Space Opera (Space Opera, #1)
Catherynne M. Valente
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 the Metagalactic Grand Prix—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 band of human musicians, dancers, and roadies 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.
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4.5 stars
I really adored this book. Between the witty dialogue, unique aliens and amazing premise (Eurovision but in space) there’s a lot to love here. This story has a lot of heart and big ideas, but also somehow feels small scale, even with the weight of the human race weighed on two ex-band members shoulders.
That being said, I imagine the writing style could put people off. I personally loved it, although maybe I’m used to the over-staying-its-welcome run on sentence from academic text (bar it being much funnier here). It very much embodied Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in it’s tone, style and irreverence. I very much think this style will either instantly work for someone or not, and once that initial impression is made you won’t be able to shrug it. A lot of reviews talk about it trying too hard, but I think it only comes across like if you aren’t vibing with it. If you are, the stream of consciousness narration really gels with the irreverence of the themes and ideas explored.
However, I will knock of a 0.5 star as it really is a barrier to entry to the story, and at times - between the long sentences and utterly baffling aliens - understanding what was going on was a little hard. Only until I re-read a 5 line sentence three times did I understand a third incomprehensible alien had joined a conversation at a hotel bar, for instance.
Nevertheless, this was really wonderful and I would recommend people to at least give it ago. I’m excited to try more of Catheryenne M Valente’s novels, as they all seem wildly different from each other.
On a final side note, the end of the authors notes made me well up!
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