The best multi-cultural space operas

In most space opera novels, humans are the absolute best. Whether they began the government they belong to, or came to it later, they’re special in a way that makes the universe better. Melinda Snodgrass’ The High Ground is different. In her series, humans went into space, met aliens, and conquered nearly everyone they met. Now the aristocrats of the Solar League spend their time on balls and dancing, while in the dark, a new menace approaches. This is an action series, but the heart of the story is the relationship between Mercedes, eldest daughter of the Emperor, and Tracy, the common-born son of a tailor, thrust together by circumstance and torn apart by the realities of their society.  It’s a great series, full of adventure, political infighting, and humans—some of them, anyway—learning to be better people. 

One of my writing mentors says, “history is the trade secret of science fiction.” They’re not wrong—my own work is based on Irish history—and Tanya Huff’s A Confederation of Valor series, beginning with Valor’s Choice, is another in that vein. The series centers on marine sergeant Torin Kerr. In these books, humans and two other races were brought into the peaceful Confederation to fight a war. What I love about this book is the way the various new races work together—each has their own idiosyncrasies, and Torin, whose job it is to keep her people alive in the middle of this war, is an expert at dealing with the varying needs of her soldiers, whether they’re human, Krai, or Taykan. This is a series about living with others in peace, even in the middle of a war. 

I’ve been a Trekkie—yeah, I own it—since I was a tiny child. And in all that time, my favorite race in Star Trek was the Romulans. This book has been one of my favorites since it was published in 1987; I re-read it often. The book tells two stories in alternating chapters: one is the story of Arrhae, a servant who is also a Federation deep-cover operative. The other chapters are the history of the Romulans from before their split with the Vulcan people. Duane gives us more than we’d seen in TOS, giving us a rich history and culture of a proud people. The novel also gives us a way to see forward to a time when maybe the Federation and the Romulans will no longer be enemies. This is absolutely my favorite Star Trek novel. 

While I love the whiz-bang-pew of space battles, I also like to laugh. John Scalzi manages to make me do both. I love the wrinkle in this story—the main character enlists in the colonial military on his 75th birthday, knowing that once he leaves Earth, he will never be allowed to return. Watching an older man—he gets a younger body, but he’s still 75 mentally—who has put up with all the normal crap of life, and experienced a full lifetime, deal with the situation in space is really great, not only because the main character has a great sense of humor, but because he also has a finely-tuned BS detector, and it goes into overdrive the more he sees. 

In my own life, I’ve tried several times to learn other languages, including Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Scottish Gaelic. It’s hard to adjust to a new language and the cultural knowledge behind it. Cherryh’s hero, Bren Cameron, is a translator and mediator between humanity and the Atevi, the race of aliens who inhabit the world Cameron’s ancestors were marooned on (I’m simplifying here; go with me!). He has to not only translate the language, but the very concepts, of two species with very different points of view. And he has to do all this while surviving multiple attempts on his life, living alone surrounded by aliens, and cut off from his own people—but then, who are his own people? It’s a great story about a man who is human, but also admires the aliens who surround him, and has to constantly be on guard for the myriad of cultural assumptions they make about each other that could turn into deadly mistakes.