Space Operatic

by Dale E. Lehman

Eternal fame or eternal shame?

Hopeless optimist Roberto Maccarone has staked his fortunes on a bold move: he's brought grand opera to the Oort Territories, where there isn't enough culture to fill a petri dish. But it's a tough sell here in the cold dark of the next to last circle of hell, and soon Maccarone is up to his mephistophelean eyebrows in corporate greed, rebellious miners, bloodthirsty mercenaries, outrageous lies, intense loathing, inane conversations, and more unintended consequences than you can shake a baton at. Really, how hard can it be to stage a performance?

One thing alone can save Maccarone and his company: the most fabulous theater in the solar system slumbers nearby, mysteriously shuttered without having once been used. But the keys are held in the icy grip of the local Culture Minister, and nothing-not Maccarone, not obscene amounts of money, not even that guy who juggles flaming kabobs while singing an ancient song about how great America was-can pry them loose. Will it be fame for Maccarone and his troupe? Or unemployment in Beelzebub's outhouse?

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 27, 2020

About the author

Dale E. Lehman is an award-winning writer, veteran software developer, amateur astronomer, and bonsai artist in training. He principally writes mysteries, science fiction, and humor. In addition to his novels, his writing has appeared in Sky & Telescope and on Medium.com. He owns and operates the imprint Red Tales. He and his late wife Kathleen have five children, six grandchildren, and two feisty cats. At any given time, Dale is at work on several novels and short stories.

To get a bunch of freebies and sign up for Dale's Story Corner newsletter, visit his website.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Look. Everybody hates it here. It's cold. It's dark. ... Life in general is miserable. My job is to make them forget all that."

Roberto Maccarone - owner of a grand opera - has hit a...rough patch during its space travels.

A really rough patch, in fact.

"Going sunward won't help. The curse will follow us."

The unrelenting curse is plaguing Maccarone's company ever since they played on Titan, Saturn's moon, and despite traveling to one of the furthest outposts....the curse is rearing its ugly head. Again.

Everything Maccarone does, just doesn't go the way he planned.

Between the mercenaries, the subterfuge and rebels - Maccarone is up to his eyeballs in trouble.

But - there's a shining light in the distance.

This forsaken place has one, glorious theater. It's so incredibly beautiful and absolutely perfect.

Macarrone knows, instantly, that his troupe has to play in it. But as he circles the theater, all of the little problems suddenly triple in size.

Will he be able to perform and pull his troupe out of disaster? Or will he lose it all?

"It's not a theater," she whispered... "It's a tomb."

Whew! This was a COMPLETELY different direction from Lehman's normal books - and I loved it.

Macarrone's character was so fun to read - he was so quirky and lovable (with just a dash of sass).

The side characters worked really well - I loved the Culture Minister and watching everyone circle them.

The plot worked really well - it was fresh, exciting and wholly unexpected.

The adventure was constantly taking me for surprise - I never knew what was happening next but I absolutely loving it.

All in all, I'm so excited to have been able to read this new book from Lehman and I cannot WAIT to see what he writes next!!

A huge thank you to Dale E. Lehman for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review

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[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic ride through a science fiction universe! I loved the humble self-checking of expressions that have grown obsolete with time -- like a running gag throughout. The characters were so tangible and if some were a little flat, they were appropriately so and hilariously done! Loved this book, and I'm so looking forward to reading more from this author!

[Megan Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall great book with space adventure for many to enjoy. I would really recommend reading it.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci Fi Space Opera at its very best, from page one to the final its non stop adventure and action. I loved it!!! A book for everyone.

[ALbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

To all Sci-Fi lovers out there!

--- this is a distress call!!! ----

This book is Fun and it's smart, a fountain of happiness! Simple but engaging twisted plot, a cast of crazy characters, explosions!!!
If you had fun with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Scalzi's sci-fi works, read this very original Space Opera about an Opera in Space now!

Dale E. Lehman did an awesome job bringing the joy of a simple story in space, and a lot of fresh air to the genere through an original bunch of people on a remote icy rock.

This book deserves a big audience, don't miss it!

I absolutely love the Cover by Proi!

- Unable to find just the right gesture, the secretary went through his entire repertoire of inane hand motions before saying, “Gone!”

[Myra Gabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

First we read through the cast of characters and immediately understand that the story is about trying to stage a decent opera in the Oort Territories. It is a place of perennial dark, a cultural wasteland and modified cargo containers in which people live and work. Maccarone has brought his opera troupe here in the hope that it will lead to bigger venues and better stages.
Despite plots, counterplots, betrayals and total chicanery it's quite a light hearted book. The author had a lot of fun naming his characters.
The only reason I couldn't give it a 5 rating is because there were too many characters to keep separate.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and punny!

There is so much going on, everyone and their uncle seems to be scheming, there are shenanigans galore, hilarity ensues. To be honest, at times it got a bit confusing and I had some difficulties to keep everyone and everything straight.

But it sure is an entertaining read, it made me smile a lot, sometimes laughing out loud, and it seems obvious that the author had a lot of fun writing this quirky romp.

[Patty Mele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good and I enjoyed the reading from the very beginning to the very end.

I thought the story line was very good and made the story click in my opinion.

I thought the characters were very good and made it the story click in opinion.

I got this book for free with an honest review freely given.

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roberto Maccarone takes his opera company to a mining community in deep space and that’s when everything starts to go horribly wrong.

Scheming politicians, disgruntled miners, a band of mutinous mercenaries and an exploding fountain – what more could you want?

Well frankly, I would want a more cohesive narrative and a plot that flows. The cast of characters is a little too large and confusing, the plot has more twists than the Monoco Formula One racing circuit and none of the main protagonists are particularly loveable.

But, there is plenty of action in the second half of the book and some humourous characters and dialog that made the story enjoyable overall.