Several things attract me to Space Operas, both as a reader and a writer. I love adventure stories that take me to strange and wondrous new worlds. I love to be transported to places that are alien, yet still grounded enough in reality as to be accessible to me.
I love aliens, both bad and good. The more exotic the alien the better. I don’t mind if the writer hints at colonialism or some other historical period on Earth, as long as the story is exciting and I don’t have to think too hard about it. As a reader, I don’t like to be preached to, whether it’s history or religion.
I like conflict. I don’t enjoy stories where all the good guys are best friends and nobody argues over what needs to happen. That’s too unbelievable. Humans like to disagree and it’s actually one of our better traits. But I also love teamwork and camaraderie. Especially if it’s a crew on a spaceship or a military team of some sort.
One of my favorite forms of conflict is military conflict. Space wars with huge starships and small, starfighters are a particular favorite of mine. This is no-doubt due to my love of airplanes and warships. If the story has military action, I’m usually interested. Heroic acts and different points of view are my favorite parts of military conflict. Explosions are definitely a given. Hey, I’m a former AMMO troop!
I also like political drama. Nothing boring, there has to be conflict or disagreement. Galactic Empires, or Federations are a favorite of mine too. The bigger they are the harder they fall. I’m equally at home reading about the Foundation and the Houses of Dune.
I also really love stories about robots. Androids, droids, bots, Replicants, you name it, I love them all. The more inhuman the better. I’m not really into sexy Cylons. I want my robots just human enough to comprehend, but just cold enough to scare the crap out of me. Evil robots out to wipe out humanity are kinda lame these days. Try a different angle and you may get my attention.
Another thing I like is heroes who are average Joe’s and Jane’s that get thrust into an adventure whether they think they are ready for it or not. Who can resist the farmer turned Jedi or the poor kid who would be King. These kinds of stories make us common folk think that if given the chance, we could be heroes on the world stage.
If you’ve ever read one of my SF novels, you will find just about every one of these things in them. I write what I like to read. So if you were nodding your head in agreement with me as you read what I like about Space Opera, you might want to pick up one of my ebooks. I think you’ll love them as much as I loved writing them.
Now back to the computer and the creation of my latest Space Opera. I think I was starting a galactic war…