Shining Moon Episode 08: Space Opera

Hello, and welcome to Shining Moon: A Speculative Fiction Podcast, Episode 8. I’m your host, Deborah L. Davitt. Today we’ll continue our series by asking questions about the subgenre of space opera. How does it differ from Hard Science fiction, which was the focus of Episode 3? What are some of the commonalities that mark this genre? What’s the history of space opera? Who’s currently going beyond endless adaptations of Star Wars and Star Trek?  My guests today are Michael Johnston, M.V. Melcer, and Dave Walsh. Michael had some audio problems, so please refer to the transcript for his full words. Michael R. Johnston is the author of The Widening Gyre, The Blood-Dimmed Tide, and What Rough Beast. His work has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Locus, and Analog. He lives in Sacramento, California, with his wife, daughter, and four weird cats. When not writing, he teaches high school English, works with young aspiring genre writers, and daydreams of flying starships.  M V Melcer is the author of upcoming science fiction novel Refractions (November 2023). Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, GigaNotoSurus, Daily Science Fiction, Nature, and others. Born in Poland, she has lived in the USA, the Netherlands and Belgium before settling in the United Kingdom. When not writing, she is pursuing a degree in astronomy. You can find her on https://mvmelcer.com.Dave Walsh resides in the high desert in New Mexico with his wife and twin sons, a former combat sports and entertainment writer who focuses on the surreal and speculative instead now. Author of the two science fiction series, Trystero and Andlios, and member of both SFWA and Codex. Find him at dvewlsh.com and everywhere else, as @dvewlsh (@dvewlsh.bsky.social, @[email protected]) Next week, we’ll be taking a Walk in the Dark, in an episode featuring horror and dark fantasy writers P.A. Cornell  and Alicia Hilton. We’ll be discussing the story "His Guns Could Not Protect Him" by Sam J. Miller. Lightspeed, Issue 153, Feb. 2023. It’s available online for free to read, if you want to get a jump on our discussion. https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/his-guns-could-not-protect-him/ "Don't tell me that the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." -- Anton Chekov Piano music for closureThank you for listening to Shining Moon! You can reach the host, Deborah L. Davitt, at the following social media platforms:www.facebook.com/deborah.davitt.3 Bluesky: @deborahldavitt.bsky.socialwww.deborahldavitt.com