Hands-Down Best Military SF?

[WillAdams]

Yes, Armor is a good stand-alone read.

It always felt to me that _Starship Troopers_ was oriented towards the WWII/Korean War generation, while _Armor_ was directed towards Vietnam-era sensibilities and issues.

This may be influenced by my having read _Armor_ before _Starship Troopers_.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Yes, Armor is a good stand-alone read.

It always felt to me that _Starship Troopers_ was oriented towards the WWII/Korean War generation, while _Armor_ was directed towards Vietnam-era sensibilities and issues.

This may be influenced by my having read _Armor_ before _Starship Troopers_.

I think that there is a disconnect between what is actually happening on the ground and what high command perceives in Armor that reaches World War One levels. Or maybe even the Spanish American War. Add to that the awareness of but poor treatment of Combat Fatigue we saw during the long war in Vietnam and throw in a few outright corrupt officers which one finds sprinkled through every war ever fought. So it is a conglomeration of awful leadership from the past.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by ApK

I read the first Posleen War book (at least I think we're talking about 'A Hymn Before Battle', right?) recently and liked it, but it seemed so much in the style of 'Starship Troopers' that it felt derivative.
I was not compelled to continue with the series.

I think I may just be burned out on series in general. Or is it serieses? Seri?

I'm finishing the Prince Roger series, because it's only four books and by the time I made up my mind if I liked it or not, I was half way through it....

Is "Armor" a good stand-alone read?

ApK

You might like Empire of Man book 4 , We Few, a bit more; it's a more modern type of warfare.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Phogg

redacted

Hmm. Did you just spoil it for us?

[Apache]

Armor is not a series it is a stand alone read and it is an excellent read.
I did not like the way John Ringo ended the Posleen Series. It felt like he just decided not to do it any more and ended it abruptly.
Apache

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

There isn't one book or series that nails everything about the genre for me. I agree with the choices above. I'd add Scalzi's "Old Man's War" series for its life extension and cultural isolation-over-time themes. Iain Banks' Cuture series has perhaps too much whimsy but his takes on combat, both space-based and virtual reality, are awesome.

The first book in the Culture series (Consider Phlebos) was a mess. It got bogged down by a lot of nonsense. And the card game scene went on way way too long. Overall, it was a real disappointment. So much so, that I cannot recommend the series at all because the first book is awful. There are too many series out there where the first book is good to bother with a series where the first book isn't good. I read it for a book club and overall, we didn't like it.

[DrNefario]

Luckily I started with the second one, which is still my favourite. (And it's not really a series in that sense - the books mostly stand alone.) I wouldn't have classified any of them as military SF, though. Not even Use of Weapons.

[shootingMaNs]

Keith Laumer's "The Compleat Bolo" has been one of my all time favorites. Artificially intelligent tanks that kick ass. I always keep a copy on my e-reader.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by shootingMaNs

Keith Laumer's "The Compleat Bolo" has been one of my all time favorites. Artificially intelligent tanks that kick ass. I always keep a copy on my e-reader.

Oh man, BOLO was one of my favorite Apple II games!

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by ApK

Hmm. Did you just spoil it for us?

Point.

[shootingMaNs]

Originally Posted by ApK

Oh man, BOLO was one of my favorite Apple II games!

I never knew there was a game. I always liked Battlezone on my Atari.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Apache

Armor is not a series it is a stand alone read and it is an excellent read.
I did not like the way John Ringo ended the Posleen Series. It felt like he just decided not to do it any more and ended it abruptly.
Apache

Do you mean the main storyline, i.e. that ended with Hell's Faire? if so, then yes, I agree.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Do you mean the main storyline, i.e. that ended with Hell's Faire? if so, then yes, I agree.

Yes, I was referring to the mainline story.
Apache

[Xanthe]

David Weber/John Ringo - Empire of Man series
John Scalzi - Old Man's War series
Tanya Huff - Confederation series
Jean Johnson - Theirs Not To Reason Why series