Name: Space opera
Rating: 3.292682926829268 (41 reviews)
ISBN: 9788831441032

Catherynne M. Valente

Space opera

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.

Space Opera

Sarah Sammis

Follow Catherynne M. Valente on Twitter and you'll learn just how passionate she is about Eurovision. Last year during one such love fest / bitch fest Space Opera was born. It started as a joke and like so many fantastic off the cuff ideas, it quickly took on a life of its own. By November, the joke had become a book deal to be published by the same house that published The Refrigerator Monologues.

Space Opera is set in the near future and alternates between stories about life the universe and everything and the tale of a 2000s glam band wrangled to save Earth from total destruction.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Wynter

If you are into Douglas Adams type of humour and can stomach very obvious self-flagellating commentary on humanity, then you'll love this one. I thought the author had a very good way with words, but the rest of her artistry was a complete disconnect for me. I've been meaning to try Valente's writing for so long, but as of right now I feel like I'm not the audience she writes for. The earnest, pink-cheeked liberal arts student maybe, but not the cynical bitch like me. The novel focused so much on checking off boxes that it forgot to tell an engaging story. Not much happened at all. But damn, what a skillful vocabulary use... For that alone Space Opera deserves an extra star.

It is abundantly clear that Catherynne M. Valente is an incredibly and creative author. Her work is always brimming with ideas and her joy and enthusiasm to indulge in them is never not palpable. 

All of this is valid for "Space Opera", too. Within the bounds of the novel, Valente play around with language and with narration, striking a good balance between a humorous and another, more emotional tone which fits the subject matter perfectly.  (It bizarrely reminded me of Zadie Smith's "White Teeth" in its tone.) 

However, the essence of the book - unfortunately - leaves a bit to be desired. Valente indulges almost too much in exploring her alien worlds and species, to a point where the book tends to lose focus here and there. 

Likewise, the idea of an intergalactic Eurovision feels somewhat superficial. It is the first time I find myself saying this about Valente's work but it cannot help but feel like an American's version of something European. I guess you do have to have a dog in the race to truly experience it. 

The novel then ends up just sort of... ending once whatever it shows from the competition is over, leaving a bizarre feeling of unfulfilment. There is something about it that feels somewhat unfinished and rushed. 

That being said, the book can still be a lot of fun, though it would not be everyone's cup of tea.

It is abundantly clear that Catherynne M. Valente is an incredibly and creative author. Her work is always brimming with ideas and her joy and enthusiasm to indulge in them is never not palpable. 

All of this is valid for "Space Opera", too. Within the bounds of the novel, Valente play around with language and with narration, striking a good balance between a humorous and another, more emotional tone which fits the subject matter perfectly.  (It bizarrely reminded me of Zadie Smith's "White Teeth" in its tone.) 

However, the essence of the book - unfortunately - leaves a bit to be desired. Valente indulges almost too much in exploring her alien worlds and species, to a point where the book tends to lose focus here and there. 

Likewise, the idea of an intergalactic Eurovision feels somewhat superficial. It is the first time I find myself saying this about Valente's work but it cannot help but feel like an American's version of something European. I guess you do have to have a dog in the race to truly experience it. 

The novel then ends up just sort of... ending once whatever it shows from the competition is over, leaving a bizarre feeling of unfulfilment. There is something about it that feels somewhat unfinished and rushed. 

That being said, the book can still be a lot of fun, though it would not be everyone's cup of tea.

IN SPACE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SING 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 civilizations gather for Galactivision - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete. 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. A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London - Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes - have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.

Ryan LaFerney

I originally tried reading this but found it so aggravating. Valente seemed to ramble in her prose. I couldn't handle it. Well, I'm here to say that the audiobook is an enjoyable listen even if this Hugo nominated novel ends up just being an impressive impersonation of Douglas Adams (another author whose writings work better as audiobooks). This is literally what it sounds like: a Eurovision in space/Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy mashup. This is isn't a bad thing, per se. It's entertaining. It's amusing (at times). But it's light plot, light characterizations (things I critique Douglas Adams for) as well as lack of originality (something I don't critique Adams for), wears this story down, which is sad because if Valente wasn't trying so hard to mimic Adams (which here the pastiche is spot on) this could of been a bit more memorable of a story. Many plot elements, the prose style, and the occasionally violent but determined whimsy of it all practically reach peak Adams saturation It features a lot of things I enjoy in a story: silly humor, references to rock history/pop culture, etc. but it honestly doesn't have much of a heart. I couldn't really connect with the has-been, burned-out, Bowie-wannabe rock star called Decibel Jones who is inexplicably chosen to sing in an intergalactic competition for humanity’s right to exist, and nor did I care if humanity survived or not but I think I was suppose to. 

This occasionally charming and humorous story is ultimately disappointing. But if you want a little absurdity in your life and read all of Douglas Adams, try this out. Maybe you'll like more than me.

Kaya

Ich habe es als Hörbuch genossen.
Klare Empfehlung für Track 171.

Kwan Ann Tan

everything cat valente writes is utterly breathtaking and always makes me cry a little. god this book was amazing & how i desperately wish i could give dess & oort & mira all a hug

Liz Carpenter

I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book. Its point was made in fairly unique and inventive ways, and the last chapters did it justice, but my goodness - So. Many. Words.

Sheila

I'm actually really torn about this book! It wasn't technically a long book, but it felt onerous to read anyway. The quotes of lyrics from Eurovision winners past (well, 2010's anyway) made me giggle, but I feel like Valente and I consume Eurovision differently. She seems to want to obsessively watch the build-up; she follows all of the characters and side-characters and expounds on their drama and thoughts and practice before even thinking about coming up for air, but the main stage in the Final seems to have little impact. Me? I treat Eurovision build-up like spoilers, carefully avoiding a lot of media and hints of what the songs are going to be until the Final, at which point I go ape drinking in every single flaming piano and humping sax. 

Ultimately, I feel like my biggest issue with this book is precisely that difference. Valente spends 99% of the book on the build-up, when I was just here for the finale - which was only a scant few pages. It's a shame, but nothing a few repeats of "This Is Our Life" on YouTube won't iron out!

Amy Maddess

Ben Nathan

This made me think of H2G2 in all the best ways. Great writing, brilliant story, and just a funny lovely universe. SO GREAT!

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review also found here at Booked J. 

"Life is beautiful and life is stupid. As long as you keep that in mind, and never give more weight to one than the other, the history of the galaxy, the history of a planet, the history of a person is a simple tune with lyrics flashed on-screen and a helpful, friendly bouncing disco ball of glittering, occasionally peaceful light to help you follow along. Cue the music. Cue the dancers. Cue tomorrow."

For many years, I'd heard nothing but rave reviews when it came down to Valente's prior releases. Immediately, I saw in it just what everyone had been saying all along--she's got a beautiful prose. In truth, Catherynne M. Valente could probably write about an orange being set on fire and thrown into space and it would still sound so much more stunning than most of her peers. For me, Space Opera was gorgeously executed with a highly captivating premise--it just wasn't entirely my cup of tea and, at times, hit some slower points.

This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy Space Opera. I really did like a good chunk of it! The start pulled me in, but somewhere about 25-75% of the way through I felt myself losing interest. Then, right around that 75% mark, it picked itself up again. Still, Valente's writing is what made me keep up and continue on--it was much less about her skills as an author and much more about my inability to connect with the story for one reason or another.

I definitely appreciated a lot of elements to Space Opera. The humor is outstanding. A lot of readers have compared the humor--and science fiction fused plotline--to one of the most iconic novels of all time: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That, sprinkled with various singing competitions and reality shows. If you were to ask me how to explain Space Opera, I don't think I could fully do so without comparing it to that yet stressing on the uniqueness to Valente's story.

After finishing it, I had to soak in the aftermath for a while. I knew two things: there would be a lot of readers who positively adore this book, one of them being my father who devoured it in a mere week, and there would be the group of people who are downright vicious about it. 

I am of two minds when it comes to my opinion of Space Opera. I finished it. At times I really liked it. At times I was bored. Mostly, I was left laughing at the sheer absurdity of the story which is, I'd guess, exactly how you were supposed to feel. Because, in spite of the general silliness to it, there was a lot to be held on the truth front, too.

Ultimately, Valente's writing glows in the dark and stands out to me as Space Opera's best trait. While the story had its weaker points for me, there was still a universe of wonder to be found in it and I feel that it's a book you'll either love or hate but that, either way, it's something you'll definitely want to check out.

I'll gladly be picking up another book by Valente in the future but I don't see this book as a reread.

Jack Baty

I imagine Catherynne Valente thought to herself...

I think I'll write something sort of like Douglas Adams, but with MORE!

If you throw a lot of words at me, all trying to be super funny, a few of them will land. But when you do it in every single sentence with no guidance at all from an actual plot or characters, it becomes exhausting. So exhausting, in fact, that I stopped reading about 2/3rds of the way through.

Space opera

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