Lucas Blogs About Space Opera

You can kinda judge this one by its cover.

So, what's this book's deal?

Space Opera is a Hugo-nominated sci-fi comedy premised around a pan-galactic version of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Oh, a low-stakes affair?

Nope! The very fate of the Earth itself hangs in the balance. See, after the last big interplanetary war, the sentient species of the galaxy instituted the Metagalactic Grand Prix as a way of sorting out the people from the meat.

That's sort of an artless way of putting it.

Anyway, an alien who looks like a turquoise flamingo with an anemone on it's head appears to every human simultaneously to explain that their only chance to prove their worth as a species is to not come in dead last in the next Grand Prix. Should they come in last, the planet will be destroyed.

And you say this is a comedy?

Indeed. It is a very silly book. And honestly, that silliness is somewhat infectious. It starts off with a whole chapter that basically posits the book as the answer to the Fermi Paradox (also as a bouncing disco ball). But we're getting a little off-topic. After explaining the situation, the alien produces a list of musical acts which most appeal to the judges of the Gand Prix, nearly all of whom are dead.

And the only living one will end up being the protagonist of the novel?

That is how tropes work, yes. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes, a throwback glam act from the UK are chosen to represent Earth in the Grand Prix. However, Decibel Jones (né Danesh Jalo) has become a washed-out has-been following a less-than-stellar solo career, Mira Wonderful Star (I honestly have forgotten if that's just a stage name, it seems like it has to be though.) died in the car accident that instigated the group's break-up, and Oort St. Ultraviolet (né Omar Calişkan) is trying to navigate life as a newly divorced dad to two young girls and his work behind the scenes in the music industry. Fortunately, for Dess and Oort, they've got Esca, the aforementioned aqua flamingo to help fill them in on the details of the contest, Oort's pet cat, Capo, newly imbued with the power of speech, and Öö, an alien resembling a red panda who can see different probable futures who works as their ship's engineer. Will Dess and Oort be able to sort out their personal differences in time to not lose the Grand Prix? Will time travel shenanigans be used to get the band fully back together? Did I have to leave out a shocking amount of detail in order to keep this brief?

Did you?

Yes. Although the book is less than three hundred pages long, the galaxy created by Catherynne M. Valente is dense with world-building detail. From the history of a harsh truths children's book to the use of living wormholes for interstellar travel, to the various formative experiences that went into the Absolute Zeroes brief but memorable music career, Space Opera is constantly bombarding the reader with information. Fortunately, the book's omniscient narrator has a charming, conspiratorial tone. The narrator doesn't so much say, "Look at this absurd story I'm telling, isn't it hilarious?" as, "Look, I know that this is a very silly book, you know this is a very silly book, let's have some fun with this."

So, is it just a bit of a lark, then?

Definitely not. Sure, it's absurd and mostly played for laughs, but there is real pathos in the story. The guilt Dess feels over Mira's death, the characters' struggles growing up as the children of immigrants in England, the violence sentient creatures have perpetrated against each other throughout history, even the power of absurd spectacle to be surprisingly moving. Each of these subjects is tackled with an earnestness that might seem out of place among the novel's comic elements, but which succeeds because of the fellow feeling created by the narrator's chummy nature.

And you're sure the comedy doesn't undermine the commentary?

Yes, I'm sure. I read the book, didn't I? Though I will admit that I read significant chunks of it in the middle of the night on a train from LA to Portland, so maybe I went a little easier on. . . Wait, why am I making excuses for liking something I liked?

That is a weird thing to do.

Okay, I can see how all the wackiness of this book might turn some readers off, and this is one of those books that builds its world through chapters that exist solely for exposition (for example, the chapter outlining the rules of the Metagalactic Grand Prix) and that might turn some people off. But this is a fun sci-fi novel that wears its heart on its sleeve and explores such themes as: What makes a being sentient? The pressures of fitting in vs. standing out. Are cats sentient? Probably not. Are people sentient? Probably. You get the idea. If you're looking for something densely plotted, look elsewhere. If you want to feel feelings, maybe pick this one up. I know I like feeling feelings.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente, Saga Press trade paperback edition, December 2018, 294 pages, pairs well with train insomnia (trainsomnia) and that can of Pepsi you bought before the café car closed for the night

Links:

Here's the author's website, if you're into that kinda thing.

In case you weren't aware of the Eurovision Song Contest, this is what it is. For fun, here's this year's Eurovision winner: "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence

As I mentioned above, this novel has been nominated for Best Novel at this year's Hugos. You may notice that it's up against Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, which I also reviewed on this very blog. Spinning Silver is a better book, but those are the only two of the finalists I've read this year.

So, Saturday's Year of Unfortunate Events was apparently my 100th post. But if you don't count the blog intro, this is my 100th post. Whatevs.