Dear Catherynne M. Valente & Space Opera,

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.

Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for Galactivision—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.

This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing.

A band of human musicians, dancers, and roadies have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock. [/quote]

Here are my reasons why I want to read this book:

• Catherynne M. Valente is a genius. I can never say no to Catherynne M. Valente’s work at all. I love it all—at least, the works I have read. Catherynne has a great command of language. Her writing never fails to stun me, and Space Opera will be no different.

• It’s a goddamn space opera! I’ll read just about any book that’s set in space. (I’m a sucker for space opera-stuff.) I fell in love with Catherynne’s other book, Radiance, which is also set in space, so y’know, I know I’ll love this a lot, especially because it’s Catherynne’s writing.

• It’s heavily inspired by Eurovision. Just imagine a world—or Space—where different species have to duke it out in a universe musical contest. THEY SING TO WIN. That’s a strange way to solve problems, but also, oh my god, it sure is exciting.

• We get to meet different species and learn about this new world that we could never imagine. I can’t wait to see all the different characters we get to meet. How do these creatures look like? What happened during the Sentience Wars? What caused it? Why do we have this Galactivision content? Why does this sound so awesome?

Sincerely,