12 Greatest Science Fiction War Stories

carld · 09-10-2012, 02:08 PM

Interesting list over at io9. I might quibble with order, and I'd have included Battlefield Earth as well, but over all good choices.

alanHd · 09-10-2012, 02:34 PM

Thanks for that, a few are already on my TBR list, others i have added. I too would have included Battlefield Earth.

Namekuseijin · 09-10-2012, 02:44 PM

"We asked on our Facebook page what your favorite science fiction war stories"

and then the large unwashed masses threw up a bunch of movies and space operas

JSWolf · 09-10-2012, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

Interesting list over at io9. I might quibble with order, and I'd have included Battlefield Earth as well, but over all good choices.

The title said great, not "So bad, you wish you had the part of your life you wasted reading Battlefield Earth back".

Also, NuBSG just doesn't belong there. It was awful. Babylon 5 belongs there instead. B5 just had so much going for it on so many levels and it was original. Not a poor imitation of an original classic.

xg4bx · 09-10-2012, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The title said great, not "So bad, you wish you had the part of your life you wasted reading Battlefield Earth back".

Also, NuBSG just doesn't belong there. It was awful. Babylon 5 belongs there instead. B5 just had so much going for it on so many levels and it was original. Not a poor imitation of an original classic.

Babylon 5 was great. I didn't even make it through 1 season of BSG, it was dullsville. But B5 had the war with the shadows, a revolution on earth, etc. There was just so much going on in a show that only lasted 5 seasons by the skin of its teeth.

JSWolf · 09-10-2012, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xg4bx

Babylon 5 was great. I didn't even make it through 1 season of BSG, it was dullsville. But B5 had the war with the shadows, a revolution on earth, etc. There was just so much going on in a show that only lasted 5 seasons by the skin of its teeth.

And the graphics for B5 were done on Amigas with NuTek Video Toasters. Very revolutionary for the the time.

Penforhire · 09-10-2012, 04:11 PM

I don't consider B5 to be a "war story" despite the light vs. dark (really order vs. chaos) backdrop. I do like most of the rest of the picks but there are other worthies. Like Hammer's Slammers or Bolo.

carld · 09-10-2012, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The title said great, not "So bad, you wish you had the part of your life you wasted reading Battlefield Earth back".

Yeah well, everyone has opinions, and other things. I thought the book was entertaining, not because it was original, but because it included just about every well worn SF trope in one story.

fjtorres · 09-10-2012, 07:27 PM

I saw one review of BFE that suggested every aspiring author should read it and study it and swear *never* to write anything like it.

(Or was it Heinlein's Number of the Beast?)

JSWolf · 09-10-2012, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I saw one review of BFE that suggested every aspiring author should read it and study it and swear *never* to write anything like it.

(Or was it Heinlein's Number of the Beast?)

It would have been Battlefield Earth. I read it and found it to awful and that's on a good day. It's worse then a pile of flaming poo with a dead skunk next to it.

Apache · 09-10-2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It would have been Battlefield Earth. I read it and found it to awful and that's on a good day. It's worse then a pile of flaming poo with a dead skunk next to it.

So true.
Apache

fjtorres · 09-10-2012, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It would have been Battlefield Earth. I read it and found it to awful and that's on a good day. It's worse then a pile of flaming poo with a dead skunk next to it.

I avoided BFE because of the reviews and the writer's real world rep.
But Number of the Beast I read. (Bleaarrgg!)
Last Heinlein book I bought for a decade. Meandering, bloated, and self-indulgent. Low-point of an otherwise excellent career.

jgaiser · 09-10-2012, 10:02 PM

I love Firefly, but a war story? Wouldn't be on my list.

The rest pretty much hit all the sweet spots. Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Star Wars, Armor, Old Man's War. All sound good to me.

jatkin · 09-10-2012, 10:04 PM

Ender's Game is one of the best for sure,glad to see it on the list. It will be interesting to see how the story works as a movie (I believe it's in post production right now)

jgaiser · 09-10-2012, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Last Heinlein book I bought for a decade. Meandering, bloated, and self-indulgent. Low-point of an otherwise excellent career.

Heinlein lost me with "Stranger in a Strange Land". Still love his early work, but haven't read anything newer.

09-10-2012, 02:08 PM	#1
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	12 Greatest Science Fiction War Stories Interesting list over at io9. I might quibble with order, and I'd have included Battlefield Earth as well, but over all good choices.

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09-10-2012, 02:34 PM	#2
alanHd Addict Posts: 374 Karma: 1408579 Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle Touch, Ipod Touch, Ipad Air	Thanks for that, a few are already on my TBR list, others i have added. I too would have included Battlefield Earth.

09-10-2012, 02:44 PM	#3
Namekuseijin affordable chipmunk Posts: 1,290 Karma: 9863855 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Brazil Device: Sony XPeria ZL, Kindle Paperwhite	"We asked on our Facebook page what your favorite science fiction war stories" and then the large unwashed masses threw up a bunch of movies and space operas

09-10-2012, 04:11 PM	#7
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	I don't consider B5 to be a "war story" despite the light vs. dark (really order vs. chaos) backdrop. I do like most of the rest of the picks but there are other worthies. Like Hammer's Slammers or Bolo.

09-10-2012, 07:27 PM	#9
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	I saw one review of BFE that suggested every aspiring author should read it and study it and swear never to write anything like it. (Or was it Heinlein's Number of the Beast?)

09-10-2012, 10:02 PM	#13
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I love Firefly, but a war story? Wouldn't be on my list. The rest pretty much hit all the sweet spots. Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Star Wars, Armor, Old Man's War. All sound good to me.

09-10-2012, 10:04 PM	#14
jatkin Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 499022 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: kindle	Ender's Game is one of the best for sure,glad to see it on the list. It will be interesting to see how the story works as a movie (I believe it's in post production right now)

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