SFF180 presents Space Opera September: Season 2: 2021 discussion

This thread is where you can post links to your TBR videos or blog posts, if you're a booktuber or a blogger. (Don't forget to link back to the announcement video and to this group!) If you're neither a booktuber nor a blogger, just let everyone know your TBRs right here.

Space Opera Novella: To Be Taught, If Fortunate
Space Opera by Women: Semiosis
Space Opera by Women: Six Wakes
Published before I was Born: Stranger in a Strange Land
500 Pages or Longer: Great North Road

Space Opera Novella: Artificial Condition

Space Opera by a Woman: A Memory Called Empire

Space Opera by a Woman: Ancestral Night

Diverse Space Opera; Empress of Forever

Published Before I Was Born, AND 500 Pages or Longer: Dune

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Let's see how many I actually read, but here is my TBR:
Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
Consider Phlebas by Ian M. Banks

Ancestral Night-by a woman and over 500 pages
Rogue Protocol-novella
2001:Space Odyssey-written before I was born
The Stars are Legion-written by a woman and LGBQTA+ main characters

My TBR (subject to changes without notice :D ):

1) The undefeated by Una McCormack
2a) A memory called empire by Arkady Martine
An unkindness of ghosts by Rivers Solomon
2b) Raven stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
3) The high crusade by Poul Anderson
4) Leviathan wakes by James Corey

longer than 500 pages : Matter by Iain M. Banks
by a woman: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente :)
by a woman 2: A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
before I was born: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
novella: Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang

For those with booktube channels, any thoughts on when you'll post your TBR video? I know Thomas said it would be good to get them up sooner, but we're still a bit away from September so I wasn't quite sure what made sense. I was thinking maybe mid-August...?

A few that I'm considering are:

Acadie by Dave Hutchinson (novella)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear (woman author)
The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett (woman author, published before I was born)
Matter by Iain M. Banks (over 500 pages)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (woman author)
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (diverse author, though I'm not sure about the characters)
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (woman author)
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (over 500 pages)

I'm hoping to post my next week, but I'm a bit of a keener ☺

I’m still deciding my TBR but, for those wanting to read An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon is non-binary so they would work for 2B. (Lets go Rebels!)

Isn't the next round of Tome Infinity and Beyond also supposed to be happening in September? Even though I've got books picked out for this already, I'm going to hold off to see what the Tome Infinity challenges are, since I might be able to switch things up to hit two readathons with one TBR.

I'm just making a list of all the space opera I own here and then pick my TBR from these and post a video once I've decided what to actually read!

Novellas:
Killing Gravity, by Corey J. White
On a Red Station, Drifting, by Aliette de Bodard

Novels (physical books):
Behind the Throne, by K. B. Wagers
A Confederation of Valor, by Tanya Huff (Valor's Choice & The Better Part of Valor bind-up)
Cordelia's Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Shards of Honor & Barrayar bind-up)
Heaven's Queen, by Rachel Bach
Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey

Novels (ebooks):
A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers
A Different Light, by Elizabeth A. Lynn
Earthrise, by M.C.A Hogarth
Gyrfalcon, by Anna Butler
A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine
Musketeer Space, by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente
Star Nomad, by Lindsay Buroker
An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon

I also have a library hold on the ebook of Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee, which might or might not come in September. This one is a short story collection.

I went through my unread book shelf space operas and found enough for a couple of readathons (won't stop me from buying more).



I won't set a fixed TBR. But currently I have these under consideration:
On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard novella
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells novella
Killing Gravity by Corey J. White novella
A Red Peace by Spencer Ellsworth novella
The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi the German edition will be released end of August, and a Scalzi is always a fast read
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Fleet of Knives by Gareth L. Powell
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha lee
Endurance by Yoshiki Tanaka
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear

CHALLENGES:

1: Read a space opera novella —Killing Gravity

2A: Read two space operas by women —

1)Clash of Lines: A Drath Romance Novel

2)Code of Conduct or Star Nomad

and/or

2b. Diverse author and characters: The Outside


3: Read a space opera published before you were born —Ringworldor The Sirens of Titan

4: Read a space opera 500 pages or longer — Empire of Silence or Seveneves

Leticia wrote: "CHALLENGES:
...
4: Read a space opera 500 pages or longer — Empire of Silence or Seveneves "

Oooh, I forgot I have Seveneves... I might still change my selection :D

The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison - Novella
The Outside by Ada Hoffman - space opera by a woman and about a diverse character (MC is an autistic scientist)
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley - space opera by a woman (and I'm pretty sure this is LGBTQ+ friendly)
Dune by Frank Herbert - space opera over 500 pages and published before I was born.

It’s not set in stone, but tentatively I was thinking:

Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids by Paul French (aka Isaac Asimov). Novella, published before I was born

The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff. Woman, LGBTQ+ author

Space Opera by Catherynne N. Valente. Woman author

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. 500+ pages

Child of the Sun by Leigh Brackett - a novella written before I was born (1&3)
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Soloman - Diverse (trans, POC) author(2b)
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - Diverse (Woman, LGBTQIA+) (also 2a+b)
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear - Diverse (Woman, Bi) Author, more than 500 pages (2a+b &4)
And if I have more time, I want to finish up the Wayfarer's Trilogy Diverse (Woman, LGBTQIA+) Author (2a+b)

This may be changed, but right now, I’m considering:

I’m fairly sure about these first two
All Systems Red for novella (and book by a woman)
Ancillary Sword for my second book by a woman

For book published before I was born (1977) I’m considering Starship Troopers, since I’ve been meaning to read that one for years anyway.

For 500+ pages I may read Leviathan Wakes, I’ve been meaning to pick up the Expanse-series.

I’m feeling very indecisive for these last two, though.

Here is my TBR video:
https://youtu.be/DyX3gr3Thw4

I may switch up the graphic novel for a novella because I feel like graphic works might really fit with the spirit of the readathon. I just got approved for Becky Chamber's new story so I will likely read that.

Also, as I mentioned in my introduction post. I am planning a Readalong of Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey. Anyone is welcome to join. I'll be discussing it on my discord server here: https://discord.gg/mASZMHN

Is this a place where we can ask for recommendations? (noob here)

k wrote: "Is this a place where we can ask for recommendations? (noob here)"

You can. And an easy way to start would be to have a look at what some of the other folks upthread have listed for their TBRs. Thanks for joining!

Thomas wrote: "...have a look at what some of the other folks upthread have listed..."

3 A Closed And Common Orbit
3 Ancillary Justice
3 Dune
3 Killing Gravity
3 Space Opera
3 The Stars are Legion
4 An Unkindness of Ghosts
4 Leviathan Wakes
6 A Memory Called Empire
6 Ancestral Night

Yea, maybe I'll keep my questions to myself and silently keep a tally. Let the census decide for me. Thx!

Thanks again for setting this up, Thomas!

Does "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" qualify for 2B - diverse author featuring a diverse protagonist and/or major characters?

Lea wrote: "Does "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" qualify for 2B - diverse author featuring a diverse protagonist and/or major characters?"

Yep!

I've picked out my reads for the challenge, though of course changes could happen. :D

The Night Masquerade (1 & 2a & 2b)
Provenance (2a)
Raven Stratagem (2b)
Cibola Burn (4)

I desperately tried to find one that was from before I was born, but as I'm limited to books I already own (that's my other challenge this year) I seem to be out of luck. Anyone know if Le Guin's The Dispossessed or The Female Man by Russ would count? From the description I'm guessing not.

Ooo, I might swap out Provenance for Musketeer Space to lighten the mood!

Some options:

Binti (1, 2a, 2b)
To Be Taught, If Fortunate (1, 2a, 2b)
Chilling Effect (2a)
Finder (2a)
Warchild (2a)
Gideon the Ninth (2a)
The Outside (2a, 2b)
Downbelow Station (2a, 3, 4)

This is a tentative TBR for me:
Challenge 1:
Read a space opera novella - To Be Taught if Fortunate

Challenge 2:
2A: read 2 books by female authors - Noumenon, Gideon the Ninth
2B: read by diverse authors with diverse MC/POV - Tea Master and the Detective

Challenge 3:
Read a space opera written before you were born - Shards of Honour

Challenge 4:
Read a space opera over 500 pages - Cibola Burn

My TBR video It's quite ambitious, but it was really fun to make the selection.

Welcome Sebastien! You'll wanna try one more for 2A because Yoon Ha Lee is a trans man. A good pick might be All Systems Red if you haven't checked it out before. Short and sweet and very entertaining.

I almost NEVER stick to TBR's but I feel highly motivated to stick to my guns for Space Opera September. I want to finish a few series and get further into others. Here's the plan:

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
Beyond the Empire by K.B. Wagers
Terminal Uprising By Jim C. Hines
Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
and maaaaybe Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Good luck everyone! I'm hoping to become a Fleet Admiral with a Fighter ship ... OR ... a Space Pirate with a Blockade Runner.

Sebastien wrote: "Thomas wrote: "Thanks Thomas. I corrected my TBR :) Is Ninefox Gambit ok for challenge 2b? i am not sure what kind of main characters it has :)"

From what I can see so far, the MCs are at least bi. I've got vol. 2 of the series for that challenge :D

So here's my TBR for this readathon. This list could always change, but i feel good about this one!

1. Space opera Novella : Extracurricular Activities

2b. Space opera by a diverse author : The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

3. Space opera published before i was born : A Fire Upon the Deep

4. Space opera 500 pages or longer : Caliban's War

*Bonus space opera (if i can squeeze this one into my TBR) : Illuminae

My TBR for the readathon based on the books I have right now:

* All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells [1, 2a]
* The Ship Who Sang (Brainship, #1) by Anne McCaffrey [2a, 3 (first published 1969)]
* Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1) by Iain M. Banks [4 (545 pages)]

To complete the Federation track, I will add a tie-in-novel from the TV series that brought me to sci-fi, Star Trek. So, any book from The Next Generation range or the novelization of the first motion picture that was first published 40 years ago:

* Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Star Trek: The Original Series #1) by Gene Roddenberry

I might go to the rebel track if I can confirm the following satisfies challenge 2b:

* Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1) by Yoon Ha Lee
* The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) by Becky Chambers [2a]
* Foreigner (Foreigner, #1) by C.J. Cherryh [2a]
* Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany [3 (first published 1966)]

Here is my TBR:


1)
2)
3)
4)

Using this list I can end up as either a pirate or a fleet admiral.

That's So Poe wrote: "For those with booktube channels, any thoughts on when you'll post your TBR video? I know Thomas said it would be good to get them up sooner, but we're still a bit away from September so I wasn't q..."

I have mine slated to go up next Wednesday.

I've been trying to decide on a TBR. At the moment, I'm leaning towards these:

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

As I just hit my half century mark, finding a a space opera written before I was born is challenging. At the moment, I'm leaning towards The Peregrine by Poul Anderson.

I have two options ready for extreme long form: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear and the Species Imperative Omnibus (Survival/Migration/Regeneration) by Julie Czernada. As Czernada is a guest of honor at a local convention towards the end of September, that one may be read first as I've yet to read anything by her.

The "before you were born" was the biggest challenge, but here's my TBR.

1. Novella: The Citadel of Weeping Pearls
2a. Female author (all my choices are female): Trade Secret
2b. Diverse author and characters: Silence in Solitude
3. Before I was born (1969): The Big Jump
4. 500 pages (exactly): An Earthly Crown

I was a bit lost about what books I could read. But I see that you all are doing lists of TBRs, which is great. But they are so many hehe. Can someone suggests me just one book to read, please?

Julián wrote: "I was a bit lost about what books I could read. But I see that you all are doing lists of TBRs, which is great. But they are so many hehe. Can someone suggests me just one book to read, please?"

What elements do you like in what you usually read? Give us a favorite writer or series? From that, I suspect we can zero in on what you might enjoy.

Would Orbital cloud by Taiyo Fuji count as space opera?

I personally wouldn't count it...not a lot of the plot takes place in space/there isn't much space travel, but that's just my opinion haha.

Jessica wrote: "I personally wouldn't count it...not a lot of the plot takes place in space/there isn't much space travel, but that's just my opinion haha."

Thanks.
The blurb wasn't clear, though I hoped more of the story would take place in space. Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to read this book then :D

Martha Wells – All Systems Red
Andre Norton – Android at Arms
R.E. Stearns – Barbary Station
John Scalzi – The Collapsing Empire

Should Be Fun!!

James wrote: "Julián wrote: "I was a bit lost about what books I could read. But I see that you all are doing lists of TBRs, which is great. But they are so many hehe. Can someone suggests me just one book to re..."

Anything that could be like "hyperion", which is one of my fav books. Interesting plot, with a surprising story.

With a delivery today from Powell's Books, I am all set for September!



At 135 pages, it looks like The Big Jump will satisfy three of the challenges (novella, by a woman, published before I was born [1955]), but I also have the novella Acadie by Dave Hutchinson on my Kindle app as a bonus.

Can't wait to get started!

I'm thinking I'll read

1) On a Red Station Drifting by Aliette de Bodard
2a) Space Unicorn Blues by TJ Berry / Free Chocolate by Amber Royer
2b) Ardulum: The First Don by JS Fields
3&4) Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh.

I might sneak a Vorkosigan novel in there somewhere too