Two weeks ago, Tor Books publicist Cassandra Ammerman asked this question on twitter upon seeing my review of Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright.
Why do you think space opera hasn’t gone more mainstream, like steampunk? I always thought it was strange, because space opera really does have everything, and as Patrick [YetiStomper] and Michael [MadHatterReview] pointed out, it’s huge on TV and in movies…but the books never really seem to hit it big.)
I had this to say in response.
My answer to your question is in two parts:
Firstly, Space Opera once was mainstream, and therefore is now seen as SF’s history, not its future. People always like the new and odd (hence steampunk’s rise to popularity) but Space Opera has a long tradition and is seen as what was the happening genre in SF twenty years ago rather than what will be the happening genre in the next ten. (Though these things ar cyclical, and Space Opera could very well rise again.) This is unfortunate, of course, but people are like ravens; we want nice, new, shiny things. Space Opera is perceived as old and lusterless – the way SF used to think but not the way it thinks now. It will always be mainstream visually because of its big battles and explosions and intrepid heroes, but in books, it is our parents’ SF, not ours.
In addition, Space Opera is usually hopeful, and today’s SF readers prefer dystopia, which reflects their general view of the ultimate entropy of life, society and our planet (at least, if we don’t do something about it). We are less than hopeful these days, and our stories reflect this. If we are looking for hope, we prefer to think nostalgically (fantasy) or to reinvent history (steampunk) in order to remove ourselves from the downward cascade we unconsciously realize is occurring unless we halt its declining progress. Space Opera likes to think that humanity is on an upward curvature rather than a downward spiral, and that just doesn’t reflect the general perception of today’s SF readership.
So GFTW readers, do you agree with my assessment? Why or Why not?
I still love a good space opera and the hopeful tone. Dystopian writing is too depressing for me to enjoy.
I think your assessment may be correct, but I think Space Opera will rise again. Fairy Tales are currently leading the trends. Mermaids, steampunk, princesses… it’s all escapism fantasy. Not a bad thing, we need to escape some times, but sci-fi always has been and always will be where we turn when we start looking toward the future.
Dystopian is a trend that’s been done before. We’ll escape. We’ll get angry enough that we smash through the fantasies and escapism, science-fiction will be waiting. Space Opera in all its grandeur and glory will be waiting.
Thinking of Cherryh’s books (the Union/Alliance series or the Chanur Series) I can’t say they’re specially or always pessimistic but they can’t either qualify as optimistic! No pink future there. But I concede she is rather an exception. I hope we’ll get some more space opera of that quality.
I think you’ve assessed it well, John but times are changing. The demand for hopeful stories again seems to be increasing. I think the nihilistic age has people hoping for optimism and escape again.
I think visual media has taken over from print media as far as space opera is concerned. Space opera is the medium of the big screen, or things like video games.
Alastair Reynolds book advance
Alastair Reynolds’ book contract
I prefer hopeful to dystopian, but I’m probably in the minority. (Although my space opera book has spent two months on Amazon’s science fiction best seller list, so there must be others as well.) It does seem to dominate movies, while dystopian has taken over books, games, and TV. Maybe that’s a reflection on our attitude as a society.
[...] Comment: Space Opera Has Lost Its Luster, posted by Grasping For the Wind [...]
[...] Its Luster – Redux Jul 2nd, 2012 by John Ottinger III. Last week Fabio Fernandes took an old essay of mine and used it as a jump point to ask myself and authors like Ken MacLeod, Michael Flynn, Jay Lake, [...]
come on.. leviathan wakes and alistair reynolds’ new stuff makes me believe it is still popular.
Since I first wrote this article, I think there is a small resurgence, but it is early days yet.