Here is a list of the Best Space Opera Science Fiction Books. These Space Opera SciFi Books are some of the best and were selected because they are set in outer space and include a more melodramatic theme. Also, if you are interested in listening to any of these Space Opera Science Fiction Novels go to Audible's one month free trial and get yourself two free books.
1.
By Leigh Brackett
In the year 2045 the world is an ugly place. The only place Wade Watts feels like a real human is in the virtual utopia, also known as the OASIS. Devoting his life to hidden puzzles inside of the OASIS, he finds himself accomplishing challenges no one has ever done before.
2.
By Alfred Bester
At one moment he was the best data-thief in all of the matrix, the next moment he found himself being banished from the cyberspace and had a destroyed nervous system. Cases new employer has asked for his to do a last-chance mission and run at an extremely powerful artificial intelligence.
3.
By James Blish
Being a four volume series written by James Blish, Cities in Flight is covers a span of two thousand years filled with entires cities capable of flying through space. The four novels in this series include, They Shall Have Stars; A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; A Clash of Cymbals.
4.
By Vernor Vinge
A Fire Upon the Deep is an exciting novel about a galactic war being told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years in the future there are more than just humans roaming the lands of the universe.
The potential mind of the inhabitants are solely based on where their location is in space. Some of these minds include superintelligent entities in the Transcend, and then where minds are limited in the Unthinking Depths. Here only the simple creatures and technology reside.
5.
By Lois McMaster Bujold
Leo Graf was nothing special. He was a highly efficient engineer that did what he was told. Day after day he would mind his own business fixing what was broken and moving on to the next. However this was all changed when he was assigned to the Cay Habitat.
Graf was faced with an immediate challenge as hundreds of helpless children were wrongly treated by a heartless mega-corporation.
6.
By Orson Scott Card
Set in Earth’s future humanity has begun to master interplanetary spaceflight and have started to explore the Universe. In their explorations they have encountered a race of alien known as the “buggers”. This discovery of their base soon leads towards a war between the aliens and humans. In the end the human barely win with the help of a young boy.
8.
By Amie Kaufman
Just when Kady thought the hardest thing she ever have to do in her life was breaking up with Ezra, her planet gets invaded. In this thrilling space opera science fiction book you travel to the future of 2575. As two megacorporations continue to be at war over a tiny planet their fire rains down on Kady and Ezra and they are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship.
9.
By Rachel Caine
Honor Among Thieves follows the story of Zara Cole, a criminal with a painful past. Her past is what defines her and is the reason she moved to New Detroit in for the chose a new life.
However like everyone else she is not perfect. After committing a crime that leaves her running Zara Cole might be running herself right into jail.
10.
By Rhoda Belles
As a revolution is on the table Blood of a Thousand Stars takes you through the life of Rhee and the big choice she is going to be forced to make. The choice being between making a deal with her life long enemy, Nero, or denounce him and put her crown at risk.
11.
By Elizabeth Moon
As Ky overcomes the struggles of betrayal and sabotage he leads the small group of crash survivors to safety. She also cheats death after the unbelievable discovery of secrets that someone was determined to protect.
However with all of this in her life the biggest struggle of all was when she discovers that her family is in serious danger.
12.
Chasm City
Alastair Reynolds
Chasm City is based around a security expert, Tanner Mirabel, who came to Chasm City in order to avenge the death of a former client's wife. The man he is after is Argent Reivich a "postmortal".
13.
By David Brin
Far into the future a Terran spaceship; crewed by 150 dolphins, 7 humans, and 1 chimpanzee, discovers a fleet of 50,000 spaceships as small as small moons in a shallow cluster formation. From first appearance the would seem to belong to the Progenitors, who were the "first race" and uplifted the other species.
14.
By Robert A. Heinlein
Following the story of Johnnie Rico you learn that he never had the intentions to join the infantry. Yet here he is, right in the middle of it all. Trying his best to get through combat training was one of the hardest things he had ever imagined. The hardest part for him and all of his comrades is knowing that if the training doesn't kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to do it instead.
15.
By Fredrick Pohl
The Gateway: A space station built into a hollow asteroid and created by the Heechee. The technology of the starships found inside of the station is way beyond the understanding of most humans and is under the control of The Gateway Corporation administers.
Yet through trial and error the humans are slowing figuring out how the spaceships work. With the coordinates pre programmed into the ships by the aliens that humans try to figure out where exactly they were trying to go.
16.
By Joe Haldman
As a reluctant conscript is drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella gets shipped through space and time in order to stop the thousand year old conflict between Earth and the aliens. His mission is to perform his duties and do whatever he must in order to survive and return home. Yet "home" may never be the same due to the time dilation that was caused by his space travel in the beginning.
17.
By Charles L. Harness
The Paradox Men is a science fiction book written by Charles L. Harness and was his first and most famous novel yet. Set after the Third Great War when North and South America are now one country, The Paradox Men is a thrilling space opera. As North and South America are combined into Imperial America, it has turned into a slave state run by a small group of the wealthy. However working underground is an organization dedicated in overthrowing the government and bring the Imperial America back to freedom.
18.
Revelation Space
By Alastair Reynolds
Stepping back nine hundred thousand years ago something had annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as they were about to discover space flight. Now scientist, Dan Sylveste, dedicates the rest of his life to solving the Amarantin mystery before history decides to repeat itself again.
21.
By John Scalzi
For most people when they turn 75 they don't do much. Maybe a simple party and have family come over. But that is not the case for John Perry. On his 75th birthday he did two things. First was to visit his wife's grave. And the second was joining the army.
The only good news about this was that humanity had finally made it into interstellar space. However the bad new was that they only planets capable of living there were very scarce.
22.
By Lois McMaster Bujold
As captain of a Betan Astronomical Survey ship, Cordelia Naismith, is discovering a new planet her base camp gets attacked. While Cordelia was investigating she finds herself getting surprised by a soldier and her head being smashed up against a rock. She awakes only to find out her crew had escaped and she was left with an injured Betan ensign and Captain Lord Aral Vorkosigan of Barrayar, also known as "Butcher of Komarr".
23.
By Kameron Hurley
Far into the outer rim of the universe a large mass of decaying world-ships was traveling in the and out of the stars. Those ships were known as the Legion. A world that had waged war for control for generations and ended with no clear resolution.
Yet as worlds die day after day a plan is put into motion out of pure desperation.
24.
By Pierce Brown
Ten years later, after their victory over the Golds of the Core Worlds, a new Solar Republic has come in. As the government is in disarray Dancer has risen into power in the Senate. Meanwhile ignoring all orders given to him by the Senate Darrow launches a massive assault on Mercury.
25.
What Makes a Sci-Fi Space Opera Book
For a book to be a great Science Fiction Space Opera book it most include a couple of things. First off it must emphasis the greatness of a space warfare. It must be a little dramatic but also not to military like. So in this list of space opera novels we have included ones that stay true to their genre.
How were these Best Space Opera Novels Selected?
I put together this list of best sci-fi space opera books because I wanted to make sure that there is a list that only shows the best of the best. I wanted to keep this list up-to-date in order that the content you are reading is not old information. So when trying to decide which books should be included in this list I made sure to do my research. I looked at other notable book review websites like Goodreads. I also talked to science fiction author clubs to get their input. Enjoy this list of the best scifi space opera novels.
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