Reynolds opts instead for grounded, plausible science over magic-like technology. Chalk that up to the author's background in astronomy. For example, in the Revelation Space series, humans lack the technology for faster-than-light travel which many sf stories use as a convenient way to transport characters between places in a timely fashion. Reynolds tempers the urge to go wild with the usual tropes of early space opera. Since crime is rare, the main job of the judiciary comprised of Prefects is to investigate crimes related to voting. The habitats of the so-called Glitter Band form a Democratic Anarchy, meaning that each habitat governs itself and offers citizens the ability to vote through their neural implants. Many of the novels take place near Yellowstone, a planet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani and locus of thousands of space habitats, many of them planet-sized places of wonder all on their own. Most of the novels take place between the 25 th and 28 th centuries and involve the conflicts experienced by humankind, sometimes with alien species. It consists of several novels and short stories set between the year 2200 (or thereabouts) and 40,000 AD.
Simply put, the Revelation Space series depicts a fictional future of mankind. One of the most rewarding ongoing space opera series is the Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. Hartwell.) There have been many space opera series over the past few decades that have served readers well, providing hours of immersive escapism and stellar world building. (For a terrific selection of space opera stories that showcase the evolution of Space Opera stories, check out the massive anthology The Space Opera Renaissance edited by Kathryn Cramer and David G. It wasn't long before space opera redeemed itself and became a favorite sub-genre of sf fans. The "space opera" label was originally used as a pejorative when it was coined by Wilson Tucker in 1941 to refer to the "outworn spaceship yarn". The stories are usually grand in scope (as measured in distance, time and/or number of characters) and offer endless corners in which authors can write their stories. Space opera settings include locations usually associated with outer space, like spaceships and other planets. Space opera stories are ones in which the narrative emphasis is on melodramatic adventure. As a reader of science fiction, I can think of few sub-genres that server that purpose better than space opera. Among the reasons people read fiction is escapism.