May The Force Be With You. With these legendary words, we set forth on our course of presenting a new article on the fourth. In the pursuit of greatness, we tackle everything we face with dignity and authenticity.

So, as Shmi Skywalker from the Phantom Menace had stated, "You can't stop change anymore than you can stop the suns from setting", we build our legacies to let go of everything we fear. And yet, fear can't stop us as we fly through space with our mothertroopers on base--an opera of a genre in the offing. With rakish rebellion and droids for companions, we commence our theme.

Space opera is a sub-genre of science fiction and the term applied to a type of fiction that involves space warfare, galactic empires, noble heroes fighting evil lords, grandiose space battles, melodramatic adventure and romance.

Set largely in outer space, it combines sophisticated technology and social advancements with faster-than-light travel, futuristic weapons against the backdrop of galactic empires and interstellar wars with aliens. The sub-genre also incorporates different tropes like sword fights, robots, gothic death traps, lasers, princesses and knights, mystical organizations, mysterious mentors, and elaborate chase scenes.

It's ESP is the unique love stories featuring Han and Leia in the original trilogy, Padme and Anakin in the prequel, along with larger-than-life villains like Darth Vader and Palpatine, unforgettable epic space battles like the Battle of the Death Star and special sceneries like that of Naboo and Bespin.

Space Opera is defined by just two words--Star Wars. Millions of Star Wars fans(including me), across the globe are a huge testament of the super popularity of this genre

Emerging in the 1930's, space operas continue to be produced in literature, film, comics, television, video games and board games.

The term Space Opera was coined by writer Wilson Tucker in 1941. He combined the words soap opera with horse opera as a scathing insult to the space science fiction stories, who in his opinion, were nothing more than "hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn, spaceship yarns."

Recognition eventually came 50 years later, in the 90's, when Space Opera sub-genre was finally defined as a "colorful, dramatic, large-scale science fiction adventure."

This sub-genre is classified as a kind of a middle ground between hard, soft sci-fi and fantasy. In Space Opera, everything doesn't have to be plausible, and yet, it integrates real life technical concepts with some other inter-galactical magical fantasy marvels. Regarding magic, it isn't necessary for magic to play a role in a story. Something like Star Trek.

A good example is Babylon 5, which exists somewhere between Star Trek and The Expanse along our spectrum. 

The best space operas are divergent by nature with stories traversing a multitude of planets, galaxies, wormholes and universes--embedded with distinct life forms, unique cultures, and breath-taking locations.

The conflicts themselves are epic in scale, affecting thousands of lives on hundreds of different planets. How different races and cultures interact is always a large part of the story. In this way, themes of isolationism, discrimination, and science are examined.

But what makes space opera so enjoyable is that it deliberately frees itself from the usual shackles of hard science fiction and deals in conflicts massive in size and scale which affects thousands of lives on a plethora of planets. The interaction of different races and cultures always takes up a large part of the story under which the themes of isolationism, discrimination, and science are scrutinized.

Here are some recommendations of space opera books:

1. The Revenger by Alastair Reynolds:

Sisters Adrana and Arafura are Bone Readers, people who can give and receive messages through telepathy. Their skills lead them to the employment of the legendary Pol Rackamore's ship, where they go in search of lost technology.

But while searching for their next big score, they are attacked by the infamous space pirate Bosa Sennen, leaving the sisters separated by empty space.

2. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples:

Hazel is a child of a galactic war, born to parents from opposite sides of the conflict. Perceived as traitors, her parents must flee from their own races who are unable to accept their co-existence.

As they struggle to find refuge in a war-torn universe, they must also care for their newborn, who has never known the concept of peace.

3. Dune by Frank Herbert:

Dune tells the story of Duke Paul Atreides, who has been cast away by his people and left for dead, only to find a way to survive (what a twist!). The rest of the novel takes readers through a journey in which Atreides reclaims what belongs to him.

4. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card:

Ender's Game began as a short story that Orson Scott Card developed into a longer novel about a boy named Ender who is fighting his way through an intensive space training program. Eventually, Ender and his classmates find themselves as the last hope in the middle of a war that their people are on the verge of losing.

Here are some celebrated Space Opera movies. I suppose no introductions are needed for most of them:

1. Star Wars(The whole franchise)

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

3. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

4. The Fifth Element (1997)

5. Dune (2021)

6. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

7. Serenity (2005)

8. The Last Starfighter (1984)

I highly recommend these stories on Wattpad:

1. Pirate (LGBT - Sci-Fi - Romantic) by elveloy:

Liam Connell stared at his captor. He looked like a pirate from a holovid, black trousers and a white full sleeved shirt, with a purple sash around his waist. Black hair brushed his shoulders and ... Connell couldn't believe it, he actually had gold hoops in his ears. "Mmm! Mmmm! What do we have here?" the pirate smiled. Just what had Connell got himself into? (LGBT / Slash)

2. Alpha Capella by elveloy:

The invaders fired without warning. The space station exploded in a soundless ball of flame, incinerating the Patrol ships as they scrambled to launch. Lasers burned swathes through the planet settlements, destroying buildings and killing thousands in their path.

In less than an hour, Bellatru was a smoking ruin. Then, the visitors launched the ground troops.

Infact, I'd suggest you check out all of Vera's /elveloy stories. They are absolutely amazing ❤️

3. Divine Charity by JAPriceRomanceAuthor:

Khamuel is forced to visit earth when his healer is found dead. Visiting earth's consulate for star travelers will help him in rebuilding what he had lost. But when a malfunction of his forager causes an accident on earth, Khamuel is forced to take the three injured females onto his mother ship to help them heal. Who knew finding a mate could be so traumatic?

Lena never really gave much thought to what lay beyond Earth's atmosphere. She was too busy trying to survive life. But when she's inadvertently kidnapped by aliens, she's more than willing to accept their protection.

4. Lustral || Complete by Space_Queen_Q:

Two aliens on the run, manage to bump into each other on a distant planet at just the right time.

Liri Delaney, the only child of Dubrovn planetary moguls, is accused of murder. Scouring several solar systems to find the true murderer, she runs into trouble in New Seattle. Ardon Rowe, a sweet-talking High-Draconian hybrid, sees her plight and offers his unconventional services. The two find more trouble than they ever bargained for with wrongfully imprisoned Shape Shifters, military battleship chases, and needy lovers.

Lustral: rite of purification.

5. Keeper of the Sleeping Minds by jinnis:

The only solution to save humanity is to leave plague-ridden Earth for good. But can a plan born out of desperation bring back the lost innocence of the human community?

Fiona is a survivor, immune to the virus that ravaged the population of Earth. Caught and used as a test subject, her bleak outlook on life changes when she becomes part of a secret development team. Their task? To find a new home for the remaining humans.

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This is all for now. If you have any favourite space opera books, movies, Wattpad stories of yours, feel free to drop them in the inline comments here 😄

Look forward to meeting you all in June with another sub-genre and an exciting article. I take my leave. Love you and take care ❤️

Cheers, Nab =]