Tag Archives: Space Opera

Ren Hutchings – Why We Love Ragtag Crews

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where I’m joined by the fantastic author Ren Hutchings to talk about ragtag crews in fiction, and why they’re so popular. Ren’s brilliant novel Under Fortunate Stars is one of my absolute highlights of 2022 (you can read my review of it here), a gripping space opera full of great characters and exploring some really smart ideas, so I was delighted when she agreed to write this guest post. If you too like a good character-driven science fiction (or any fiction, really) novel then read on to explore some of the reasons why these sorts of character groupings are so much fun, check out the list of recommendations at the end for more books to look out for, and make sure you pick up a copy of Under Fortunate Stars!

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The Red Scholar’s Wake – Aliette de Bodard

A standalone novel set within her expansive Xuya universe, Aliette de Bodard’s sapphic space opera The Red Scholar’s Wake is a gripping, moving tale of pirates, sentient ships, murky political waters and complex, often painful relationships. When scavenger and talented bot-controller Xich Si is captured by cruel pirates of the Red Banner, rather than an agonising death she receives an unexpected proposition – a marriage proposal, in fact. The leader of the Red Banner has been killed, and her widow – the mindship Rice Fish – is offering Xich Si a lifeline: enter into a partnership together, help find who killed the Red Scholar, and Rice Fish will protect and provide for Xich Si. Seeing no option but to accept, she finds herself entangled in a lethal piratical power struggle, and quickly comes to question what her new partnership really entails.

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Under Fortunate Stars – Ren Hutchings

Ren Hutchings’ debut novel Under Fortunate Stars, out now from Solaris, is a characterful and thought-provoking space opera featuring accidental time travel, unwilling heroes and space-based corporate bureaucracy. On board the cargo hauler Jonah, roguish Jereth and cynical Leeg are trying to stay away from the war with the Felen engulfing Union space when they find themselves trapped in a strange deep-space rift. Caught in the same rift is the Gallion, a ZeyCorp research vessel transporting an alien ambassador. When the two ships meet, confusion abounds as the Gallion crew claim to be from a time far in the Jonah’s future. Not only that, but history buff Uma, Director of Engineering onboard the Gallion, recognises the Jonah as the ship that carried the ‘Fortunate Five’ and played a crucial part in ending the war with the Felen…even if its crew doesn’t quite match up to what the history books say.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ren Hutchings Talks Under Fortunate Stars

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m delighted to be chatting to Ren Hutchings about her debut novel Under Fortunate Stars, which is out this week from Solaris. A brilliant space opera full of great characters, accidental time travel, corporate bureaucracy and unwilling heroes, this book is full of mystery and warmth and wonder, and I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t be happier to have the chance to talk to Ren about the story, the setting and some of the themes she’s explored within it, so read on to find out more about this fantastic new science fiction novel (and make sure you keep going right to the end, where you’ll find a link to an original song that Ren has collaborated on, to accompany the book’s release).

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You Sexy Thing – Cat Rambo

I love a good space opera, especially if it features a sentient spaceship, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a science fiction novel before in which food and cookery play such a big part as they do in Cat Rambo’s You Sexy Thing. A fun, action-packed SF adventure with a brilliantly diverse cast of characters and a pacy, page-turning plot, it opens on a remote space station with a group of ex-soldiers whose only way of escaping service to the Holy Hive Mind was to set up a restaurant and throw themselves into their new line of work. When TwiceFar station is destroyed, the soldiers-turned-restaurateurs escape on the aforementioned sentient spaceship (the titular You Sexy Thing, of course) only to find themselves in arguably even more trouble – involving a dead celebrity, a dubious food critic, pirates, an awkward ship and an unexpected new addition to the team.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tim Pratt Talks The Fractured Void

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, in which I chat to science fiction author Tim Pratt about his first novel for Aconyte Books – The Fractured Void. Set in the Twilight Imperium universe, this promises to be a fun, action-packed sci-fi adventure, from an author who’s got form with the space opera genre. It’s due out in ebook and as a US paperback on the 3rd November, with the UK paperback due a little bit later on the 10th December. If you’re a fan of the Twilight Imperium game, or just fancy a good old space opera, this sounds like one to keep an eye on!

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Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott – via Grimdark Magazine

Happy UK publication day to Unconquerable Sun, the fantastic first instalment in a new sci-fi trilogy from Kate Elliott! Published by Head of Zeus, this is billed as ‘gender-swapped Alexander the Great in space’, which is a great elevator pitch if ever I heard one. I was delighted to receive an advance copy of this brilliant book, and my review is live over on the Grimdark Magazine site. I’d love for you to head over there and check it out, but if you just want my essential thoughts on the book then how about this: I spent virtually an entire day unable to put this down, and my overriding thought upon finishing it was a desperate frustration at knowing that the second book isn’t available yet!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Gareth L Powell Talks Light of Impossible Stars

Welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, part of my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new or upcoming books. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to the fantastic Gareth L. Powell about his new novel Light of Impossible Stars, which is the third and final volume of his Embers of War trilogy. With the release of this book, all three novels are out now in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats from Titan Books, and if you’re after engaging, character-driven British space opera then this series should definitely be on your list. Especially if you’re a fan of worn-down, relatable characters and sentient, talking spaceships!

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A Memory Called Empire – Arkady Martine

A debut novel of grand scope and elegant complexity, Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire is an immersive, slow-burning space opera weaving themes of cultural identity, legacy, memory and linguistics into a tight story of courtly intrigue. Growing up on the remote Lsel Station, Mahit Dzmare always dreamed of visiting the vast, sophisticated Teixcalaani Empire, but when she finds herself sent to Teixcalaan as Lsel’s new ambassador she’s thrown into imperial politics at a uniquely dangerous moment. Tensions in the empire are high, the future of Lsel’s autonomy from Teixcalaan is at stake, and Mahit’s predecessor is dead – likely murdered. At risk, with no allies and carrying – in secret – a dangerous, but malfunctioning technology, Mahit must adapt quickly if she wants to survive and thrive in the empire.

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Dark Run – Mike Brooks

Mike Brooks’ debut novel, and the first in the Keiko trilogy, Dark Run is a characterful, fast-paced sci-fi adventure featuring smugglers, pirates, hitmen and hackers, in a not-so distant future where people travel fast, information travels slow, and if you’re lucky you can keep moving and stay ahead of your past. To the crew of the Keiko, Captain Ichabod Drift is a rogue and a scoundrel, but also a largely reliable and usually friendly face. When Drift’s history finally catches up with him, however, he’s forced to take on a mission which endangers everyone’s lives and risks revealing some dark secrets from his past.

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