Scan barcode
jam51's review
3.0
Read the overlong and ponderous Intro last night. Boy, is this a "dense" book! The editors need editors, IMHO. Some good info on the history of the term "space opera", but way too much verbiage. At 900+ pages, this paperback book is a real "heavyweight". Hopefully, the quality of writing of at least some of the short stories will make the strain of holding the book worthwhile! Maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get an eReader, if only for the "light weight" factor!
metaphorosis's review
2.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
2 stars
Most of this anthology is composed of stories. However, the editors also incomprehensibly include one entire novel and two excerpts. The novel is long, based in someone else's universe and not very good. One of the excerpts is quite good, but there's little I like less than an excerpt - if you do buy the novel, you've already read part of it. If you don't, you've only read part of the story.
Normally, I enjoy the little bios and blurbs that precede or succeed stories in an anthology. In this case, however, the editors have taken such an academic tone that it pretty much kills your interest in reading the stories themselves. I also disagree with their definitions of 'space opera'. I read and considered their position, but found it uninformative, and the various categories of space opera they suggest have little to do with the stories included, and less to do with other work produced in those periods. Anthologies often have a feeling not so much of consistent concept as of "random stories we got from our friends." This one is no different. You won't really learn much about space opera (by any definition) here.
The editors make much of a posited distinction between British and US science fiction. I suppose they may be right - they quote a lot of people (mostly British) who seem to agree. But I read a lot of science fiction (both British and US), and I've never thought much about it. I like certain authors and not others; some are British, some are American. Their nationality has made zero difference to my enjoyment or selection criteria. So while it's a big deal to the editors, at least one very well-read member of the audience couldn't care less.
Leaving aside the pompous analysis, the artificial distinctions, the random selection, and the occasional bit of novel... - this anthology does collect some good work, and a wide selection of authors. If you can pick it up cheap at a discount bookstore, go to it. Otherwise, I suggest looking elsewhere. I certainly won't be picking up the editors' companion volume (Hard SF Renaissance).
markyon's review
5.0
Another hefty tome from the Hartwell canon. Wide-ranging and brilliant, there's a nice assembly of stories to give you an idea that Space Opera should not be derided, nor is it as simplistic a subgenre as some would suggest. Not easy to do when such material these days is typified by 1000-plus-page multi-volume blockbusters. Though not all tales will be to everyone's tastes, recommended.
nwhyte's review
4.0
Huge anthology (941 pages) of mostly excellent stories, very few of which I had actually read before (Lois McMaster Bujold's "Weatherman", Peter F. Hamilton's "Escape Route" and Allen Steele's "The Death of Captain Future" - all great stories), tracing the space opera sub-genre through the decades. It's not always my favourite mode (and I found myself choking at short stories by a couple of writers whose longer works I have also bounced off) but the selection is generally good. In particular I appreciated the early stories from Edmond Hamilton, Jack Williamon, Clive Jackson and especially Leigh Brackett ("Enchantress of Venus") - shamefully, I am not sure that I had read anything at all by her previously, but I must repair that omission. The longest story is "The Survivor" by Donald Kingsbury, set in the Man-Kzin wars cycle originated by Larry Niven, a gruesome and disturbing though well-written tale. In general this is well worth looking out for.
urwa's review
4.0
i only picked this up to read the one bujold story in it but then quarantine hit so i decided to read the whole thing. i read them all save one which i simply could not stomach
authors i must read more of: sarah zettel, scott westerfeld, samuel r delaney
--
edmond hamilton, the star stealers
★★
jack williamson, the prince of space
★
disgusting portrayal of the ONE female character, sucky plot
leigh brackett, enchantress of venus
★★
bit all over the place
clive jackson, the swordsman of varnis
★★
again, misogyny out the wazoo, but twist at the end made me laugh out loud
cordwainer smith, the game of rat and dragon
★★★★
completely unlike anything i've ever read
samuel r delany, empire star
★★★★★
a devil-kitten that giggles when it's upset.. a ‘linguistic ubiquitous multiplex’ that makes literary allusions to wilde and bosie.. a story that starts where it ends and also doesn't ! absolutely terrific writing *_*
robert sheckley, zirn left unguarded. the jenghik palace in flames. jon westerley dead
★★★
confusing at first with all the proper nouns strewn about but rly pulls together in the last two passages
david brin, temptation
★★★
strong lady DOLPHIN
david drake, ranks of bronze
★★
much too military for my tastes
lois mcmaster bujold, weatherman
★★★★★
bujold does not disappoint :-)
iain m banks, a gift from the culture
★★★★
dan simmons, orphans of the helix
★★★
colin greenland, the well wishers
‘you couldn't stop working, they all agreed. none of them at the moment seemed to be in much of a hurry to start again, nevertheless.’
★★★★
fantastic murder sf
peter f hamilton, escape route
★★★★
excellent
david weber, ms. midshipwoman harrington
★★★★★
honor harrington can Murder me
catherine asaro, aurora in four voices
★★★
notbad; do not understand title of story
r garcia y robertson, ring rats
★★★
allen steele, the death of captain future
★★★
gregory benford, a worm in the well
★★★★
donald kingsbury, the survivor
dnf: couldn't get through more than two pages dripping misogyny
sarah zettel, fool’s errand
★★★★
ursula k le guin, the shobies’ story
★★★
robert reed, the remoras
★★★★
clever clever clever
paul j mcauley, recording angel
★★
stephen baxter, the great game
★★★
michael moorcock, lost sorceress of the silent citadel
★
hot garbage
michael kandel, space opera
★★★★
funny!! pierre menard vibes; there were a lot of music references that i wish had not gone entirely over my head
tony daniel, grist
★★
very confusing .....
scott westerfeld, the movements of her eyes
★★★★
i loved this author’s uglies series, and this story was fantastic too.. bit at the end was a little Uncomf though.
p.s. WILDE REFERENCE!!!!! UGH
alastair reynolds, spirey and the queen
★★★
not baaaaaad
charles stross, bear trap
★★★
too many finance references i do not comprehend!!!!
john c wright, guest law
★★★
did not at all enjoy the implications that humanity would regress so badly despite having progressed so far ;__;
authors i must read more of: sarah zettel, scott westerfeld, samuel r delaney
--
edmond hamilton, the star stealers
★★
jack williamson, the prince of space
★
disgusting portrayal of the ONE female character, sucky plot
leigh brackett, enchantress of venus
★★
bit all over the place
clive jackson, the swordsman of varnis
★★
again, misogyny out the wazoo, but twist at the end made me laugh out loud
cordwainer smith, the game of rat and dragon
★★★★
completely unlike anything i've ever read
samuel r delany, empire star
★★★★★
a devil-kitten that giggles when it's upset.. a ‘linguistic ubiquitous multiplex’ that makes literary allusions to wilde and bosie.. a story that starts where it ends and also doesn't ! absolutely terrific writing *_*
robert sheckley, zirn left unguarded. the jenghik palace in flames. jon westerley dead
★★★
confusing at first with all the proper nouns strewn about but rly pulls together in the last two passages
david brin, temptation
★★★
strong lady DOLPHIN
david drake, ranks of bronze
★★
much too military for my tastes
lois mcmaster bujold, weatherman
★★★★★
bujold does not disappoint :-)
iain m banks, a gift from the culture
★★★★
dan simmons, orphans of the helix
★★★
colin greenland, the well wishers
‘you couldn't stop working, they all agreed. none of them at the moment seemed to be in much of a hurry to start again, nevertheless.’
★★★★
fantastic murder sf
peter f hamilton, escape route
★★★★
excellent
david weber, ms. midshipwoman harrington
★★★★★
honor harrington can Murder me
catherine asaro, aurora in four voices
★★★
notbad; do not understand title of story
r garcia y robertson, ring rats
★★★
allen steele, the death of captain future
★★★
gregory benford, a worm in the well
★★★★
donald kingsbury, the survivor
dnf: couldn't get through more than two pages dripping misogyny
sarah zettel, fool’s errand
★★★★
ursula k le guin, the shobies’ story
★★★
robert reed, the remoras
★★★★
clever clever clever
paul j mcauley, recording angel
★★
stephen baxter, the great game
★★★
michael moorcock, lost sorceress of the silent citadel
★
hot garbage
michael kandel, space opera
★★★★
funny!! pierre menard vibes; there were a lot of music references that i wish had not gone entirely over my head
tony daniel, grist
★★
very confusing .....
scott westerfeld, the movements of her eyes
★★★★
i loved this author’s uglies series, and this story was fantastic too.. bit at the end was a little Uncomf though.
p.s. WILDE REFERENCE!!!!! UGH
alastair reynolds, spirey and the queen
★★★
not baaaaaad
charles stross, bear trap
★★★
too many finance references i do not comprehend!!!!
john c wright, guest law
★★★
did not at all enjoy the implications that humanity would regress so badly despite having progressed so far ;__;
mburnamfink's review
4.0
The Space Opera Renaissance is the kind of book that deserves to drift in stately orbit around a gas giant while "Also sprach Zarathustra" plays. It's a massive tome of a book, 941 pages, 32 stories, close to 90 years of science fiction history. There are some very good stories in this collection. With this much diversity, you're sure to find something that you love, and the authors read like a who's who's of the field.
Space opera has always been something of an archaism, as science fiction tried to carve out a niche as serious literature. While early pioneers like E.E. 'Doc' Smith and Olaf Stapledon could imagine mythologies of cosmological scope, much of the early pulps were filled with poorly written adventurous tripe, the 'horse operas' of cheap western fiction redone on the Red Hills of Mars, rather than the Dakotas. Serious science fiction in the vein of Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction could discuss the engineering challenges of rocketry as a venue for a kind of Heinlein-Clarke 'competent hero', a man handier with a slide rule than a ray blaster. New Wave and cyberpunk turned defiant against outer space, conquering new realms of inner space and cyberspace. Yet the flame remained alive in the hands of M. John Harrison, and then a host of British retro-scifi writers (Banks, Hamilton, Reynolds) who imagined new kinds of post-imperial space opera. As fans, we love space opera, even as we're embarrassed by it.
Yet there's also an unbalanced quality to this collection, editorial choices that I found puzzling. No stories by Doc Smith or M. John Harrison, despite their status as grandmasters of the genre. Cramer and Hartwell use the page count to include complete novellas, but the early stories are some very rough pulps that outstay their welcome. Lois McMaster Bujold is represented by "Weatherman", which is a fantastic character study but entirely planetbound, while David Drake gets a fragment of a story about a Roman legion kidnapped and used as intersteller mercenaries, another mud bound adventure.
Space opera is a big tent of a sub-genre, but if I were to define it, it'd be about a certain grandeur of scope, of clashing planets and galaxies at stake, as well as a larger-than-life quality of its characters. It's a big universe, but with a fast spaceship, they can make it their own. There's lot of room to construct, parody, deconstruct the genre, to generate that necessary sensation of awe. There's a spot for a really great thematic collection, one that links the history of the genre to it's future, and frustratingly this is not that. I doubt anyone knew more about science-fiction than Hartwell, and Cramer was his partner of almost 20 years. So it's not enough for them to pick good stories. I want perfect stories, and this collection is about 500 pages overweight for perfection.
Space opera has always been something of an archaism, as science fiction tried to carve out a niche as serious literature. While early pioneers like E.E. 'Doc' Smith and Olaf Stapledon could imagine mythologies of cosmological scope, much of the early pulps were filled with poorly written adventurous tripe, the 'horse operas' of cheap western fiction redone on the Red Hills of Mars, rather than the Dakotas. Serious science fiction in the vein of Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction could discuss the engineering challenges of rocketry as a venue for a kind of Heinlein-Clarke 'competent hero', a man handier with a slide rule than a ray blaster. New Wave and cyberpunk turned defiant against outer space, conquering new realms of inner space and cyberspace. Yet the flame remained alive in the hands of M. John Harrison, and then a host of British retro-scifi writers (Banks, Hamilton, Reynolds) who imagined new kinds of post-imperial space opera. As fans, we love space opera, even as we're embarrassed by it.
Yet there's also an unbalanced quality to this collection, editorial choices that I found puzzling. No stories by Doc Smith or M. John Harrison, despite their status as grandmasters of the genre. Cramer and Hartwell use the page count to include complete novellas, but the early stories are some very rough pulps that outstay their welcome. Lois McMaster Bujold is represented by "Weatherman", which is a fantastic character study but entirely planetbound, while David Drake gets a fragment of a story about a Roman legion kidnapped and used as intersteller mercenaries, another mud bound adventure.
Space opera is a big tent of a sub-genre, but if I were to define it, it'd be about a certain grandeur of scope, of clashing planets and galaxies at stake, as well as a larger-than-life quality of its characters. It's a big universe, but with a fast spaceship, they can make it their own. There's lot of room to construct, parody, deconstruct the genre, to generate that necessary sensation of awe. There's a spot for a really great thematic collection, one that links the history of the genre to it's future, and frustratingly this is not that. I doubt anyone knew more about science-fiction than Hartwell, and Cramer was his partner of almost 20 years. So it's not enough for them to pick good stories. I want perfect stories, and this collection is about 500 pages overweight for perfection.
henryarmitage's review
4.0
This is a weighty tome containing several novella-length works.
Table of Contents
The only thing I didn't read was [a:Iain Banks|7628|Iain Banks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1374456581p2/7628.jpg]' "A Gift From The Culture" which I read less than two years ago in [b:The State of the Art|5510904|The State of the Art (Culture, #4)|Iain M. Banks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353259438l/5510904._SY75_.jpg|1280581].
There's a version of [a:Donald Kingsbury|127931|Donald Kingsbury|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]'s "The Survivor" from [b:Man-Kzin Wars IV|378692|Man-Kzin Wars IV (Man-Kzin Wars, #4)|Larry Niven|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387755362l/378692._SY75_.jpg|211535]. I have read this before but it was long enough ago that I was able to enjoy the re-read. In fact, this left me wanting to read the whole series again. Great series! [a:Larry Niven|12534|Larry Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182720933p2/12534.jpg] had a real gift for inventing plausible alien races.
I really liked "Escape Route" by [a:Peter Hamilton|4162652|Peter Hamilton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], "The Remoras" by [a:Robert Reed|57814|Robert Reed|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455117424p2/57814.jpg], "Recording Angel" by [a:Paul McAuley|20433|Paul McAuley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367680738p2/20433.jpg], "Grist" by [a:Tony Daniel|3346062|Tony Daniel|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], "Spirey and the Queen" by [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg].
Broadened my understanding of the term Space Opera. I was kind of expecting a bunch of old stuff like the work of [a:E. E. "Doc" Smith|19753758|E. E. "Doc" Smith|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] but instead this collection takes us right through the cyberpunk and post-singularity fiction of the last decade.
Table of Contents
The only thing I didn't read was [a:Iain Banks|7628|Iain Banks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1374456581p2/7628.jpg]' "A Gift From The Culture" which I read less than two years ago in [b:The State of the Art|5510904|The State of the Art (Culture, #4)|Iain M. Banks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353259438l/5510904._SY75_.jpg|1280581].
There's a version of [a:Donald Kingsbury|127931|Donald Kingsbury|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]'s "The Survivor" from [b:Man-Kzin Wars IV|378692|Man-Kzin Wars IV (Man-Kzin Wars, #4)|Larry Niven|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387755362l/378692._SY75_.jpg|211535]. I have read this before but it was long enough ago that I was able to enjoy the re-read. In fact, this left me wanting to read the whole series again. Great series! [a:Larry Niven|12534|Larry Niven|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182720933p2/12534.jpg] had a real gift for inventing plausible alien races.
I really liked "Escape Route" by [a:Peter Hamilton|4162652|Peter Hamilton|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], "The Remoras" by [a:Robert Reed|57814|Robert Reed|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455117424p2/57814.jpg], "Recording Angel" by [a:Paul McAuley|20433|Paul McAuley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367680738p2/20433.jpg], "Grist" by [a:Tony Daniel|3346062|Tony Daniel|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], "Spirey and the Queen" by [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg].
Broadened my understanding of the term Space Opera. I was kind of expecting a bunch of old stuff like the work of [a:E. E. "Doc" Smith|19753758|E. E. "Doc" Smith|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] but instead this collection takes us right through the cyberpunk and post-singularity fiction of the last decade.
nicholasbobbitt1997's review
3.0
Decent premise for a collection but it's extremely long and perhaps would have been better if it was broken into smaller editions.
More...