7 Space Operas That Rival Star Wars

Published Sep 25, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Once head of Screen Rant's Star Wars coverage and co-lead of Superheroes, Tom Bacon now works with the movies and books teams. He's a lifelong fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and loves franchises such as Doctor Who and Marvel. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon, on LinkedIn @tabacon, or on Muckrack under tombacon. Tom has a wide range of interests, and he continues to serve his university as a volunteer chaplain. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Star Wars is the most famous space opera of all time, but these eight books are true rivals for George Lucas' epic creation. In 1941 sci-fi author Arthur Tucker coined the term "space opera" to describe sci-fi action stories that take place against a backdrop of galactic empires, faster-than-light travel, and alien civilizations. He originally meant the name as a criticism, but it's the kind of popular fiction Lucas loved, and is now celebrating at his Museum of Narrative Art. Space opera is older than Star Wars, and of course is far older than even the medium of film. If you really want to familiarize yourself with space opera, you really need to check out some of the best, most enjoyable science-fiction books of all time. What's more, the genre continues in print as well as on-screen, meaning there are so many modern classics as well. Here are some major ones to check out. 7 Frank Herbert's Dune Denis Villeneuve has achieved the impossible in bringing Dune back to the big screen with style. But Frank Herbert's Dune will always be so much better than any adaptation, and readers will quickly grasp how influential this story really was; let's just say there's a reason Star Wars features a desert planet and Han Solo is a spice smuggler. Herbert's story may focus in on Arrakis, but he created an incredible galaxy with a phenomenal amount of depth to it. Star Wars is a lot more pulpy than Dune, and significantly faster in pace and style. But Dune is still the inspiration for so much of what George Lucas did, and Herbert famously put together a list of 16 different similarities between his book and A New Hope. When asked, he joked he and some friends were thinking of forming a "We're Too Big to Sue George Lucas Society." You can buy Dune from retailers like Amazon. 6 Pierce Brown's Red Rising Set on a colonized Mars in the future, Pierce Brown's Red Rising is the first in a six-book series. Reds are society's lowest-caste laborers, and they are treated like dirt (appropriately enough, given the color of Martian dirt). Space opera often features underclass uprisings against a cosmic empire, and Red Rising fits that pattern perfectly. The story is a sci-fi dramatization of real-world class conflicts, and Brown has said he was inspired by the plight of 19th century Irish immigrants. Critics have praised Red Rising for an unusual amount of depth; the book has themes and ideas in play that are genuinely pretty powerful. A Red Rising game is on the way, as Brown continues to expand what has become a very powerful franchise indeed. Unlike some books in this list, Red Rising is a slim but quick read, so very easy indeed to get into. You can buy Red Rising from retailers like Amazon. 5 James S.A. Corey's The Expanse Image via MovieStillsDB A lot of the best space opera books have been adapted for both the big and small screen, and few will be surprised to learn The Expanse started out in print. The book series is made up of nine novels and nine novellas (compiled under the title Mercury's Legion), written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S.A. Corey. It cocked off in 2012, and the completed series won a Hugo Award in 2020. This is a future where humanity has colonized most of the solar system, and it charts humanity's continued expansion after the discovery of incredible wormhole technology. Despite the scale, the plot is wonderfully centered on the cast of a single mining ship, giving this space opera a much more grounded feel even as The Expanse heads off into deep space. Meanwhile, ancient alien threats loom on the horizon... You can buy The Expanse from retailers like Amazon. 4 Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time Welcome to the far future — or, rather, the far futures, because Tchaikovsky's Children of Time is set across two time periods. On the one hand, the last survivors of humanity flee Earth looking for a new home, even as a new race of spider-like creatures evolves on a terraformed world. But don't expect Children of Time to be bleak, because Tchaikovsky's story heads in some very exciting and unusual directions indeed. Children of Time may be over a decade old (and the four-book series is now over), but its ultimately optimistic message of redemption feels as timely now as it did in 2015. The scope is large, but the structure prevents it ever becoming overwhelming, and non-human characters are arguably even more sympathetic than the humans. There's a reason this is considered a modern classic of the genre. You can buy Children of Time from retailers like Amazon. 3 Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga kicked off with Pandora's Star back in 2004, and it became the foundation for an entire universe of stories. This first book begins with a fairly conventional scene, where humans arrive on Mars, only to find someone waiting there for them. It doesn't take long for Hamilton to build a whole universe out of this, and he presents rich backstories for all the different characters in this vast cosmos. Hamilton's books are rightly considered sci-fi masterpieces. The opening is a little slow-burn, but Hamilton soon unveils a terrifying antagonist that controls an entire civilization. Expect a full-scale invasion plot, deep characters who have remarkable depth, and a wealth of fantastical ideas woven into a very human story. You can buy Pandora's Star from retailers like Amazon. 2 Kevin J. Anderon's Saga of Seven Suns It's surely no surprise to see Kevin J. Anderson's books on this list. Anderson is no stranger to Star Wars; he was one of the most notable authors of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, where he created Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. Published between 2002 and 2008, Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns is set in a not-too-distant future when war blazes across the galaxy. Hidden Empire is the first book in the series, laying the foundations for a series that grows stronger with every book. Anderon's greatest strength lies in his ability to handle multiple plots, weaving them together into a cohesive whole. By the end of the series, critics were openly comparing Saga of Seven Suns to classics of the space opera genre, and Anderson even mimicked George Lucas with a prequel graphic novel set a few hundred years before Hidden Empire. You can buy Pandora's Star from retailers like Amazon. 1 John Campbell's The Lost Fleet Finally, John G. Hemry's The Lost Fleet — published under the pen name of John Campbell — is a lot more militaristic than many space operas. It's set over a hundred years into a vast interstellar war between two human civilizations, the Alliance and the Syndicate, and it kicks off when a hero is discovered in cryogenic suspension a century after his supposed sacrificial victory. John "Black Jack" Geary discovers he's become a legend, but his actions have been used to justify poor tactics that have led to a string of defeats. The Lost Fleet confronts the theme of what it means to be a legend, as its hero tries to figure out how to change the tide of war. It began in 2006 with Dauntless, and has expanded into 23 books (including Lucas-style prequels). If you enjoy the space battles in Star Wars, then this is one space opera series to pick up. You can buy Dauntless from retailers like Amazon. TV Show(s) The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions Video Game(s) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, Star Wars Battlefront (2015), Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor First Film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Cast Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal Created by George Lucas Movie(s) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order