Space Opera Fans discussion

Quite a few SF stories involve flying saucers. Most of these stories are set on Earth. Sometimes it’s a human helping the aliens in the flying saucer, sometimes it’s aliens abducting humans, sometimes it’s a human government agency trapping the aliens from the flying saucer. While it’s not exactly space opera, it’s not hard SF and can be quite fun.

Do you have a book worth rereading on this theme?

I’ll start us off with Bob's Saucer Repair by Jerry Boyd. Flying saucer breaks down, hillbilly jack of all trades fixes it. I found it very funny. Not to be taken seriously at all. There are three books so far in the series, and more expected.

And Janissaries by Jerry Pournelle, where a flying saucer rescues a doomed team of soldiers then takes them to another planet with orders to grow a drug for them.

I’ve been trying to think of any novels that feature flying saucers and can’t come up with one. Movies, yes, by the space-truck load, and even a fair number of short stories, but I don’t think I’ve read any novels with saucers.

How about The War of the Worlds?

Betsy wrote: "How about The War of the Worlds?"

They were bullet-shaped, plus they barely appear.

I was remembering the movies; I'm pretty sure they were saucer shaped. 😊

Betsy wrote: "I was remembering the movies; I'm pretty sure they were saucer shaped. 😊"

In the 1950s version the giant walkers are manta ray shaped hovercraft. I personally wouldn’t call that a saucer, but they do fly, kinda.

In the book their spaceships are just regular bullet shapes, and the walkers they use to stomp around the countryside are tripods. The Spielberg movie from 15 years ago did away with the ships entirely.

Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein has aliens in flying saucers, or at least spaceships that get mistaken for flying saucers.

First that comes to mind are books of Eando Binder
Menace of the Saucers
Night of the Saucers.
I read print copies years ago but these are links for kindle editions.