Space warfare is a main theme and central setting of science fiction that can trace its roots back to classical times, and to the "future war" novels of the 19th century. With the modern age, directly with franchises as Star Wars and Star Trek, it is considered one of the most popular general sub-genres and themes of science fiction. An interplanetary, or more often an interstellar or intergalactic war, has become a staple plot device. Space warfare has a predominant role, it is a central theme and at the same time it is considered parent, overlapping genre of space opera and space Western.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Space warfare in science fiction
- Space warfare in science fiction in the context of Space opera
Space warfare in science fiction in the context of Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes outer space adventures set in a universe in which faster-than-light travel has become common. The plots often play out against a backdrop of space warfare, alien civilizations and galactic empires. The sub-genre is sometimes thought of as a futuristic homage to earlier adventure sagas, such as those found in mythology and chivalric romance.
The term does not refer to opera music, but instead originally referred to the melodrama, scope, and formulaic stories of operas, much as used in "soap opera", a melodramatic domestic drama, and "horse opera", a 1930s phrase for a clichéd and formulaic Western film. Prototypes of space opera emerged in the early twentieth century, and the genre today enjoys great popularity in literature, film, comics, television, video games and board games.
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