I’m looking for some good space opera. I read a lot on royal road and KU. I love space opera, but I’m sick of military and AI tropes. Any good suggestions? The more ship to ship battles the better. I understand that may be counter-intuitive, but I’ve read several privateer/freighter/scrapper books that were amazing. Looking for more of the same.
Thanks!
I heartily recommend Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space series. I don’t think I’ve read something by Reynolds that I haven’t liked
Pushing Ice was my first and still favorite of his.
I’d second this. The perfect dryfus books are set in the same world/ of the series, but are also great standalones
I’m gonna look further into this.
Oh, this looks great! Thanks!
Children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is great. Really any of his are great.
You recommend me a book! I’m into privateer freighter scrapper books!
I have this issue where I see a book of his and just buy without reading the description lol
Added to list, thanks!
The avsolute best that I’ve read is Phantom Star by Seras on RR. Unfortunately they haven’t finished the story. (there is ai, but it’s a dumb ai)
2nd place is Quarter Share (Trader’s Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper) by Nathan Lowell.
3rd place is Bobiverse.
Honorable Mention is Rookie Privateer (Privateer Tales Book 1) by Jamie McFarlane. This one would be higher, but as the series went on they became more and more militaristic.
Stanisław Lem. He wrote a lot of novels & short story compilations, including Solaris, The Futurological Congress, A Perfect Vacuum, and Memoirs Found in a Bathtub.
A lot of stories by Jack Vance (The Demon Princes saga, the Giant Planet, the Tschai Cycle, …) are space opera but nothing about spaceship and battles in the stories
How close to Fantasy as a genre do you mind getting, compared to Sci-Fi?
Absolutely adore fantasy too. Everything from classic, swords and sorcery to litrpg and cultivation. You got something space opera with fantasy? I’m excited.
You can try the Salvagers series by Alex White. It’s fun space fantasy that starts with A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.
Another light read that is more space drama than space fantasy and has lower “stakes” is… a book whose name I’m blanking on and definitely won’t remember until I get home to look on my shelf for it.
Hah! Thanks for the recommendation. I hope you remember the other one too.
The Gap cycle by Stephen Donaldson. First book is hard to read but it’s short and necessary. The rest is incredible.
I’ve read several privateer/freighter/scrapper books that were amazing. Looking for more of the same.
Try the first books of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan saga—it centers around a backwoods aristocrat moonlighting as an interstellar mercenary captain.
It’s great but absolutely military though.
Here is a deep pull from an OG space opera author: E E Doc Smith’s Skylark series:
Revelation Space is a great series if you haven’t read it.
Wolfhounds by John Van Stry
It does have ai characters but they don’t dominate the story at all which is odd given the premise.
Also Theft of Fire by Devon Erikson. Not a space Opera at all, but a very enjoyable read.
