hyperion series (Dan Simmons), and the Foundation series (asimov)"
#25
John Birmingham
5.0
(2)
"Has blown me away."
"Has blown me away and is one of the best space operas I have ever read."
#26
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
5.0
(2)
"The anime is till this day my favourite space opera."
"I'd really recommend Legend of the Galactic Heroes."
#27
Dennis E. Taylor
5.0
(2)
"Also really good."
"A conscious Von Neumann machine begins exploring the universe."
#28
Derek Kunsken
5.0
(2)
"Intergalactic heist novel with big stakes."
"Intergalactic heist novel with big stakes."
#29
James S. A. Corey
4.5
(2)
"The Expanse by James S. A. Corey."
"Mercy of the Gods. James s a Corey’s newest series."
#30
T.A. White
4.5
(2)
"Is my favorite but The Starlight's Shadow series by Jessie Mihalik is also fun."
"Rating: 4.41⭐️ out of 5⭐️"
#31
Becky Chambers
4.5
(2)
"Becky Chambers (Wayfarers series). Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Time."
"It is pretty well known though."
#32
Walter Jon Williams
4.5
(2)
"Operatic, gorgeous, otherworldly."
"Is really good, and often overlooked."
#33
N/A
4.5
(2)
"A very well done single book, I think I listened to it in two days."
"It’s not as serious as other space operas but it’s really good."
#34
Joshua Dalzelle
4.5
(2)
"Wildly underrated."
"Will suck you into a more rigid military-esque space fleet strategy."
#35
Glynn Stewart
4.0
(2)
"Gotta read Glynn Stewart's Starship Mage if you want epic science fantasy."
"They're really good."
#36
Jim C. Hines
4.0
(2)
"The “Terminal Alliance“ series by Jim C. Hines."
"(1), Terminal Uprising (2) and Terminal Peace by Jim C. Hines."
#37
Aliette de Bodard
4.0
(2)
"Agree on Aliette de Bodard. She is one of my favorites."
"Check out Alliette de Bodard. I think her Xuya setting counts as space opera."
#38
Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
(2)
"Which is only vaguely space opera, but it's hilarious."
"It's about the human entrance into a galactic sort of Eurovision Song Contest."
#39
Debra Doyle and James MacDonald
4.0
(2)
"Swashbuckling fun, a bit like Star Wars."
"It’s got a kind of Star Wars vibe to it."
#40
Brian K. Vaughn
4.0
(2)
"If you're okay with comics, you should check out Saga."
"Gets my recommendation."
#41
Joan Vinge
4.0
(2)
"I frequently recommend these books."
"I frequently recommend these books."
#42
Kim Stanley Robinson
4.0
(2)
#43
C.J. Cherryh
4.0
(2)
"Start w/ one of the shorter stand-alones."
"I've seen her other stuff in space opera threads."
#44
Robert A. Heinlein
5.0
(1)
"It fits nearly all your specs."
#45
Isaac Asimov
5.0
(1)
"Won the Hugo award for best trilogy."
#46
Tim Pratt
5.0
(1)
"A good new space opera trilogy."
#47
Drew Williams
5.0
(1)
"Also really enjoyed ***The Universe After*** saga by Drew Williams."
#48
Gary Gibson
5.0
(1)
"Gary Gibson not as famous as he deserves to be."
#49
Alex White
5.0
(1)
"It starts with A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe."
#50
Scott Westerfeld
5.0
(1)
"Truly outstanding work."
#51
Samuel Delany
5.0
(1)
"Samuel Delany is your guy. Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand is a really wonderful novel full of big and complex ideas."
#52
Cixin Liu
5.0
(1)
"Has a very good translation."
#53
Dan Worth
5.0
(1)
"Worth for some very large scale space opera."
#54
Ben Bova
5.0
(1)
"All the “planet” books by the late, great Ben Bova"
#55
M. John Harrison
5.0
(1)
"Light, by **M. John Harrison**"
#56
Gareth Powell
5.0
(1)
"I really enjoyed the ***Embers of War*** trilogy by Gareth Powell."
#57
John Varley
5.0
(1)
"Start with the short fiction and read in publication order"
#58
Juanita Coulson
5.0
(1)
"Dynasty of politicians and explorers building the first interplanetary spacecraft"
#59
M. R. Forbes
5.0
(1)
"Full throttle anti-gravity boots military science fiction that melts faces and is badass."
#60
Gene Wolfe
5.0
(1)
"Obvious answer is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Not a conventional space opera but it's THE literary science fiction work."
#61
Dennis Taylor
5.0
(1)
"My ride or die."
#62
Stanislaw Lem
5.0
(1)
"If you’re happy to venture beyond the sci-fi anglosphere I recommend Stanislaw Lem. Not just the book that most people know, Solaris, but also Eden, Fiasco, the Pilot Pirx series, The Invincible."
#63
Robert Silverberg
4.0
(1)
"It's pretty old but loved it as a kid!"
#64
Andy Weir
4.0
(1)
"Check out “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir."
#65
Neal Asher
4.0
(1)
"One suggestion I could make would be a subset from Neal Asher's Polity Series."
#66
Jason Anspach and Nick Cole
4.0
(1)
"Galaxy's Edge series by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole."
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