Flights of Fantasy discussion

September 2019's Theme: Space Opera. This theme is intended for science fiction books that fit the following guidelines (includes Science Fiction, Horror and/or YA/MG):

-it must have a space ship. A space ship is needed for interplanetary travel and Space travel. If the action is taking place on land, there still needs to be access to space ports or ships. Characters cannot simply “pop-up” on a new planet.

- it must be a stimulating and exciting adventure, otherwise known as a “yarn.”

-There must be conflict: the story should be full of conflict (often solved by violent means). Conflict can be either: Man vs Alien, Man vs Man, Man vs Society, and Man vs Technology. Man vs Self and is too small a scale.

-It must be large scale: the settings, the characters, battles, etc must have big implications for the universe(s) in question.

If, for any reason, you have a book you want to nominate but it does not fit these guidelines and you are SURE it fits the Space Opera genre, please post said book along with a request for a Moderator Judgement. Mods will then make the final decision regarding eligibility. If you do not request Moderator Judgement and the book does not fit the above guidelines, that book is not eligible.



EX: Behind the Throne, The Collapsing Empire and Old Man's War

POLL: TBA


WINNER: TBA

Nomination Requirements:
-MUST BE Space Opera (see above sub-genre requirements)
-Must be either a standalone, 1st in a series or a series THIS GROUP has already started
-CanNOT be a book that this group has already read. (unsure which books FoF has read? Check the Group Reads Index)
-Can be SF, Horror, YA/MG
-Must be available in formats that all members can access

Nominations start now and close 23-Jun-2019.

Nomination Rules:
1) No self-nomination or self-interest nominations (this includes publisher accounts as well as author accounts)
2) No inviting friends or followers or fans to the group to nominate or vote in the poll
3) Mods will validate nominations and results and will announce when validated by broadcast. Any suspicious looking noms or votes will not be counted
4) When nominating a book for a theme, you must include WHY your nomination fits the monthly theme
5) You are REQUIRED to link to the book, using words, and NOT the cover image. This is so all members, including those using the app, can actually read the nominations.

Please NOTE: If anyone is caught inviting friends to order to rig the vote, then it will result in an automatic kickban for all parties.

Nominations
To Honor You Call Us by H. Paul Honsinger
Odyssey One by Evan Currie
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn
Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Okay...unless I overlooked it on the index this one should be eligible. It's the first in one of my favorite Space Operas.

To Honor You Call Us

LOL! I think this one is the poster child for Space Opera. ;-)

I'm gonna nominate: Odyssey One by Evan Currie

Odyssey One is the first voyage of the NAC Odyssey and its crew, and the beginnings of a Military Science Fiction Epic that combines both old school space opera, and modern storytelling in one great, exhilarating adventure.

I love Scalzi. So I'll Nominate: Old Man's War

The January Dancer by Michael Flynn

An alien artifact. And about it, civil war, pirates, and two interstellar powers facing off against each other.

I'm sort of tempted to nominate Space Opera, but it's the wrong kind of opera...

Cora wrote: "I love Scalzi. So I'll Nominate: Old Man's War

"

Just checked - we read Old Man's War in March 2017. If you like, you can nominate a different book or the next book in the series.

Current Nominations
To Honor You Call Us by H. Paul Honsinger
Odyssey One by Evan Currie
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn
Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

I'm going to actually nominate Stitching Snow, 'cause what the hell?

I was going to nominate Larklight, but the genre is coming up steampunk, even though I think it's more space adventure with steampunk elements, but whatevs.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I'm going to actually nominate Stitching Snow, 'cause what the hell?

I was going to nominate Larklight, but the genre is coming up steampunk, even though I think it's..."

I checked them out and see what you mean. Larklight does seem to hit all the requirements but steampunk...

It sounds adorable, however.

I'm going to nominate Hyperion by Dan Simmons because it apparently qualifies and is on two separate lists as Space Opera.

Plus I've had it on my TBR forever so this would be a great reason to read it.

Current Nominations
To Honor You Call Us by H. Paul Honsinger
Odyssey One by Evan Currie
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn
Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

MrsJoseph wrote: "It sounds adorable, however. "

I really enjoyed the series. It's written like an old adventure serial.

Hyperion as space opera? Never would've made that connection myself.

Ala wrote: "Hyperion as space opera? Never would've made that connection myself."

TBH, I've not read it so I'm clueless as to if it's a solid fit.

It does (appear to) have:

-space ships
-large scale/large stakes conflict

The question of the final answer comes in the rest of the content: is it a "yarn" (tall tale; rambling story full of adventure and excitement)? That, IDK.

Ala wrote: "Hyperion as space opera? Never would've made that connection myself."

I have not read it, but it checks some boxes and people have shelved it that way, AND it's on two different listopia Space Opera lists. So... if it doesn't fit, then I'll remove the nomination...?

I always thought of Space Opera as like Star Wars or Firefly or Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet books.

Hyperion is told like the Canterbury Tales. Not much in the way of space battles and such. Just stories of the six characters. And you need to read The Fall of Hyperion for a complete story.

I've not read Endymion or The Rise of Endymion so those might kick the whole series into proper Space Opera.

I liked Hyperion, I just would've never classified it as Space Opera. If it is, though, then that's cool too. Not trying to bash a nomination.

Ok then no to Hyperion.

Ala wrote: "I always thought of Space Opera as like Star Wars or Firefly or Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet books.

Hyperion is told like the Canterbury Tales. Not much in the way of space battles and such. Just st..."

Yes, Space Opera is something closer to Star Wars, Firefly, etc. Never heard of Lost Fleet. Something like A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet would not be due to content (small scale, low stakes, not a yarn.)

Becky wrote: "Ok then no to Hyperion."

So, no Hyperion?

No to Hyperion. I haven't read it, and apparently it doesn't count. So remove it.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Hello, hello, hello

So - here's the deal.

We like to do BotM moderator picks for their birthday months. September is Becky's birthday month, which was tragically forgotten when this round of nominations was started.




So, this theme is going to be pushed back until January 2020!

Why so far? Well, the mods parents all got busy around the same time of year, apparently, and October is Chris' month, November is mine and December is Nicki's.


As such, the September BotM will be Fellside by M.R. Carey.


We apologize for the confusion, and all nominations will be carried over to the January 2020 poll.

Thank you!