Space Opera

Books | Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera

3.6

(501)

Catherynne M. Valente

2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets the joy and glamour of Eurovision in bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente's science fiction spectacle, where sentient races compete for glory in a galactic musical contest…and the stakes are as high as the fate of planet Earth.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 great galactic civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Species far and wide compete in feats of song, dance and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and the mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. And if they fail? Sudden extermination for their entire species. 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. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

Science Fiction

Outer Space

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More Details:

Author

Catherynne M. Valente

Pages

304

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

2018-04-10

ISBN

1481497510 9781481497510

Ratings

Google: 4

Community ReviewsSee all

"I finished, and overall I've decided I liked it. I found it lagged a bit while they were travelling to the show, would have liked more development there, but the fun of the first half made up for the lackluster ending."

Jennifer

"I gotta level with you, I tried so hard with this book but it is incredibly nonlinear. One moment the author has us immersed in essential world building dialog and the next, she launches apropos of nothing into a long, looong list. By the time the list is over, I can't remember what's going on anymore or who even was talking to whom or who was listing all these things. <br/>This book wants to be breezy and jockular like Pratchett and Adams but takes itself as seriously as a Grammy award speech pretentiously extolling the artist's own virtues on art while the "hurry up" orchestral music swells for a cut to commercial.<br/>But the final straw was that she started naming alien things with fake "Japnesey" names that didn't mean real words in any language. This is a big red flag for a white American author. Turns out she lived in Japan on an American Navy base for 3 years, cites that as an influence, and has a lot of complaints of appropriation from both Japanese and American indigenous people for her other works. While I only got like 75% through the book, I am claiming it for my reading challenge because I feel like I aged 75 years just listening to the tedious unending lists that all were trying so hard to be extra clever."

Bridget Anne

"This book is just so full of color and vibrance. It’s hilarious and unique. "

Jacob Crowder

"I’m surprised to say this but I find this book overly descriptive, a generally good plot line but hard to get through because it reads as though your crawling through the brain of an untreated adhd mine field. It’s a bit much for me to concentrate, 😂 I live with a rapidly moving train of thought and this puts mine to shame. #science_fiction #improbable_impractical "

Abigail Garcia

"I feel bad saying it, but I didn't like this book at all. Meandering sentences full of ridiculous pop culture references and unlikable characters (and weird implications about electricity being required for a culture to be considered sentient, yikes). The one major female character is dead for most of the book.<br/><br/>I really liked the idea of this book, but the execution was a big miss."

awesome_user_984860

"Follow the bouncing disco ball on an out of this world adventure with washed up rocker Decibel Jones, as he sings to save humanity. Told with punchy witticism and downright absurd moments, Space Opera is a first contact science fiction novel like no other. When aliens first introduce themselves to humanity it barely causes a ripple. Humans are busy and have a lot of things on their plate, they can’t be bothered with finally facing proof of life in the universe. Unfortunately, "the other life" does care, and they have very strict rules for joining the league of universal species. The first is a test of a species’ sentience. What does the test entail, you ask? Why, of course, is it nothing more than a singing competition called the Metagalatic Grand Prix. If humanity can manage to come in any other place but last, they will get to live and get a cut of universal goods. The aliens have even been so kind as to provide a list of people who might stand a chance of achieving this, the only problem is that 90% of the list has already died. Alas, Decibel Jones and what remains of the absolute zeros are chosen for a one-way trip into space to sing like their lives depend on it. With a zany cast of characters and insane alien species this book will make you smile and remind you that reading can be a lot of fun."

Nicole Falche

"This book is a roiling storm of a narrative that’s been covered in glittered. There’s a lot going on, so much in fact you can’t put it down. The language is out of this world and the core story is heartbreakingly impactful. Can’t recommend enough for fangs of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or Neil Gaiman."