Reply #7: I've mostly read the older classics

[nuxvomica]

Verne, Wells, Bradbury, Herbert, Asimov... In fact, the writing style of my novel is heavily influenced by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But I read those long ago and haven't read much sci-fi since. I am desperate to have someone hurt my feelings because I suspect I like the novel too much. I want to get a level head about this so that I can lose some of my impatience. The reason I noted that it's not "space opera" is that I think a lot of people assume there are those elements when you say sci-fi.