How to: Space Opera
_Novels which emphasize adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, usually involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced abilities, weapons, and other technology._

#### [Ancillary Justice](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice) (2013) _by [Ann Leckie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Leckie)_ [4.0]

_(And all the following [Ancillary Sword](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20706284-ancillary-sword))_
Description
> On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
  >
  > Once, she was the Justice of Toren—a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
  >
  > Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
#### [Battlefield Earth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/769658.Battlefield_Earth) (1982) _by [L. Ron Hubbard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard)_ [3.4]
Description
> Earth has been dominated for 1,000 years by an alien invader—and man is an endangered species. From the handful of surviving humans a courageous leader emerges—Jonnie Goodboy Tyler, who challenges the invincible might of the alien Psychlo empire in a battle of epic scale, danger and intrigue with the fate of the Earth and of the universe in the tenuous balance.
#### [Commonwealth Saga](https://www.goodreads.com/series/40740-commonwealth-saga) (2004, 2005) _by [Peter F. Hamilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton)_ [4.2]

_(And the sequels in the [Void Trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/series/43520-void))_
Description
> The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport “tunnels” known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star… vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.
  >
  > Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship’s mission for its own ends.
  >
  > Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth… and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?
#### [Fallen Dragon](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45258.Fallen_Dragon) (2001) _by [Peter F. Hamilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_F._Hamilton)_ [4.0]
Description
> Deploying invulnerable twenty-fifth-century soldiers called Skins, Zantiu-Braun’s corporate starships loot entire planets. But as the Skins invade bucolic Thallspring, Z-B’s strategy is about to go awry, all because of: Sgt. Lawrence Newton, a dreamer whose twenty years as a Skin have destroyed his hopes and desires; Denise Ebourn, a school teacher and resistance leader whose guerrilla tactics rival those of Che Guevara and George Washington and Simon Roderick, the director who serves Z-B with a dedication that not even he himself can understand. Grimly determined to steal, or protect, a mysterious treasure, the three players engage in a private war that will explode into unimaginable quests for personal grace… or galactic domination.
#### [House of Suns](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1126719.House_of_Suns) (2008) _by [Alastair Reynolds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds)_ [4.1]
Description
> Six million years ago, at the dawn of the star-faring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones, which she called shatterlings. But now, someone is eliminating the Gentian line. Campion and Purslane—two shatterlings who have fallen in love and shared forbidden experiences—must determine exactly who, or what, their enemy is, before they are wiped out of existence.
#### [Hyperion](https:/