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A review by jamgrl
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
When I started listening to Space Opera, I got nervous! Because it was reminding me a lot of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and I am so sorry to say that I do not like Hitchhiker’s Guide. Of course, then I read the summary, which said “Hitchhiker’s Guide meets Eurovision!” But it was for a book club, so I stuck it out- and ended up enjoying it much more than I expected!
Basically, this book goes back and forth between Hitchhiker’s style comedic/absurd world building of the outrageous aliens/alien worlds and the plot of the book- which is following our two washed up rock stars who find themselves representing Earth in an intergalactic music competition with dire stakes.
Once the book gets going, it settles into a pattern of plot chapters and comedic chapters detailing past competition performances by various species, which, I found out at Book Club, are all Eurovision references! I have never watched Eurovision, so this all went over my head. At first, I struggled a lot with these chapters because it was impossible to remember all the species names and what they when like etc, but when I realized it didn’t really matter that much for the plot, I just allowed myself to laugh and move on. The plot itself was what kept me invested- it was very character focused, slowly unraveling backstory on our two main characters that made them feel grounded even amidst the chaos that was this book 😅.
Heath Miller did an excellent audiobook performance (and his voice for Decibel Jones could make me fall in love… 😂). There is singing and lots of energy in the audiobook- this book seems to really benefit from the audio format!
Overall, this book is both fun and full of heart.
Basically, this book goes back and forth between Hitchhiker’s style comedic/absurd world building of the outrageous aliens/alien worlds and the plot of the book- which is following our two washed up rock stars who find themselves representing Earth in an intergalactic music competition with dire stakes.
Once the book gets going, it settles into a pattern of plot chapters and comedic chapters detailing past competition performances by various species, which, I found out at Book Club, are all Eurovision references! I have never watched Eurovision, so this all went over my head. At first, I struggled a lot with these chapters because it was impossible to remember all the species names and what they when like etc, but when I realized it didn’t really matter that much for the plot, I just allowed myself to laugh and move on. The plot itself was what kept me invested- it was very character focused, slowly unraveling backstory on our two main characters that made them feel grounded even amidst the chaos that was this book 😅.
Heath Miller did an excellent audiobook performance (and his voice for Decibel Jones could make me fall in love… 😂). There is singing and lots of energy in the audiobook- this book seems to really benefit from the audio format!
Overall, this book is both fun and full of heart.