A glossary of terms useful in understanding the Space Western genre and Space Western adjacent works.
Bat Durston
A Western transposed into outer-space. Specifically a story that went to lengths to hide the Western origins. Derived from the name of the main character appearing in the Galaxy Magazine back covers.
Space Opera
Space Opera is to Science Fiction what Horse Opera is to Westerns. Coined in 1941 by Bob Tucker in his fanzine Le Zombie to mean a “hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn space-ship yarn.”