Space Opera or Sci-Fi?

Ethan Michaels
3 days ago
4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

by Author Ethan Michaels

Fat Lady with Viking Helmet Singing in Front of Black Hole in Outer Space. — What is Space Opera? "It is not a piece of music where the fat lady sings the final scene in outer space," Author Ethan Michaels begins. *Photo:* *©Clear Creek Publishing with Grok and Wisconsinart components.*

Clear Creek Publishing is proud to announce the release of two new novels by author Ethan Michaels, Eternity's Reason and The Oneness Theory. We asked Michaels to share his take on just what is Space Opera, the Thriller Suspense author's latest choice of book genre. His response follows:

Most are familiar with Sci-Fi, but what is Space Opera? It is not a piece of music where the fat lady sings the final scene in outer space. It is a genre in literature under the Science Fiction umbrella. But why? What is the need for it?

Before we survey the difference between Space Opera and Sci-Fi book genres in more detail, let's take a look back at why book genres at all?

Thank Aristotle for book genres

Marble Bust of Aristotle — Aristotle discovered book genres help track profit trends. *Photo: ©Lima Akter* *Dreamstime*.

How did all this begin? What is the need for it? As usual, it’s all about money. The very first subdivision of literary genre began in Ancient Greece. It’s all Aristotle’s fault. “Ari” began noticing at his favorite theatre, the Dionysus, that certain types of stage performances sold better than other types.

He noticed the trend in literature too. Ari wasn’t sure exactly which type was doing better, so, to more carefully measure what type was selling better, he gave each different style of literature a name. Drama as a single classification became a thing of the past. The world now had {Trumpet fanfare, please!} Comedy or Tragedy; the world’s first literature and dramatic classifications. He also gave a name to literature that told generational tales—Epic Poetry.

And those three genres were all there was until the Middle Ages.

Grecian Woman in Toga and Holding a Comedy Mask in her right hand and a Tragedy Mask in her left hand — *Comedy* and *Tragedy*; the world’s first literature and dramatic classifications. Photo *©Kostyantine Pankin Dreamstime.*

The Romance of Knights

Small Role Play Game Figures of a Knight with Shield and Jousting Stick and a Knight extending his Sword while Mounted on a Rising Horse. A Large Plastic Knight Shield is in the Background and a Large Plastic Sword is on the Table in Front of the Figures. — Knight story books stories originated around the 12th Century. *Photo: ©Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa, Dreamstime.*

In France, around the 12^th century, Knights were all the rage. The commoners just couldn’t get enough about good winning over evil, the lore of honor, and being in the king’s circle that surrounded these guys. Women were particularly fascinated by the stories of courtly love, passion, or, well, the amorousness that knighthood attracted.

Book genres spawn sub-genres

Today nearly all main genres have been subdivided to help identify markets and to maximize sales efforts. The Mystery genre is very much a case in point; it has several subdivisions. A few are: Police Procedurals, Cozy Mystery, Hardboiled/Noir, Whodunit/Classic, Historical, and Locked Room. There are more . . . and don’t get me started on the Romance genre.

Up pops the Romance genre—and it did well; REAL well. The point came when most literature of this period was called a Romance regardless of how much romance was really in the story. The Romance genre was here to stay.

It wasn’t until the early 19^th century that a new genre was introduced—the Gothic novel.

Romance across the centuries

Publishers of the 20^th century, just like Ari’s Middle Ages realization, were quick to note that some sub-genres sell better than others—particularly Romance. Today we have Romantasy, Romantic Suspense, and Contemporary, and the Romance sub-genre list goes on to include more.

The birth of Pulp Fiction

Vintage Pulp Fiction Book with a Tattered Book Jacket, Depicting a Fashion Smart Woman in a Low-Cut Green Dress with Sheer Chiffon Bodice Trim and Chiffon Scarf in her Hand. The Book title reads "the Chiffon Scarf" with author name of Mignon G. Eberhart — The name "Pulp" Fiction originated from the cheap wood-pulp paper on which these stories were printed. *Photo of vintage book compliments of Ethan Michaels.*

The real genre explosion struck around the 1920s in America with the birth of Pulp Fiction. Magazines like Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and Argosy were key in developing this sensational and often lurid storytelling. Suddenly various sub-genres emerged, including Horror, the Detective Story, Science Fiction, and Fantasy. These rapidly develop into more sub-genres of Sword and Sorcery, Mystery, and Crime.

But, what about that Sci-Fi vs. Space Opera?

Science Fiction is one distinct genre that emerged in the pulp era, characterized by its futuristic themes and technological elements. However, some readers found some constructs in the Sci-Fi novel so fantastic that they couldn’t suspend their disbelief, and bashed the books, then sales went down for the overall genre. Thus, the arrival of its first sub-genre—Hard Sci-Fi. It was thought that if the fantastic ideas were rationally explained, the genre would be more believable. Hard Sci-Fi was delineated from Mainstream Sci-Fi because it bothered to explain how all those little miracles presented, worked—and those explanations went into extensive detail. The detail is so great, it sometimes expands into the point of giving mathematical equations to support the author’s ideas. Some readers greatly enjoy the detailed descriptions of Hard Sci-Fi, but not all. The fix, you ask?

The Arrival of Space Opera

Black Hole in Space. Two Bright Star Studded and Illuminated Outlines Collide into Each Other. — An exclusive photo author Ethan Michaels created as an inspiration to the world building for his Space Opera-genre sci-fi book, *Eternity's Reason*. *Photo by Ethan Michaels, created with* *Grok.*

Eliminate the lengthy and highly-technical detail from the Hard Sci-Fi genre, and, VOILA, Space Opera was born. Think of it like an action movie set in outer space, but with more complex characters and deeper themes. Space Opera usually involves a lot of action, cool technology, and huge, galaxy-spanning plots. It is not a new subgenre by any means—Space Opera has been around since the 1930s. Famous examples include Dune (Dune #1) by Frank Herbert and Foundation (Foundation, #1) by Isaac Asimov. Today, Space Opera is still a popular genre with new novels coming out every year. Emerging space opera authors include Scott Barlett, the author of the I-Starship series< and Clear Creek Publishing’s own Ethan Michaels.

Ethan Michaels' Space Opera Reads

Two Side by Side Ethan Michaels Books. On the left is "Eternity's Reason" and on the right is "The Oneness Theory" with a Subtitle of "a sci-fi thriller"

Fans of Michaels' Speculative Thrillers will be excited to find he has released two new exciting novels in the Space Opera genre, both available from Amazon.com. Ethan Michael’s Eternity's Reason, a thrilling race against time, was inspired by a suspenseful reimagination of the Roswell incident. Clear Creek Publishing is also excited to announce the release of his LATEST NOVEL The Oneness Theory, a captivating story of a human brain discovery under siege leading to a thrilling global event.