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A Space Opera. An ambitious, incredible - Space Opera!

A science-fiction story which occasionally breaks off into song - a genuine space opera.

Quite possibly Aldiss's strangest novel, and that is saying something.

"Space opera", once a derisive term for cheap pulp adventure, has come to mean something more in modern SF: compelling adventure stories told against a broad canvas, and written to the highest level of skill. Indeed, it can be argued that the "new space opera" is one of the defining streams of modern SF.

Now, World Fantasy Award-winning anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have compiled a definitive overview of this subgenre, both as it was in the days of the pulp magazines, and as it has become in 2005. Included are major works from genre progenitors like Jack Williamson and Leigh Brackett, stylish midcentury voices like Cordwainer Smith and Samuel R. Delany, popular favorites like David Drake, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le Guin, and modern-day pioneers such as Iain M. Banks, Steven Baxter, Scott Westerfeld, and Charles Stross.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: How Shit Became Shinola: Definition and Redefinition of Space Opera - (2006) - essay by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• The Star Stealers - (1929) - novelette by Edmond Hamilton
• The Prince of Space - (1931) - novella by Jack Williamson
• Enchantress of Venus - (1949) - novella by Leigh Brackett
• The Swordsmen of Varnis - (1950) - short story by Clive Jackson
• The Game of Rat and Dragon - (1955) - short story by Cordwainer Smith
• Empire Star - (1966) - novel by Samuel R. Delany
• Zirn Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerley Dead - (1972) - short story by Robert Sheckley
• Temptation - (1999) - novella by David Brin
• Ranks of Bronze - (1975) - short story by David Drake
• Weatherman - (1990) - novella by Lois McMaster Bujold
• A Gift from the Culture - (1987) - short story by Iain M. Banks
• Orphans of the Helix - (1999) - novelette by Dan Simmons
• The Well Wishers - (1997) - novella by Colin Greenland
• Escape Route - (1997) - novella by Peter F. Hamilton
• Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington - (2001) - novella by David Weber
• Aurora in Four Voices - (1998) - novella by Catherine Asaro
• Ring Rats - (2002) - novella by R. Garcia y Robertson
• The Death of Captain Future - - (1995) - novella by Allen Steele
• A Worm in the Well - (1995) - novelette by Gregory Benford
• The Survivor - (1991) - novel by Donald Kingsbury
• Fool's Errand - (1993) - short story by Sarah Zettel
• The Shobies' Story - (1990) - novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Remoras - (1994) - novelette by Robert Reed
• Recording Angel - (1995) - novelette by Paul J. McAuley
• The Great Game - (2003) - short story by Stephen Baxter
• Lost Sorceress of the Silent Citadel - (2002) - novelette by Michael Moorcock
• Space Opera - (1997) - short story by Michael Kandel
• Grist - (1998) - novella by Tony Daniel
• The Movements of Her Eyes - (2000) - novelette by Scott Westerfeld
• Spirey and the Queen - (1996) - novelette by Alastair Reynolds
• Bear Trap - (2000) - novelette by Charles Stross
• Guest Law - (1997) - novelette by John C. Wright

Table of Contents:

• Have You Any Wool - (2006) - shortstory by Alan DeNiro
• Lehr, Rex - (2006) - novelette by Jay Lake
• Lady be Good - (2006) - novelette by John G. Hemry
• Kansas, She Says, Is the Name of the Star - (2006) - novelette by R. Garcia y Robertson
• Every Hole Is Outlined - (2006) - novelette by John Barnes
• The Plurality of Worlds - (2006) - novella by Brian Stableford
• Dead Men Walking - (2006) - novelette by Paul J. McAuley
• The Muse of Empires Lost - (2006) - novelette by Paul Berger
• Catastrophe Baker and the Cold Equations - (2006) - shortstory by Mike Resnick
• Thousandth Night - (2005) - novella by Alastair Reynolds

More than five-hundred pages, over one-quarter of a million words... Space Opera spans a vast range of epic interstellar adventure stories told against a limitless cosmos filled with exotic aliens, heroic characters, and incredible settings. A truly stellar compilation of tales from one of the defining streams of science fiction, old and new, written by a supernova of genre talent.

Table of Contents:

• Space Opera Then and Now - essay by Rich Horton
• The Knight of Chains, the Deuce of Stars - (2013) - shortstory by Yoon Ha Lee
• The Wreck of the Godspeed - (2004) - novella by James Patrick Kelly
• Saving Tiamaat - (2007) - shortstory by Gwyneth Jones
• Six Lights off Green Scar - (2005) - shortstory by Gareth L. Powell
• Glory - (2007) - novelette by Greg Egan
• The Mote Dancer and the Firelife - (2012) - shortstory by Chris Willrich
• On Rickety Thistlewaite - (2010) - shortstory by Michael F. Flynn
• War Without End - (2010) - shortstory by Una McCormack
• Finisterra - (2007) - novelette by David Moles
• Seven Years from Home - (2010) - novelette by Naomi Novik
• Plotters and Shooters - (2007) - novelette by Kage Baker
• The Muse of Empires Lost - (2006) - novelette by Paul Berger
• Boojum - (2008) - shortstory by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette
• Lehr, Rex - (2006) - novelette by Jay Lake
• Cracklegrackle - (2009) - novelette by Justina Robson
• Hideaway - (2000) - novelette by Alastair Reynolds
• Isabel of the Fall - shortfiction by Ian R. MacLeod
• Precious Mental - (2013) - novella by Robert Reed
• The Two Sisters in Exile - shortfiction by Aliette de Bodard
• Lode Stars - (2010) - shortstory by Lavie Tidhar
• Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade - (2013) - shortstory by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
• The Tear - (2008) - novella by Ian McDonald
• Biographies

Award-winning Australian science-fiction editor Jonathan Strahan presents the quintessential guide to the exciting New Space Opera. This skillfully curated, must-read volume gathers fifteen dramatic, newly classic interstellar adventures from some of the most highly acclaimed and popular speculative-fiction authors.

In "Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance," a cloud-based contractor finds a human war criminal clinging to the hull of the ship. The clones of "All the Colours You Thought Were Kings," about to attend their coming-of-age ceremony, are also plotting treason. During "A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime," two outlaws go on the run after stealing a device from a space cult.

Take a faster-than-light trip to the future. Discover where memes rise and fall in moments. Here are the new and adventurous takes on interplanetary battles, sentient starships, and galactic intrigue. This must-read volume gathers fifteen dramatic, newly classic stories from some of the most highly acclaimed speculative authors.

Featuring: Ann Leckie / Becky Chambers / Alastair Reynolds / T. Kingfisher / Charlie Jane Anders / Anya Johanna DeNiro / Yoon Ha Lee / Lavie Tidhar / Tobias S. Buckell / Arkady Martine / Aliette de Bodard / Seth Dickinson / Karin Tidbeck

Table of Contents:

• i - Introduction: From the Space Opera to Here... - essay by Jonathan Strahan
• 1 - Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance - (2017) - short story by Tobias S. Buckell
• 20 - Extracurricular Activities - [The Machineries of Empire] - (2017) - novelette by Yoon Ha Lee
• 62 - All the Colors You Thought Were Kings - (2016) - short story by Arkady Martine
• 79 - Belladonna Nights - [House of Suns] - (2017) - short story by Alastair Reynolds
• 92 - Metal Like Blood in the Dark - (2020) - short story by Ursula Vernon [as by T. Kingfisher]
• 118 - A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime - (2017) - novelette by Charlie Jane Anders
• 150 - Immersion - [Universe of Xuya] - (2012) - short story by Aliette de Bodard
• 166 - Morrigan in the Sunglare - (2014) - short story by Seth Dickinson
• 187 - The Old Dispensation - (2017) - short story by Lavie Tidhar
• 208 - A Good Heretic - [Wayfarers] - (2019) - short story by Becky Chambers
• 233 - A Voyage to Queensthroat - (2020) - short story by Alan DeNiro [as by Anya Johanna DeNiro]
• 249 - The Justified - (2019) - novelette by Ann Leckie
• 272 - Planetstuck - (2023) - novelette by Sam J. Miller
• 298 - The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir - (2019) - short story by Karin Tidbeck

A society matron underwrites the interstellar tour of an Earth opera company, performing Beethoven, Mozart and Rossini for bewildered human and alien audiences on a kaleidoscopic range of planets. But intrigue and secret agendas complicate what was already a doubtful enterprise, and the matron's feckless nephew finds that the simple country girl he plans to marry is far more mysterious than she seems.

This is Jack Vance at his funniest, rolling out a rollicking picaresque tale where the belly laughs play a perfect duet with the grandmaster's sly observations on the absurdities of life, love and librettos.

Just when they thought they were out...

TwiceFar station is at the edge of the known universe, and that's just how Niko Larson, former Admiral in the Grand Military of the Hive Mind, likes it.

Retired and finally free of the continual war of conquest, Niko and the remnants of her former unit are content to spend the rest of their days working at the restaurant they built together, The Last Chance.

But, some wars can't ever be escaped, and unlike the Hive Mind, some enemies aren't content to let old soldiers go. Niko and her crew are forced onto a sentient ship convinced that it is being stolen and must survive the machinations of a sadistic pirate king if they even hope to keep the dream of The Last Chance alive.

No one escapes their past as the crew of the You Sexy Thing attempts to navigate the hazards of opening a pop-up restaurant and the dangers of a wrathful pirate-king seeking vengeance...

Life's hard when you're on the run from a vengeful pirate-king...

When Niko and her crew find that the intergalactic Gate they're planning on escaping through is out of commission, they make the most of things, creating a pop-up restaurant to serve the dozens of other stranded ships.

But when an archaeologist shows up claiming to be able to fix the problem, Niko smells something suspicious cooking. Nonetheless, they allow Farren to take them to an ancient site where they may be able to find the weapon that could stop Tubal Last before he can take his revenge.

There, in one of the most dangerous places in the Known Universe, each of them will face ghosts from their past: Thorn attempts something desperate and highly illegal to regain his lost twin, Atlanta will have to cast aside her old role and find her new one, Dabry must confront memories of his lost daughter, and Niko is forced to find Petalia again, despite a promise not to seek them out.

Meanwhile, You Sexy Thing continues to figure out what it wants from life--which may not be the same desire as Niko and the rest of the crew.

The crew of the You Sexy Thing have laid a course for Coralind Station, hoping the station's famed gardens will provide an opportunity to regroup, recoup, and mourn their losses while while finding a way to track down their enemy, pirate king Tubal Last.

All Niko wants to do is pry their insurance money from the bank and see if an old friend might be able to help them find Last. Unfortunately, old friends and enemies aren't the only unreliable elements awaiting her and the crew at Coralind.

Each will have to face themselves - the good and the bad - in order to come together before they lose everything.

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented -- something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.

Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for Galactivision -- part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.

This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny -- they must sing.

A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London - Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes -- have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.

The Metagalactic Grand Prix -- part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past returns and the fate of the Earth is once again threatened.

The civilizations opposed to humanity have been plotting and want to take down the upstarts.

Can humanity rise again?

What sets space opera apart from other fiction is its sheer scale: it is an exuberant celebration of the very large and the very small, of the very old and the very new, of the vast, panoramic instant we live in; the instant in which everything that went before melds with everything yet to be. It is Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica.

The only book of its kind, The New Space Opera brings together for the first time the generation of writers who spawned and embody the “new space opera, ” as well as other talents destined to join their ranks. Going beyond everything that has come before, this fresh, visionary anthology is essential reading for every science fiction fan.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (2007) - essay by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan
• Saving Tiamaat - shortstory by Gwyneth Jones
• Verthandi's Ring - (2007) - shortstory by Ian McDonald
• Hatch - (2007) - shortstory by Robert Reed
• Winning Peace - (2007) - novelette by Paul J. McAuley
• Glory - novelette by Greg Egan
• Maelstrom - (2007) - novelette by Kage Baker
• Blessed by an Angel - (2007) - shortstory by Peter F. Hamilton
• Who's Afraid of Wolf 359? - shortstory by Ken MacLeod
• The Valley of the Gardens - (2007) - novelette by Tony Daniel
• Dividing the Sustain - (2007) - novelette by James Patrick Kelly
• Minla's Flowers - (2007) - novella by Alastair Reynolds
• Splinters of Glass - (2007) - novelette by Mary Rosenblum
• Remembrance - (2007) - shortstory by Stephen Baxter
• The Emperor and the Maula - (2007) - novelette by Robert Silverberg
• The Worm Turns - (2007) - shortstory by Gregory Benford
• Send Them Flowers - (2007) - novelette by Walter Jon Williams
• Art of War - shortstory by Nancy Kress
• Muse of Fire - (2007) - novella by Dan Simmons

Following the success of their Locus Award-winning anthology The New Space Opera, editors Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan now up the ante with The New Space Opera 2, new stories from some of the biggest names in science fiction’s biggest genre.

Table of Contents:

• Utriusque Cosmi - (2009) - novelette by Robert Charles Wilson
• The Island - (2009) - novelette by Peter Watts
• Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance - (2009) - novelette by John Kessel
• To Go Boldly - shortstory by Cory Doctorow
• The Lost Princess Man - (2009) - novelette by John Barnes
• Defect - (2009) - novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Yourselves - (2009) - novelette by Jay Lake
• Shell Game - (2009) - novelette by Neal Asher
• Punctuality - (2009) - shortstory by Garth Nix
• Inevitable - (2009) - novelette by Sean Williams
• Join The Navy and See the Worlds - (2009) - shortstory by Bruce Sterling
• Fearless Space Pirates of the Outer Rings - (2009) - novelette by Bill Willingham
• From the Heart - (2009) - novelette by John Meaney
• Chameleons - (2009) - novella by Elizabeth Moon
• The Tenth Muse - (2009) - novelette by Tad Williams
• Cracklegrackle - novelette by Justina Robson
• The Tale of the Wicked - (2009) - novelette by John Scalzi
• Catastrophe Baker and a Canticle for Leibowitz - (2009) - shortstory by Mike Resnick
• The Far End of History - (2009) - novelette by John C. Wright

Contents:

• Preface (The Year's Best Military SF & Space Opera) - essay by David Afsharirad
• Excitement! Adventure! Science Fiction! - essay by David Drake
• Codename: Delphi - (2014) - shortstory by Linda Nagata
• Persephone Descending - (2014) - novelette by Derek Künsken
• The End of the Silk Road - (2014) - novelette by David D. Levine
• Picket Ship - shortstory by Brad R. Torgersen
• Decaying Orbit - (2014) - shortstory by Robert R. Chase
• Morrigan in the Sunglare - (2014) - shortstory by Seth Dickinson
• Light and Shadow - (2014) - shortstory by Linda Nagata
• Icarus at Noon - (2014) - shortstory by Eric Leif Davin
• Soft Casualty - shortstory by Michael Z. Williamson
• Palm Strike's Last Case - (2014) - novelette by Charlie Jane Anders
• Brood - (2013) - novelette by Stephen Gaskell
• Stealing Arturo - novelette by William Ledbetter
• Rules of Engagement - (2014) - novelette by Matthew Johnson
• Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind) - (2014) - novelette by Holly Black
• War Dog - (2014) - shortstory by Mike Barretta

The year's best military SF, space opera, and adventure SF stories. The second of a new series featuring the best stories of the year from the top magazines and online venues with a military and adventure science fiction theme.

The new Golden Age of short science fiction has arrived! Selected from the premier print and online markets in the field, here are stories to challenge, provoke, thrill, and entertain. Stories of future military men and women, space opera on a grand scale, and edge-of-your-seat adventure science fiction in the grand pulp tradition. The second volume in an on-going series, The Year's Best Military and Adventure Science Fiction, features stories by giants of the genre and the hottest new voices.

Table of Contents:

• "The Siege of Denver" by Brendan Dubois
• "Save What You Can" by David Drake
• "For The Love Of Sylvia City" by Andrea M. Pawley
• "The Wizard of The Trees" by Joe R. Lansdale
• "Helping Hand" by Claudine Griggs
• "Morrigan In Shadow" by Seth Dickinson
• "Remember Day" by Sarah Pinsker
• "Gyre" by Brad R. Torgersen
• "Twilight on Olympus" by Eric Leif Davin
• "The Trouble With Telepaths" by Hank Davis
• "This Is The Way The Universe Ends: With A Bang" by Brian Dolton
• "The Tumbledowns Of Cleopatra Abyss" by David Brin

The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF series continues! Selected from the top print and online markets, these stories represent the best in modern military sf, space opera, and adventure sf.

Tales of brave military men and women, thrilling derring-do, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Selected from the top markets, both print and digital, The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF Volume 3 offers up the cream of the crop in short science fiction today. Stories to get your blood racing, your heart pounding, and your fingers turning the pages. Stories to challenge, provoke, thrill, and entertain. Stories that prove the new Golden Age is now!

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by David Afsharirad
• Introduction - essay by David Weber
• Cadet Cruise - (2016) - short fiction by David Drake
• Tethers - (2016) - short fiction by William Ledbetter
• Unlinkage - (2016) - novelette by Eric Del Carlo
• Not in Vain - (2016) - novelette by Kacey Ezell
• Between Nine and Eleven - (2016) - short story by Adam Roberts
• Sephine and the Leviathan - (2016) - novelette by Jack Schouten
• The Good Food - (2016) - short fiction by Michael Ezell
• If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would - (2016) - short story by James Wesley Rogers
• Wise Child - (2016) - novelette by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
• Starhome - (2016) - short fiction by Michael Z. Williamson
• The Art of Failure - (2016) - short fiction by Robert Dawson
• The Last Tank Commander - (2016) - novelette by Allen Stroud
• One Giant Leap - (2016) - short story by Jay Werkheiser
• The Immortals: Anchorage - (2016) - novelette by David Adams
• Backup Man - (2016) - short story by Paul Di Filippo

The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF series roars into its fourth year, with more stories of derring-do, military combat, and edge of your seat suspense. Thrilling tales of grand science fiction adventure and military action. Selected from the top print and digital markets, these stories are guaranteedd to challenge, provoke, and entertain.

Table of Contents:

• Preface - essay by David Afsharirad
• The Secret Life of Bots - (2017) - novelette by Suzanne Palmer
• The Snatchers - (2017) - short story by Edward McDermott
• Imperium Imposter - (2017) - short story by Jody Lynn Nye
• A Thousand Deaths Through Flesh and Stone - (2017) - short story by Brian Trent
• Hope Springs - (2017) - novelette by Lindsay Buroker
• Orphans of Aries - (2017) - novelette by Brad R. Torgersen
• By the Red Giant's Light - (2017) - short story by Larry Niven
• Family Over Blood - (2017) - novelette by Kacey Ezell
• A Man They Didn't Know - (2017) - short story by David Hardy
• Swarm - (2017) - short story by Sean Patrick Hazlett
• A Hamal in Hollywood - (2017) - novelette by Martin L. Shoemaker
• Lovers - (2017) - novelette by Tony Daniel
• The Ghost Ship Anastasia - (2017) - novelette by Rich Larson
• You Can Always Change the Past - (2017) - short story by George Nikolopoulos
• Our Sacred Honor - (2017) - novelette by David Weber

The Year's Best Military and Adventure SF series roars into its fifth year, with more stories of derring-do, military combat, and edge of your seat suspense. Thrilling tales of grand science fiction adventure and military action. Selected from the top print and digital markets, these stories are guaranteed to challenge, provoke, and entertain.

Table of Contents:

• "Love in the Time of Interstellar War" by Brendan DuBois
• "Going Dark" by Richard Fox
• "Scrapyard Ship" by Felix R. Savage
• "Broken Wings" by William Ledbetter
• "A Song of Home, the Organ Grinds" by James Beamon
• "Once on the Blue Moon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• "Crash-Site" by Brian Trent
• "Thirty-three Percent Joe" by Suzanne Palmer
• "Hate in the Darkness" by Michael Z. Williamson
• "Homunculus" by Stephen Lawson
• "Not Made for Us" by Christopher Ruocchio
• "The Erkennen Job" by Chris Pourteau