Here’s the scene: your family is coming in from all parts of the country for the big day. It’s great to see everyone, but you honestly would rather deal with them through Facebook this year. You need a quick and easy way to escape the crowd, so you power up your e-reader and jump into a new world.
Books are an amazing portal to leave everything behind for a few (let’s face it, more than a few) hours at a time, and a space opera will get you off this planet altogether. Here are 11 great space adventures that we recommend if you need a quick escape:
The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel
Elizabeth Bonesteel’s debut novel is a fun mashup of space opera and mystery tale. When a member of engineer Commander Elena Shaw’s crew is murdered, the prime suspect is a pirate that she spent the night with. While attempting to clear his name, she discovers that the man’s death is linked to a conspiracy surrounding the destruction of a starship a quarter-century ago. It’s a fast, well-written novel that serves as the introduction to a whole new world: its sequel, Remnants of Trust just came out in bookstores.
Dark Run by Mike Brooks
Take a starship, crew it with people who have questionable paths, introduce a sponsor with a major vendetta, then send them out on what’s most likely a suicide mission to Earth. That’s the foundation of Mike Brooks’ novel Dark Run, a fantastically exciting read that sends the crew of the Keiko out into a dangerous mission from which they’re not intended to return. The story sets up a wonderful fantastic with a great, diverse cast of characters, plenty of action, and a narrative that just doesn’t let up.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A while ago, I called The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet one of the most delightful space opera novels I’d ever read. It really is. There are tons of science fiction and fantasy novels out there that dwell on the doom and gloom of the world. Chambers’ novel isn’t that: it’s a bright and cheery adventure that reminds me quite a bit of Firefly. The crew of the Wayfarer is made up of a fantastic collection aliens and humans, all of whom Chambers spends time getting to know, and puts together a wonderful — and at times heartbreaking novel. A sequel, A Closed and Common Orbit, just came out in the UK (and will be out in the US in 2017), and it’s just as good.