Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.

coffeetable: Feb 5, 2006; TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

One bit of space opera that hasn't been mentioned yet is Ken MacLeod's Newton's Wake. It suffers a little from a Stross-esque focus on ideas rather than characters, but as a Scot I'm rather partial to the thought of a Glaswegian gang controlling a galaxy-spanning wormhole network and making money by thieving post-human relics.

# ¿ May 17, 2010 14:06

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 22:23

coffeetable: Feb 5, 2006; TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

Inyourbase posted:

Well I'm sold. That has to be the most oddly serious, but actually ridiculous quote ever, but the name of the ship slays me.

the banks thread is here, where they'll tell you to start with Use of Weapons on account of it being fantastic.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2010 06:51

coffeetable: Feb 5, 2006; TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

WarLocke posted:

I'm trying to remember a book I read at one point that featured a Matrioshka Brain, I want to say it was one of the Culture books but I honestly don't remember.

In any case, the idea of an entire solar system repurposed into nothing but a stupendously powerful megacomputer has always seemed totally rad to me. I'm wondering if any of you goons know of examples of such (or really any type of mega-engineering, such as the Ringworld) in books (most likely in stuff that would qualify as space opera I suspect, which is why I'm asking here)?

Stross's Palimpsest possibly outdoes Accelerando in this department. Could've sworn it was online at one point too, but can't find it now.

e: I'd also suggest Watt's Blindsight, free here. Warning: Watt's works are reliably depressing. As one reviewer put it, "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts."

coffeetable fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Dec 23, 2010

# ¿ Dec 23, 2010 20:29

coffeetable: Feb 5, 2006; TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

regularizer posted:

Is there anything else I should try if I like the contact with alien species, extinct or otherwise? I also really liked the Commonwealth saga by Hamilton, particularly the bits about the High Angel.

For reasonably unique takes on it: A Deepness in the Sky treats first contact from the other side. Embassytown deals with communication in much greater depth than most any other novel. And Blindsight is, well, Blindsight. You don't get more alien than Rorschach.

coffeetable fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Dec 31, 2012

# ¿ Dec 31, 2012 05:50

coffeetable: Feb 5, 2006; TELL ME AGAIN HOW GREAT BRITAIN WOULD BE IF IT WAS RULED BY THE MERCILESS JACKBOOT OF PRINCE CHARLES

YES I DO TALK TO PLANTS ACTUALLY

We need a new thread that bans discussion of books we're happy to admit are trash. This 'I knew it was awful after three pages, but I've made it to book #17 anyway!' poo poo is just enabling an addiction.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2013 02:08

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.