Space Operae is the independent publication (and elaboration) of a story previously published in two novellas in the Space Eldritch and Space Eldritch II: The Haunted Stars anthologies.  Set among those other tales of Lovecraftian space opera, the two Space Opera “episodes” shone as learned and off-kilter gems — here, they positively blaze.

Michael Collings is a master in full possession of his craft, which drills down to the nuances of controlled vocabulary choice, poetic punctuation and capitalization, and neologism to beautifully and creepily convey an alien point of view.  Embedded deep within this disturbingly sweet confection are surprising candied tidbits that wittily reach across the cold depths of space to tweak the noses of some of the great classics of science fiction without every disturbing the story’s mood.  From start to finish, the text is a master class and a virtuoso performance enjoyable in many dimensions simultaneously.

This is a first contact tale, and there are humans in it.  The first great twist to the story is that it is not told from the humans’ point of view.  The second great twist is that, even before the hiveminded and insectoid aliens arrive, the humans are not alone…

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