10 epic SPACE OPERA series recommendations

[@HiroNguy]

I'm surprised Alastair Reynolds didn't make the list but this is the kind of list that will have me putting more time into reading again. Thumbs up!

[@brentlehman5028]

Seconded

[@damonslimmon]

No Iain M Banks?! Alastair Reynolds!? Thank you for some new lists though. I have 7 new series to read. Cheers!

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

I know! I almost had a major panic not including them!

[@pmyumjr]

Just finished rereading commonwealth saga well worth the time.

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

Thanks! I'm 200 pages into Pandora's star. I hope few new characters get introduced. I feel like I started 3 or 4 different books. So I hit a little lag, but I'm committed cause I know it's worth it!✨

[@myoldchannel0690]

I read (and reviewed) A Fire Upon the Deep. It was pretty worth checking out.

[@everrit]

Excellent list, have more than a passing acquaintance with seven of the series. Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth saga incorporates the Void Trilogy and a dueology Abbys Beyond Dreams & Night Without Stars. Other personal favorite series are, the Way, Xellee and Hyperion Cantoes.

[@jtjr26]

The Hyperion Cantos is a personal favorite of mine. I have heard rumors that this could be made into a TV show or movie but who knows.

[@alaindewitt]

Hi. Enjoying your channel. I'm surprised that no-one has recommended Neal Asher's Agent Cormac series. Five books. Great combination of cyberpunk and space opera.

[@uptown3636]

This video is a wonderful list of series, each presented with a perfectly scripted pitch. In other words, perfect book tube content. I've missed this channel so much--haven't been getting notifications despite signing up for them.

[@marsrocket]

This is a great list. It’s hard to deny the power some of these stories have. Pandora Star and sequel are particular favorites of mine because of the way the aliens are presented, it being very strange and just a little bit different.

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome list! I've read 5 of these series: Commonwealth Saga, Zone of Thought, Hyperion Cantos, The Expanse, and Dune. I enjoyed all of them with the Hyperion Cantos being my favourite. I also own but haven't yet read Ring by Stephen Baxter. I'll have to check out the others!

[@snarfbomber298]

This is exactly where I’m at reading space operas as well but I just started Hyperion and wasn’t sure about it. I will definitely keep going with it after this recommendation though

[@WordsinTime]

@@snarfbomber298 I really enjoyed Hyperion as well as the sequels. I have also since read Ring by Stephen Baxter, which was on the harder end of the sci-fi spectrum and I loved it!

[@mosesosborne2826]

I know I might be a little late, but "expeditionary force" is nothing short of amazing by Craig Alanson

[@johnlee6727]

I can't wait for Skipistan's next exploits. Swarm series introduces Marvin as another favorite character.

[@richardrigling4906]

The list is interesting, including a couple I have overlooked. Here are a few additional suggestions. Issac Asimov's combined series of I Robot & The Rest of the Robots and the Foundation series, linked by a group of novels beginning with Robots of Dawn. Then there's the Honorverse series by David Weber and Eric Flint, a space Opera if ever there was one. It's loosely based on the Napoleonic wars. Ditto on comments regarding Alistair Reynolds

[@kathleentrued9359]

Honorverse - absolutely!

[@kennethroll3683]

Glad to hear The Lensmen series in this list. I have read and reread this series many many times. A lot of people don’t like it because of when it was written and they consider it chauvinistic.

[@Carnefice]

A lot of people are gay

[@randywarren7101]

I read the Lensmen series back in the 1960's and that got me hooked on science fiction. I had read so much that I broke the binding in every novel. Bought the series several times over the years, each time the same thing happens. I consider the series the first space opera!

[@andrewtovey7633]

I have some suggestions and I’m pretty shocked they didn’t make this list as some are widely regarded classics, and particularly given some of the far weaker entries you included: Foundation - Isaac Asimov Space Odyssey series - Arthur C Clarke Rendezvous with Rama series - Arthur C Clarke Mars trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds Poseidon’s Children trilogy - Alastair Reynolds Night’s Dawn - Peter F Hamilton The Culture series - Ian M Banks Imperial Radch Series - Anne Leckie Children and of time series - Adrian Tchaikovsky The three-body problem trilogy - by Liu Cixin Enders game trilogy - Orson Scott Card

[@MusicWordMusic]

Glad someone else managed Ender's Game. It's far more than a trilogy though. I think there are about 7 novels.

[@wtk6069]

It's hard to find, but the ORIGINAL space opera is Edmond Hamilton's collected tales of the Interstellar Patrol. Haffner Press collected them all in several thick hardcover volumes about a decade ago. This is where galactic empires came from and a dozen other tropes that define the subgenre. That's why he was called the father of the space opera. In the twenties, he was right up there with Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft in notoriety. And don't sleep on the works of his wife, Leigh Brackett, either. Even during her lifetime, she was already nicknamed the "Queen of Space Opera". She wrote a series of Mars stories that go in a decidedly different direction to avoid being confused with Burroughs. After pulps dried up, she moved to screenwriting, penning such classics as "The Big Sleep", "Rio Bravo", and "The Empire Strikes Back" just before her death.

[@jasperdoornbos8989]

Thank you Darrel! I too have an impossible long reading list 😅

[@MrDickerson4321]

Good recommendations all! I've read most of these series and have enjoyed them.

[@angushume2054]

Nice, my Ringworld suggestion made it. A great list. Read most but some new options too. Many suggestions in the comments are among my favorites as well. It’s impossible to limit to 10. I can suggest a few more I have not seen anyone mention. Bobiverse by Dennis E Taylor. Orphans trilogy by Shane dix and Sean Evans. Jean le Flambeur series by Hannu Rajaniemi. Confluence series by Paul McAuley. Golden Age series by John C Wright.

[@bazoo513]

Excellent, very diverse list. Let me add two of my favorites, _Vorkosigan saga_ by Lois McMaster Bujold and, of course, _Culture_ universe by Iain M. Banks.

[@johnlee6727]

Lensmen and Skylark series are great series. Crimson Worlds, Lost Fleet, Black Fleet, Federation Marines, Expeditionary Force, The Huminoids, Colossus series and Omega Force are some of my favorites. Being 76 years old, I have no idea what Space Opera means.

[@holydissolution85]

I totally forgot about Humanx series, I was planning to read it...thanks.. I only read few stories by ADF... Some further recommendations if anyone likes : David Zindell : "Requiem for Homo Sapiens Series ( 4 books, if you like Dune & Hyperion, this is for you ) Jack Vance : Demon Princes series C.J.Cherryh : Company Wars ( Union - Alliance universe) Frederik Pohl : Heechee saga Ken McLeod : Engines of Light series Mihael Flynn : Spiral Arm series

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Thanks for these 👍

[@holydissolution85]

@@Sci-FiOdyssey No problem, glad to help....did you read Zindell ? You're gonna love it... it's under the radar lately but it is very similar to Hyperion, has a beautiful colorfull setting...

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

I haven’t but that is certainly going on “The Great List”. Sounds great 😀

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

Thank you, Darrell A powerhouse of a list including classic and modern. My TBR is a gladiatorial arena where books fight to be read.. Seven🚀

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Samesies! Then the Emperor decides the fate of the winner - 👍 or 👎

[@everrit]

Like your turn of phrase 'gladiatorial arena where books fight to be read' brilliant.

[@Ambient_Scenes]

Very nice list! I feel that the Culture series by Ian M Banks could have been on it though.

[@vinylrabbit7295]

Honor Harrington series by David Weber should be on this list.

[@nathanburg]

other than missing Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space Series this is a perfect list

[@martinbarr9402]

Great list. One add though. The Gateway novels by Fredrick Pohl. I remember reading them in a secluded alcove in my University's library.

[@jamesoliver6700]

Great stuff, some new series for my reading list 🙂

[@paulmapp8306]

Love the Commonwealth saga - but you HAVE to include the Void trilogies in that. its still based on that universe, and has link and characters that are in both despite the massive time difference between the two series's. I p[refer the Void trilogies to the initial commonwealth saga - but its very close.

[@oldionus]

Don't see how any such collection can possibly omit the Culture novels of Iain Banks, which I maintain are the very best space operas ever. I would also include the Oikumene/Gaean Reach novels of Jack Vance, although however excellent they are, they might legitimately not quite fit the category "space opera." Still ongoing, perhaps, but both the Children of Ruin and Final Architecture series of Adrian Tchaikovsky are better than at least half of these, I would argue. But I protest that both Banks and Vance are far better writers than all but Simmons and Herbert in this listing, and Tchaikovskly is probably at least in their league. Odd that E.E. "Doc" Smith, who really was a hack, is included from the "Golden Age," but really no others. This is a good example why "10 Best" lists are really pretty arbitrary and personal in most cases, even when you try to "democratize" the selection process.

[@ZeroAlligator]

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds is a great book to add to this list. Highly recommended if you want to get completely lost in a believable future of humanity, so many great ideas and threads woven together in this one.

[@matthedrick6456]

Saga of the 7 Suns and The Saga of Shadows by Kevin J Anderson are 2 great Series I would recommend.

[@ottogrof9829]

Highly interesting list, I was looking for some new space operas to read, that aren't (yet) well known in Germany. There's also a series I have to recomend (if you speak german, or dutch, czech, portugese, french or japanese). It's "Perry Rhodan" a pulp novel series, but the writing quality has outgrown it's original format by far since it's debut in 1961. Today some of the best german scifi authors, like Andreas Eschbach, write for the series. The series itself is about humanities fist contact with aliens in 1971 and the following exploration and expansion into space, from our own solar system to distant galaxies. While this happens thousands of years pass, the main Character Perry Rhodan achieves relative immortality and humanity is pulled into the conflicts beween the 'high powers' of the universe(s) sitting somewere beqond the 'sources of matter'...

[@david124cherrington5]

Perry Rhodan was published in the U.S. in the 70's. The first 145 titles were printed.

[@cathyvickers9063]

I'm trying to figure out if C.J. Cherryh's Alliance/Union book series & Chanur book series are space operas. Also, if the Kilashanra Ree novels by Anne McCaffrey are one! I love all three series. The only books form your list I've read -- and it was decades ago -- are the Lensmen series. My dad gave me the book set because they'd been some of his favorites when he was in college (1930s.) I barely remember the Lensmen stories!

[@chrebetcrunch]

Four series that you should look at which are more modern. J.S. Morin’s Black Ocean and its’ three-companion series with 64 books. Jay Allan’s Crimson Worlds series which included Refugees and ending with Blood on the Star, a 40+ book opera going full circle. Craig Alanson’s Expedition Force with is up to 16 books. Saving the best for last is B V Larson’s Undying Mercenaries series with 20 books and counting and the funniest series I have ever read.

[@WiseGuyGene]

Hard to beat the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson.

[@couespursuit7350]

Surprised Jack Campbell's LOST FLEET Series not mentioned.

[@brianknapp6215]

A recommendation: _The Saga Of The Seven Suns_ series by Kevin J. Anderson.

[@eriolduterion8855]

One should add [not a part of a series]: Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe by George Takei; The Galaxy Primes by Edward E. "Doc" Smith ; Crown of Infinity by John M. Faucette; The Loafers of Refuge by Joseph L. Green; Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazney.

[@major_west]

Great list, I'm looking forward to reading The Way series. A popular series not on your list is Riverworld by Philip José Farmer. Highly recommend it.

[@nathanokun8801]

As for Doc Smith, there is always THE SKYLARK OF SPACE series, which has Blacky Duquesne, one of the best villain's in all books I have ever read.

[@user-mo6hf4sd8u]

I would also suggest the Praxis series from Walter Jon Williams

[@Castabulan]

I would recommend two that I never see anyone talking about; The Radix Tetrad by A.A. Attanasio and Requiem for Homo Sapiens by David Zindell.

[@bobdobs23]

James bluish-cities in flight- as great as any sci fi

[@deancoffey4991]

Please make a video about Simmon's Ilium/Olympos. It deserves your attention.

[@mattikuokkanen]

Currently I'm invested on Aeon 14. I say it deserves more love.

[@mekkler]

Author David Wingrove, 11 book series starting with Son of Heaven (Chung Kuo Book 1). China becomes the world's only super power using mega-cities made of a miracle substance called 'ICE'.

[@kennethcliman17]

A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, 1959, but if you haven’t read it, read it and andyou understand why I’m telling you this

[@stewenw4120]

One of my favorite Space Operas is the "Coruum" Trilogy. Sadly (for non germans) it's only published in german as far as i know. I think the author (who self published his books) is looking for a way to publish it in english too. If he succeeds it's a must read in my opinion.

[@beekiat]

I am disappointed that you didn't mention Iain M Banks' Commonwealth and my personal all time favourite the Vorkosigan Saga by Louis McMaster Bujold.

[@codemonger54]

I would suggest the Heechee Saga by Frederik Pohl and the Chanur series by C. J. Cherryh

[@thespecialist6831]

I would humbly like to submit the quantum evolution series by Derek Kunsken , one of my favorite series that no one ever mentions.

[@fuffoon]

I am big sci-fi fan. Been reading epics. Whew! Now I'm reading AI Apocalypse. Easy and fun. I'm huge fan of end of world or universe sci-fi but I think I that have read it all now. I have no favorite of all but a few get re-read occasionally.

[@100emery]

What? No Honor Harrington by David Weber? I like the Skylark series by Doc EE Smith.

[@gretareinarsson7461]

most definitely started following for the wrong reason but I’m glad I did😊

[@Kthan271j]

I actually think Trar Am Krang predated midworld in the humanax series by foster.

[@Estes705]

I have several favorite (and certainly obscure titles) of sci-fi books I read when I was a teenager, back in the mid 1980's... Is there a website/way that you could recommend where I could help in figuring out their titles so I could possibly find them again & re-read them? I won't go into details here about each book or their plots, but I could post that in an appropriate location if someone could help. Thanks!

[@kirtmanwaring3629]

Minor quibble but I wish you’d included the Void trilogy as part of the Commonwealth saga It's the same universe , mostly the same characters and very much a continuation of the same story albeit with a slightly less hard scifi tone.

[@tishardnatthaniel8047]

Yisss new book odyssey video

[@Alex-ys2dd]

How can you no include the Honorverse series by David Weber.

[@johncampbell4389]

i am surprised that the vorkosigan series was not mentioned.

[@waywardmind2870]

What about Expeditionary Force Series by Craig Alanson.

[@palantir135]

James Patrick Hogan: Giants star series

[@bookswithabel]

❤

[@khomo12]

👍👍👍

[@rfdarsie]

David Brin Uplift Universe series.

[@razorboy251]

Surprised that the Vorkosigan Saga did not make the cut! Great list otherwise though!

[@psikeyhackr6914]

Strange Music by Alan Dean Foster was really disappointing. Icerigger wasn't the first Humanx book? Icerigger 1974 Midworld 1975

[@thomasciarlariello3228]

"Hayakawa SF" and anime do it best.

[@knowledgeablebro6970]

The three body problem is the best tho

[@BobHooker]

Culture!

[@brettbridger362]

Just one comment about E.E. 'Doc" smith. He was raised in a very raciest society, so some of his first editions may be off-putting for some readers. If racism disturbs you, make sure you always go for later editions when most of it was written out. Other than that, he's a great author of Space Opera.

[@bazoo513]

~ 0:20 - _You_ are complaining, at, what, 30? I am 65, when _I_ will go through my reading list you keep making longer ?!? 😀

[@ivanandonov2730]

Can you please make a William Gibson novel Peripheral book and tv show review

[@davidwilliambarker]

Not Human-Eks but Hyoo-manks, a portmanteau of Human and Thranx. Otherwise, good video. Keep 'em comin'!

[@Joe-lb8qn]

9:50 Louis WU.

[@havocmaverick]

I thought you were going to talk about Gustav Holst.

[@thatfuzzypotato1877]

I greatly enjoyed Pandora's Star, and Judas Unchained. However, the Void Trilogy afterwards was... not as good. The story-in-the-story of Edeard is awful, does not paralell the rest of the story in any meaningful way, and just DRAGGED. It's extremely bland Gary-Stu bland fantasy wedged into an otherwise fascinating sci fi world. It just couldn't live up to the events of the duology. The duology can drag in places, but it's still such a good story it's worth suffering through. But not the Void trilogy. The Xeelee Sequence is some of my favorite sci fi full stop. His characters can be very flat, but his concepts are so good it kept me reading. There is ONE character that will haunt me forever and anyone who has read this knows who I mean. If you enjoy this series I highly recommend his Manifold Trilogy. I'm in the middle of the expanse, but the book I just finished was a huge disappointment. I hope the series gets back on track but scaling back the setting into "no more space opera, contained setting, Gotta find the gangster!" removed what I love most about the series. It went from 5 stars down to 2. I hope it climbs back up but it's caused me to temporarily put the series down. Hyperion has been recommended to me so much I think I'll finally try it. Dune: I'm sorry, wasn't for me. I enjoyed the world building, and the first 25% of the first book (yes being thrown into it with no context didn't put me off) but for me once the major "inciting incident" happens it goes downhill hard. I know this is an insanely unpopular opinion, but it just wasn't for me. I understand my biggest gripes are things that are addressed in later books, but it made it an unenjoyable read for me.

[@rrsjr]

I believ "Humanx" is properly pronounced "HYOO-manks", due the fact that it would rhyme with "Thranx", and is a portmanteau of "Human" and "Thranx".

[@jackhartford521]

1. Star Wars A New Hope 2. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back 3. Star Wara Return Of The Jedi 4. Spacehunter Adventures Into The Forbidden Zone 5. The Last Starfighter 6. Ice Pirates 😂 7. Spaceballs 8. Battle Beyond The Stars 9. The 5th Element 10. Metalstorm: The Destruction Of Jared-Syn.

[@Layo81]

Iain M Banks!?

[@thomasciarlariello3228]

1930s to 1940s sci fi pulps are best.

[@duncandewar9885]

Ringworld should not be considered without the rest of the Known Space stories by Nevin

[@tubaishansol]

VORKOSIGAN

[@surfcow]

Alastair Reynolds would be a good recent addition. Lensman has aged poorly in my opinion.

[@lisagulick4144]

The Lensman series is okay...but be aware that it's very dated in its attitudes about the role of women (there are no women fighters in the Galactic Patrol, and only five Lenswomen in the entire series [four of them are daughters of Clarissa Kinnison, nee MacDougall, the only woman to actually receive a Lens from the Arisians]), and its language is melodramatic at best.

[@davidcashin1894]

With the exception of Lensmen, I would not call these Space Opera's. Good yes, space opera no.

[@pavelpolyakov5763]

No Andre Norton (who is considered a queen of space operas)? (Yeah, yeah, sexist pigs and all that)

[@fernbedek6302]

Huh, all male authors… clearly a sign I should get writing to hopefully help expand the too limited pool of female space opera writers. 😆

[@cmdrvernondingo1540]

Just finished Becky Chambers Wayfarer series which was brilliant

[@andrewtovey7633]

It frustrates me that Niven always makes it onto these lists. Have you actually read his work? It is eye wateringly sexist and machoistic and seemingly devoid of sophistication or depth. Niven had a few cool concepts like the ring world megastructure and the fleet of worlds (which seem to be what carry him) but his writing is god awful.

[@Annihilator2011]

I have to say the Xeelee sequence is really poorly written. Baxter includes lots of scientific tidbits, often meaningless to the plot, but his characters are weak and the ends of his books rely on a magical Deus Ex Machina almost every time. (Ring and Flux had endings so pathetic I laughed out loud.) Michael Poole is just like Reid Malenfant, and equally insufferable. Huge ideas spanning the history of the universe but bogged down in tons of meaningless and rambling detail coupled with weak characters and magical nonsense to resolve the plots... Out of almost 9000 pages I would say the stories could have been told in 6000 less pages. Overhyped, IMHO.

[@collegesandcannibals241]

"10 epic WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES read by this guy."

[@MusicWordMusic]

Interesting list, but it doesn't include one of the most extensive and well-known series, the Vokosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga)