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Best Space Opera Book Series
BESTS 
Tags: science fiction, books, space opera
Space opera is one of the most accessible of all science fiction subgenres, focusing more on character and plot than the science behind it all. Here are some of the best series, in no particular order.
| | The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold: This series follows the life and adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, one of the more unusual science fiction action heroes there is. Stunted and frail from being exposed to toxins before birth, he makes up in intelligence what he lacks in muscle power. Start with the compilation called Cordelia's Honor, which focus on his parents, and continue in chronological order. |
| | The Honor Harrington books by David Weber: This series owes quite a bit to C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, but also manages to tell an intriguing story all on its own. Honor is a strong female character in a genre that's still fairly centered on male main characters. |
| | The Dune series by Frank Herbert: One of the absolute classics of the subgenre. These tales from the planet Arrakis are well-written and plotted out, with some of the described visuals painting very clear mental pictures. This series is so popular that there are currently prequels being written by Herbert's son and another author; completists may want to read them, although they're pale shadows of the original novels. |
| | The Known Space series by Larry Niven: Among this series is the novel Ringworld, regularly stated to be one of the classics of science fiction in general. These books, written over a thirty year period ranging from the 1960s to the 1990s, may have outdated scientific concepts, but they paint a very vivid picture of a universe populated by more than just humanoid aliens. |
| | The Uplift Series by David Brin: Books include Sundiver and Startide Rising. Another fascinating, living universe--in this series, humanity is not the most powerful; rather it is somewhat of a pariah. Among the concepts explored are how sentience is gained by a species, religious orthodoxy, and what responsibility one species has towards another when modifying it. |
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