Besides a very ill-advised sexcapade Decibel takes that does not end well for him and puts the entire act in jeopardy, not much else happens. I figured there would be more happening with the rule where other contestants could knock each other off before the big show to improve their rankings. I figured there would be some scenes of them putting their act together (something happens at the cocktail hour involving seeds growing their costumes, but I didn't quite get it). The premise is so insane and fresh, I was expecting more to happen when our poor, dear, in-way-over-their-heads, rock stars got to the competition. I also had a little trouble with the overarching plot. I had to go back and re-read a lot of parts simply because I could not keep what alien was what straight in my head. Ultraviolet (his living bandmate) finally meeting the other alien contestants during some sort of critical cocktail hour where they could be assassinated at any moment, I could not remember who was who or what I was supposed to be picturing. A few alien species I remember, but a great deal of them I do not. I loved being immersed in this story, but I also got a little lost a few times. Unfortunately, Space Opera's greatest strength was also where it fell apart a little, at least for me. The depictions of previous Metagalactic Grand Prix acts, winners, and events are also highlights of the novel. Ursulas, for example, are a hive mind species that all have the same name, and are floating glass bubbles of sentient gas. The especially entertaining parts come in when Valente describes, as in the quote above, one of the alien species that populate Space Opera's galaxy. Right? Every page is stuffed to the gills with this fantastic, mind-boggling prose. I am going to open the book to any page and take a description from it. I got chills reading some of these depictions, they're so good. The way each description runs on and on, every detail more amusing and more revealing than the last, is pure narrative magic. If you are ever in need of understanding what a strong narrative voice is, just pick up Space Opera and read any page, any sentence. Here is your official spoiler-ish warning. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I do want to talk some story specifics. Some species literally feed their hearts to the audience, some throw interdimensional travel into their act, and others can vibrate stamens to the tunes of every single individual audience member's best childhood memories. Decibel Jones and the one remaining Absolute Zero are chosen for us to sing for our sentience. Valente presents this insanity in such a sane way, you can't help but wonder if somewhere out there in space, there really might just be an intergalactic Eurovision contest playing out between all the other forms of life.Įarth isn't given a choice in representatives either. If you deserve a place at the table or if you don't. Singing, as it turns out, is the best way to gauge if you are sentient or not. Once intergalactic civilization finds you, you must sing. It turns out, new species petitioning for sentience don't really have a choice in the matter. At least, not until aliens came to Earth.
![space opera space opera](https://www.fantasygamesunlimited.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/sku7102_spaceopera_groundandairequipment.jpg)
Tragedy struck in the form of the loss of one band member, Mira Wonderful Star, and the band hasn't been together since. A former rock star, Decibel used to be frontman to rock trio Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeros. Enter our protagonist, the "ethereal glamtrash satyr" Decibel Jones.
![space opera space opera](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1339345425l/1902264.jpg)
Those are some pretty big stakes to set up at the start of our story, and Valente, in her characteristic style, does so beautifully. Any beings petitioning for sentience who fall into last place are exterminated. If a petitioner species doesn't get last place, they are welcomed into intergalactic civilization. Yes, all sentient and petitioning sentient beings must participate in a song contest every year. That peace relies on a spectacular demonstration every year in the form of a song contest, the Metagalactic Grand Prix.
![space opera space opera](https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/018/882/791/large/joe-grabenstetter-benfinalhugepreview.jpg)
A recent Sentience War has resulted in a shaky peace between all the major civilizations across the galaxy. It can't stand not happening." And all this intergalactic life has run into each other and made a bit of a mess of things. In Space Opera's universe, "Life wants to happen.