8 Of The Best Space Opera Books And Series In The 'Verse

Firefly is the perfect introduction to Western-style space opera books if I do say so myself. If, like me, you're a fan of the TV show, you’re probably still mourning its cancellation. If you’re not familiar with the show, it follows Captain Mal of the Serenity, who’s just trying to make ends meet in a post-war galaxy. The outer rim is a bit of the wild west, where Serenity and her crew can pick up jobs, but most come with risk and complications.

This book series is very much based on the TV show but introduces new adventures for Captain Mal and the crew of the Serenity. In Carnival, the crew finds themselves in a desert city known as the City of Sin. When the job goes bad, as luck would have it, the crew must get creative to resolve the situation and make sure everyone makes it out alive.

If you’re looking for a romantic space opera novel with an extra dash of political intrigue, arranged marriage, and a murder mystery, be sure to check out Winter’s Orbit.

When Prince Kiem is forced to marry a widower (and murder suspect) Count Jainan, neither of them is too pleased about the arrangement. Their marriage will, of course, be great for relations between the Empire and the vassal planet Thea, provided Jainan proves innocent of his former husband’s death.

This was such a delightful space opera, featuring two main characters stuck in a situation neither wants to be in. The Resolution Universe is a very interesting place to be, and I found it especially intriguing that each planet in this galaxy has its own unique way of showing gender.

Come aboard the Wallfish and strap in for an eventful journey through the Fractalverse. Kira, a xenobiologist, studies life beyond Earth, but she never thought she would become a test subject herself.

After the discovery of an alien relic, her life takes an unexpected turn, as does the future of the galaxy. This popular military sci-fi space opera features first contact, a long space journey, alien artifacts, intergalactic war, and so much more.

After journeying through the Fractalverse with Kira, I felt like I really got to know her and her found family, and I look forward to more stories in this world.

Pushing almost 900 pages, this medium-paced story is perfect for those ready to go on a long space journey and really explore what it means to be human.

It’s not that Mallory Viridian can’t stand being around other humans; it’s just that whenever she is around too many, someone ends up murdered. No, she’s not a serial killer... Yes, she has her own SBI agent... Yes, she can probably solve the crime if you let her take a good look around... No, she doesn’t have many friends.

In a desperate attempt to never see another murder victim, Mallory takes the opportunity to move to Station Eternity, which boasts a human population you can count on one hand. When it’s announced that a shuttle of humans is inbound to the station, Mallory will find out if her curse still applies in space.

The world in this novel is fascinating and full of sentient spaceships, an intriguing space station, mysterious connections, diverse alien species, and murder mysteries. Mallory and her friends aboard Station Eternity have a great dynamic, and I loved getting to know them and learning more about this world as I read the series.

This action-packed space opera brings us to a cyberpunk world where Korea won the space race and political games are afoot. Ocean Yoon, a mysteriously disgraced pilot, has never felt Korean enough despite her heritage. A bit rough around the edges, Ocean lost her status after the mysterious events aboard the Hadouken and is now slumming it with a ragtag crew aboard the Ohneul.

When Ocean’s best friend, Teo, shows up needing help, her crew finds themselves caught up in a high-stakes mission that they’ll need extra help to resolve.

This world is home to some very interesting and distant characters and cultures. The camaraderie and banter among the diverse cast of characters in this book were really well done, and I enjoyed getting to know them as they dealt with raiders, hijinks, betrayal, questionable choices, and twists.

What would you say if the fate of humanity relied upon a random musician from the UK? In this galaxy, after the Sentience Wars tore everything apart, an intergalactic song competition was introduced to replace battlegrounds. The winner doesn’t really get a prize, but the loser loses the literal game of life.

The story is told through three distinct storylines: current events, the backstories of Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeros, and the history of the galaxy and overall competition. At this cycle’s Metagalactic Grand Prix, humans compete for the first and possibly last time.

Space Opera was a deeply satiric and entertaining read, full of twists on song titles, clever commentary, and many pop culture references. The different species described in this world were fascinating, and the history of the life-or-death intergalactic song competition was entertaining.