Characters will be heroic and sympathetic and romance might be involved. So what defines space opera? The accepted definition is an adventure story set (mostly) in outer space, but with the added expectation that it will be large in scope, plot and action, colourful and dramatic. I loved the Expanse on TV and I’ve made a start on the books, thoroughly enjoying Leviathan Wakes and looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I’ve read everything I can find by Lois McMaster Bujold, and I’ve recently been enjoying John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War sequence and his Interdependency books. I read Heinlein and EE Doc Smith such a long time ago. Banks, Peter F Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, and Arthur C Clarke. Amazon lists over 10,000 books in the Space Opera category featuring authors such as John Scalzi, Lois McMaster Bujold, Robert A Heinlein, David Brin, EE Doc Smith, James A Corey, Frank Herbert, Stephen Baxter, Iain M. By the early 1980s not only the cognoscenti, but the wider public understood the term, and by 1990 it became a legitimate subgenre of science fiction, no longer scorned. Space opera was no longer outmoded and hackish, but was (and still is) riding the crest of a wave in popular culture. There are other examples but I don't want to spoil too much, since it’s often the twist of the story.Following on from Star Trek came the huge popularity of Star Wars and the transformation was complete.

In Excession this is called an Outside Context Problem, and is the theme of the book. In Dune Paul becomes the Kwisatz Haderak in the end. Something without precedent is happening. Often one party is at risk to suffer terrible consequences if the protagonists don't succeed. Sometimes it’s only the main character that’s troubled (Chasm City), without big outside conflict. It can also be a conflict within the protagonist himself. As they endure trials and tribulations they learn more about themselves and the world they live in.

This voyage transforms the main characters. So it’s not only a voyage on the surface of a planet like in LotR, although it can be both. This means the main characters travel from point A to point B and sometimes C and D etc. It’s not a clear definition, more like a set of ingredients that are often part of good space opera. I wrote this list a couple years ago on Goodreads.

Space opera definition