![]() ![]() The common wisdom within SF circles is that space opera has come a long way from its pulp origins, and that the term – very much a pejorative when it first began to be used – now encompasses a wide range of very different works, with differing levels of ambition. Incredibly, the magazine stories that first came to define space opera were written almost a hundred years ago. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it usually involves conflict between opponents possessing advanced abilities, futuristic weapons, and other sophisticated technology’. ![]() ![]() ![]() Wikipedia goes on to define space opera in the modern era as being ‘a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, melodramatic adventure, interplanetary battles, as well as chivalric romance, and often risk-taking. The SF Encyclopaedia informs us that the term ‘space opera’ was first introduced into science fiction terminology by writer and editor Wilson Tucker in 1941, who coined it as a spin on the already familiar terms ‘soap opera’ and ‘horse opera’ to describe any ‘hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn, spaceship yarn’. ![]()
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