5 Massive Space Operas to Read Between Marathon Sessions of No Man’s Sky

Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds
Welsh physicist, astronomer, and science fiction author Alastair Reynolds created his own space opera series to address some oft-reused tropes of the genre—a series so hard on the SF scale, when a ship merely attempts FTL travel, it rips itself  apart. It’s also the closest to No Man’s Sky in tone, given that it’s about humans exploring alien worlds in an attempt to figure out why there are the remnants of so many space-faring civilizations scattered about.  The answer turns out to be fairly unsettling both in nature and scope, considering something is willing to resort to wiping out entire species to make a point. Weighing in on the harder end of the scale doesn’t stop this series-starter from incorporating spectacular, imaginative touches, including a head-exploding nanovirus, a sun used to scorch an entire star system, bizarre and possibly malevolent precursor technology, and a living, thinking, wholly insane luxury starship, among others.

Species Imperative, by Julie E. Czerneda
Another scientist who moved into writing SF, Czerneda is known for her expansive space operas, massive world-building, and focus on unusual alien biologies. The lesser-known of her two series, Species Imperative is comprised of three massive books that tell the story of Mac Connor, a marine biologist swept into interstellar intrigue when her best friend Emily is abducted by an alien race known as the Ro (think something akin to Mass Effect’s Reapers) and their genetically modified hench-species. Rumored to be the cause of several massive dead areas in the larger Interspecies Union (an intergalactic federation connected by routes through “no-space”), the Ro want Emily for their own nefarious purposes. While Mac quickly escapes to the planet of Haven, she must figure out what it is that’s causing worlds to go dead, and how to stop the Ro from possibly exterminating humans—along with the rest of the galaxy. Czerneda packs the books with loads of action and excitement, but some of the coolest bits come from in the world-building and the invented  life-cycles of the various invented species.

The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton
Hamilton’s Commonwealth is a sprawling Dickensian epic encompassing five door-stopping books and 1,500 years of human interstellar history, starting with the invention of a man-made wormhole generator (coincidentally on the same day the first manned mission reaches Mars). From there, the setting spreads outward to encompass a vast interstellar network linked together by train lines, populated by technologically advanced humans who are functionally immortal (some of them on their second or third bodies). Not content to keep within the confines of even that vast landscape, Hamilton pushes further, introducing hyper-advanced aliens, a mysterious threat tied to a star encased in a Dyson sphere, a form of hyperdrive powered by continually generating wormholes, and mega-city spaceships armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry. Seriously, nothing about The Commonwealth hasn’t been taken to its ultimate (and usually awesome) extreme.

The Expanse, by James S.A. Corey
While it has a much tighter focus than The Commonwealth and covers less ground in terms of space, this suspenseful hard-SF series is no less dense and massive. Spanning the known solar system, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck have created a taut, thrilling story of corporate greed, interplanetary conspiracy, and unchecked biochemical experimentation centered around the crew of a stolen  legitimately salvaged Martian warship and their allies. Even (initially) confined to a single solar system, the writers manage to pack their setting with a medium-scale civil war, hyper-advanced technology, space battles, film noir touches, a Mormon generation ship turned battleship, and enough plots and characters to populate a multi-season TV series. Which, for those keeping score, it also is. But the real strength of The Expanse is that despite its impressive length (both per book and as a series) and a plot that adds new complexities and twists, it manages to stay easy to follow throughout, while still throwing the reader curveball after curveball. And we haven’t even discussed the real reason it belongs on a list of No Man’s Sky readalikes—but there be spoilers.

Cyteen, by C.J. Cherryh
Half of a dense duology that fits into the larger Alliance-Union universe, Cyteen follows the inhabitants and ruling class of Union, an independent system of worlds founded by dissident scientists and engineers who left Earth so they could continue their experiments unchecked by Earth and Alliance law. Following the murder of Arianne Emory, one of Union’s “Specials,” it is discovered she made a clone of herself named “Ari” in an effort to see if it was possible to recreate her abilities. The novel follows Ari as she grows up and takes her place in Union’s society,  and also focuses on the inhabitants and clones of Union as they attempt to deal with her predecessor’s death and the revelation of Ari’s existence. Across its massive length, Cyteen covers such questions as scientific ethics, the idea of nature and nurture, and the connection between memory and identity, all within a hard science fiction setting. It’s also an amazing suspense novel, which doesn’t hurt.
What books get you in the mood to explore a galaxy?