When my partner and I saw Space Opera in the library, we squealed in delight. We've heard so many sparkly, decadent things about this book, and it totally lived up to the hype.

The story's glitter-drenched veneer hides a rather bleak world. It's not fifteen minutes in the future, but definitely thirty years from now, if nothing changes. After hate's triumph, a roadrunner-like alien Escra beams into everyone's living room to announce their mandatory participation in an intergalactic Eurovision-esque contest. The prize: an official declaration of sentience, a welcome mat to the galactic community, and a slice of the galactic GDP. The stakes: if their performers come in dead last, humanity will be wiped out and Earth's resources will be pillaged. To everyone's bewilderment, local glampunk messiahs Decibel Jones and Oort St. Ultraviolet are chosen to perform to prove humanity's soul. While they flail in preparing for the contest, the readers are treated to Valente's imagination-stretching descriptions of past contests and alien races.

Valente's utter mastery and love of wordcraft are the book's greatest strengths. Her descriptions are vivid, hilarious tongue twisters that had my ribs aching and me often re-reading to make sure I fully absorbed them. The book's mantra of "Life is beautiful and life is stupid" blazes its truth across the pages. The characters are heartfelt and wonderful. The book does tend to wander, which I think may explain why people lose excitement in the middle bit, but whenever we returned to Decibel my slightly flagging attention was re-caught. I especially gathered strength from the message that sometimes, when things are terrible and there's nothing anyone can do anymore, ya just gotta make art.

I feel like I can't properly describe the book, with all its outer space queer dandy panache. I haven't read a Catherynne Valente book before, but my partner assures me that Space Opera is a very Valente book(TM), with excellent David Bowie/Hitchhiker's Guide flair. If you like science fiction at all, and especially if like queer brown glamrock, rocket Space Opera to the top of your TBR.