May the Fourth Be With You! Blasting Space Opera.

By The Secret Bookshelf

We love Space Opera. Big, bold and pure escapism. For May the Fourth, here's our celebration of the best out there

Iain M. Banks Culture - 25th anniversary box set: Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games and Use of Weapons

Iain M. Banks

£24.99 £23.24

Such a fabulous writer, the Culture universe is one of the best loved in SO.

Komarr

Lois McMaster Bujold

£5.99 £5.57

If you haven't read Lois McMaster Bujold, you've missed out. Wonderful character driven Space Opera with a main character in Miles Vorkosigan who you'll either want to throttle, or you'll adore. (Or both).

Dune

Frank Herbert

£12.99 £12.08

The Daddy of the genre, Dune is an epic, sprawling family dynasty drama set in space. With drugs and giant sandworms. What else could you want in a book?

Space Captain Smith

Toby Frost

£8.99 £8.36

We adore Toby Frost. So funny and fresh. Think of it as a Biggles in Space.

Luna: New Moon

Ian McDonald

£9.99 £9.29

Ian McDonald is Northern Ireland's leading science fiction author, building on the greats such as James White and Bob Shaw, and this is his epic, sprawling luna-based Dynasty.

Prador Moon

Neal Asher

£8.99 £8.36

Another of the great SO worlds, the Polarity has the breadth and depth you'd hope for.

Star Wars: Thrawn

Timothy Zahn

£9.99 £9.29

The Star Wars extended universe is vast, fitting for a film that spawned so much interest in the genre (is it sci fi? Or is it fantasy? We reckon it's Space Opera). This is one of the recently loved additions

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope: Official 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition

George Lucas

£16.98 £15.79

But for those who like their Star Wars tradition, here's the original novel.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition

Douglas Adams

£20.00 £18.60

This is such a gorgeous new edition, released for the 40th anniversary with illustrations by Chris Riddell. Well worth picking up.

Star Trek: The Wisdom of Picard

Chip Carter

£9.99 £9.29

We know better than putting the Star Wars universe in and leaving out the Trekkies....

We are Legion (We are Bob)

Dennis E. Taylor

£10.60

A recent addition to the SO canon, this series is so much fun, from an independent author.

Revelation Space

Alastair Reynolds

£10.99 £10.22

Vast, epic and imaginative, Reynolds captures the feel of Space Opera so well.

Leviathan Wakes: Book 1 of the Expanse (now a Prime Original series)

James S. A. Corey

£8.99 £8.36

The Expanse universe is one of the must-reads of the SO world.

The Dreaming Void

Peter F. Hamilton

£10.99 £10.22

Peter F Hamilton, one of the UK's leading SF writers, creates vast books, that are guaranteed to keep you reading for weeks. This one, the first in his Void series, is one we love.