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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
This reads like the author was getting paid by the word. The amusing sidebars and descriptions get old fast when they happen every single sentence.
Dnf at 34 pages.
I was excited for this concept but I just can't push myself through any more. The writing style is doing too much and it's not for me
I was excited for this concept but I just can't push myself through any more. The writing style is doing too much and it's not for me
This feels like the most millennial thing I've ever read, and I mean that in the best way possible. "Why are things the way they are?" "No idea, just run with it. It is dumb, absurd, more than a little bit cruel, but also beautiful and fucking hilarious when you think about it." It is 100% the way I understand the world.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyable quick read. Great palette cleanser if you’re stuck in rut, reminds me a little bit of “the hitchhiker’s guide” book
Space Opera reads like Douglas Adams reporting on Eurovision while high on meth. It has a weird and wonderful premise, but is kind of confusing and hard to read. Heck, it took like 4 chapters before I figured out enough of her writing style to have any actual fun with the story.
If you like [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|386162|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1559986152s/386162.jpg|3078186], you should like this book; if you don't, skip it. There is very little plot to speak of, mostly just weird non sequiturs, making the trivial important, and making the important trivial. Humor is hard to do, especially sustained for almost three hundred pages, and although Valente's efforts at emulating Douglas Adams are quite noticeable, she manages to make it work most of the time. This book will likely have a longer shelf life than whichever other novel wins the Hugo Award this year.
The story itself is quote easy to follow: a washed up, broken up band is asked to participate in the Metagalactic Grand Prix, the Universe version of the Eurovision Song Contest. The catch? If they lose, their whole species is incinerated.
Space Opera is written extremely dense. The back and forth between the plot and the past contests, the other participants, and the history of the whole arrangement makes it a rich world with a lot of different species and places to keep in mind. You definitely need to focus, or you'll miss all the little details.
Having only just started reading Valente's works, I'm once more surprised by her flexibility in style. This reads different than anything I have previously read of hers.
Space Opera is written extremely dense. The back and forth between the plot and the past contests, the other participants, and the history of the whole arrangement makes it a rich world with a lot of different species and places to keep in mind. You definitely need to focus, or you'll miss all the little details.
Having only just started reading Valente's works, I'm once more surprised by her flexibility in style. This reads different than anything I have previously read of hers.
My review of Space Opera is this Twitterduction thread: https://twitter.com/BrianLangAuthor/status/1081948999995850752
This book is equal parts funny, equal parts weird, and I loved every minute of it.
Space Opera drew me in with the promise of everything I love: aliens, rockstars, and as an added bonus, a trans, queer main character named Decibel Jones. Dess is a washed-up rockstar who rode the high life of fame until he and his band broke up. Not making it as a solo artist - or really anything else much after - Dess and his former bandmates are the only living hope to save humanity when greater alien planets invade and decide that humans need to prove their sentience in a singing contest - or else risk the entire species being vaporized.
Listen, I really have to say it: Decibel's character really was everything to me. I loved all the glimpses we got of his backstory. I know the draw of the book should be the science-fiction, but for me, it was Decibel. I feel like he constantly put his heart on the line, only for it to be crushed again and again. Dess only wanted to live his life as himself, ever since he was a child. And even when he made it big, people never saw that, they just only saw the rockstar. It all really broke my heart. Until the end. (No spoilers though!) (Also, I tweeted Catherynne Valente and told her she should write a prequel about Decibel's life. She said she's not saying no. Fingers crossed one day she actually does it!)
Then there was the aliens themselves. Listen. I told this to Valente on Twitter and I'll say it here too: you can 100% tell how much time and care she put into creating all these vast alien species. They were all so different, so descriptive, and not only them but also their planets, and the whole galaxy. Science fiction tends to go over my head (and I'll be honest, it did here for me a bit too) but I think what Valente has here is fantastic.
And then there's the humor. Don't get me started. This book is just so witty. And the humor just hits you, out of nowhere, and leaves you laughing out loud; at least, it did for me. This is my first time reading any of Valente's books, but I have to say that I definitely intend to check out her other works as well!
Space Opera drew me in with the promise of everything I love: aliens, rockstars, and as an added bonus, a trans, queer main character named Decibel Jones. Dess is a washed-up rockstar who rode the high life of fame until he and his band broke up. Not making it as a solo artist - or really anything else much after - Dess and his former bandmates are the only living hope to save humanity when greater alien planets invade and decide that humans need to prove their sentience in a singing contest - or else risk the entire species being vaporized.
Listen, I really have to say it: Decibel's character really was everything to me. I loved all the glimpses we got of his backstory. I know the draw of the book should be the science-fiction, but for me, it was Decibel. I feel like he constantly put his heart on the line, only for it to be crushed again and again. Dess only wanted to live his life as himself, ever since he was a child. And even when he made it big, people never saw that, they just only saw the rockstar. It all really broke my heart. Until the end. (No spoilers though!) (Also, I tweeted Catherynne Valente and told her she should write a prequel about Decibel's life. She said she's not saying no. Fingers crossed one day she actually does it!)
Then there was the aliens themselves. Listen. I told this to Valente on Twitter and I'll say it here too: you can 100% tell how much time and care she put into creating all these vast alien species. They were all so different, so descriptive, and not only them but also their planets, and the whole galaxy. Science fiction tends to go over my head (and I'll be honest, it did here for me a bit too) but I think what Valente has here is fantastic.
And then there's the humor. Don't get me started. This book is just so witty. And the humor just hits you, out of nowhere, and leaves you laughing out loud; at least, it did for me. This is my first time reading any of Valente's books, but I have to say that I definitely intend to check out her other works as well!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes