The Science Fiction of going places

English: Rocket ship mod Español: Rocket ship mod (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just a quick observation on (space opera) science fiction these days. For so many of us, if the science fiction takes place extraterrestrially, then it must be outside our solar system. But in recent years I’m seeing a lot more science fiction that takes place entirely within the confines of our solar system, and yet still successfully makes the mark as a space opera. Not the first example of this, sure, but Leviathan Wakes comes to mind as the first book that made me aware of this subgenre. I know its been around a lot longer – if I stop to think of it, books by Ben Bova and others come to mind with some effort – but why is it that we so often ignore our own backyard in operatic science fiction? Why do we have to go to places so far away to have a little adventure?

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