Space Oddity

By: Catherynne M. Valente

Narrated by: Heath Miller

Return to the greatest contest in the galaxy in this “beguiling, bewitching” (Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of the October Daye series) sequel to the hilarious USA TODAY bestseller Space Opera from New York Times bestselling author and finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Ursula K. Le Guin awards, Catherynne M. Valente.

The Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past returns and the fate of the Earth is once again threatened. The civilizations opposed to the humanity have been plotting and want to take down the upstarts. Can humanity rise again?

Critic reviews

"Heath Miller returns as narrator for this sequel to SPACE OPERA. The heroes of this audiobook have saved Earth from destruction because they didn’t finish in last place in the Metagalactic Grand Prix. Now it’s time for another song contest, and they’re trying to help some aliens figure out what they need to do. This is a story that begs to be read aloud, and Miller’s sardonic tone is perfect for its quirky humor. In a stream of consciousness reminiscent of Douglas Adams’s HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, Miller is adept at helping listeners keep track of each main thought. Seemingly having great fun, he crafts personalities for the many characters who are as colorful as their names."

An incredible ride with exceptional detail and storytelling!

Oh my God. This is a warped, sardonic rock opera that embraces the rockstar lifestyle exquisitely while walking hand in hand with everything that is good and great about sci-fi! I am in awe of the world building! The tone, the characters, the vision --literally everything that we were given in the first Space Oddity levels up! It's just soo good! It won't be everyone's cup of tea but if you like dark humor and chaos it will be your infinity cup!

So good!

I really liked this book and laughed out loud multiple people times. I will always recommend her books.

More galactic level Eurovision

Catherynne M Valente’s Space Oddity is the sequel to her wildly successful Space Opera. Humanity has been contacted by alien intelligence and learns that there are a plethora of intelligent races that manage to co-exist peacefully. In the first book, humanity had to earn their right to join by competing in a galaxy-wide version of Eurovision and not coming in last. Humanity survived, but now the contest is coming around again and there are alien races gunning for Earth. At the same time, the origins of the contest are provided.

Valente’s first installment was a breath of fresh air in the sci-fi genre with a thoroughly entertaining parody of Eurovision, but with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. The idea of a washed-up glam rocker saving the Earth in a the most entertaining and humorous way was sheer joy. Unfortunately, this sequel attempts to follow the same format and at this point, results are less than satisfactory.

The narration is as good as the original with excellent character distinction, along with timing necessary for the jokes.

Mind bending characters and worlds

Heath Miller did an outstanding job of giving voice to this story and to all the characters within it. Cathrynne Valente’s books are fundamentally about Love and this one is no exception. This is a world I wish truly existed because I would love to meet these aliens and hear Des sing.
Absolutely buy this book.

world is fun; plot left in the dust

compared to the first title, very little seems to happen. while the unkillable rules are delightful enough for their own story, things just "happen". this book is way too "the cricket wars" to be enjoyable as a print book. Aliens are made absurd simply to make them different, where by virtue of extraterrestrial life they are different in every way. no need for more weird just because. the voice actor gives the performance of a lifetime, however. very few high caliber sci Fi books have a performance of this level. engaging voices, voices well imagined from the descriptions of the author.