Military Sci-fi

Waylander · 10-08-2015, 06:26 PM

Looking for Military Sci-fi recommendations. Reading John Ringo and enjoying him. Got David Drake's Hammer's Slammers omnibuses. Read T.C. McCarthy's Subterrene War. Read Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill etc. Heard of David Weber's Honorverse books, and am probably going to give them a go. Love Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series, read first three books. Any other ideas?

artifact · 10-08-2015, 07:32 PM

I am a Space Opera fan so these might not be MilSF enough:

*Jean Johnson's Theirs is not to Reason Why series is Mil heavy. The story is based around a precog who is combating the end of the universe so it may annoy genre purists. Starts with A Soldier's Duty.

* Mike Shepherd/Moscoe's Kris Longknife is a a Space Opera/MilSciFi fence sitter. The earlier books being far more Mil and the latest more Opera. Mutineer is first.

There is another about a female space marine that is slipping my mind at the moment -- I thought it was Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon but that isn't it. Maybe someone else will remember. This series has some high pheromone humanoid aliens in it that could cross the romance scene ick factor for some readers. (Vatta's War is more pure Space Opera IIRC.)

Edit: Found it, Confederation by Tanya Huff starting with Valor's Choice. A new series/book in the setting just came out.

mgbino · 10-08-2015, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artifact

I am a Space Opera fan so these might not be MilSF enough:

*Jean Johnson's Theirs is not to Reason Why series is Mil heavy. The story is based around a precog who is combating the end of the universe so it may annoy genre purists. Starts with A Soldier's Duty.

* Mike Shepherd/Moscoe's Kris Longknife is a a Space Opera/MilSciFi fence sitter. The earlier books being far more Mil and the latest more Opera. Mutineer is first.

There is another about a female space marine that is slipping my mind at the moment -- I thought it was Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon but that isn't it. Maybe someone else will remember. This series has some high pheromone humanoid aliens in it that could cross the romance scene ick factor for some readers. (Vatta's War is more pure Space Opera IIRC.)

Myke Cole's Psi Ops series gets a lot of buzz from non-mil sci fi fans. It's pretty awesome, like military meets x-men.
John Scalzi's Old Man's War series is very popular, but I can't comment on it because I haven't read it.
Jack McDevitt is good.
Walter Jon William's Dred Empire's Fall series is too good for words.
The Sten series by Alan Cole and Chris Bunch is one of my favorites.

I highly recommend checking out the publisher Baen. They basically specialize in military science fiction.

Apache · 10-08-2015, 08:14 PM

Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen Series.
Empire of Man Series by Ringo and Weber.
Jonathan P. Brazee's The United Federation Marine Corps Series.
Ark Royal series by Christopher Nuttall
Steel Walls and Dirt Drops by Alan Black
The Black Fleet Trilogy by Joshua Dalzelle
Apache

Waylander · 10-09-2015, 01:18 AM

Thanks for the recommendations, they look really good. I've looked at Baen and the Baen authors mentioned are the only ones I'm really interested in. Anymore ideas?

DrNefario · 10-09-2015, 05:12 AM

I've been reading the Frontlines series by Marko Kloos lately, and have enjoyed it a lot. The first is Terms of Enlistment and was probably my favourite. Published by 47North, aka Amazon, which means I've read the whole lot from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as part of my Prime sub.

I also enjoyed The Red by Linda Nagata earlier in the year.

darryl · 10-09-2015, 05:36 AM

Baen has a lot of military SF. Sounds like you would enjoy Tom Kratman's books. The following quote is from the authors own page, tomkratman.com.

"Tom Kratman's A Desert Called Peace is practically the platonic ideal of epic Jacksonian war-porn. The printing process involves soaking the books in testosterone. It is so beautifully, terribly and gloriously Jacksonian, in fact, that merely reading the book carries the risk of pregnancy for unprotected women and metrosexuals."

Waylander · 10-09-2015, 07:28 AM

I can't stand Tom Kratman's writing. I hear that Baen authors aren't really edited, except for copyediting. Man, he needed a good editor with a vicious red pen to reduce the size of each book by half. If that had happened, his Carrera books would be a lot better.

mgbino · 10-09-2015, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waylander

I can't stand Tom Kratman's writing. I hear that Baen authors aren't really edited, except for copyediting. Man, he needed a good editor with a vicious red pen to reduce the size of each book by half. If that had happened, his Carrera books would be a lot better.

Well you can go ahead and strike David Weber off your list then. I like Weber, but that man needs an editor to reign him in.

DrNefario · 10-09-2015, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgbino

Well you can go ahead and strike David Weber off your list then. I like Weber, but that man needs an editor to reign him in.

The first handful of Honor Harrington books aren't too bad, but there's some serious sprawl later on.

mewmartigan · 10-09-2015, 09:00 AM

I would second the Empire of Man series from Weber and Ringo. 4 books series, good military scifi.

ApK · 10-09-2015, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgbino

Well you can go ahead and strike David Weber off your list then. I like Weber, but that man needs an editor to reign him in.

If you've ever read a starship battle scene and thought to yourself "Gee, I wonder how the designer of that missile calculated the correct specific impulse for it's engine, and was it really worth the investment considering how many ships in the enemy fleet it's effective against? I'd sure loved to have been a fly on the wall at that budget meeting!" then you'll love David Weber's Honorverse books!
Especially the unabridged audiobooks. Nothing like listening to someone read tables of line of battle stats to keep you awake on a long drive!

Would we be remiss not to mention the daddy of MilSF*, Heinlein's "Starship Troopers?"

And my personal favorite is LMB's Vorkosigan saga. Not all the books are MilSF, but some are, and if those aren't enough to get you hooked on the rest of the series, something is wrong with you!

ApK

*MilSF looks dirty. I keep wondering if the "S" stands for "Slowly." Nudge nudge wink wink.

mgbino · 10-09-2015, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

If you've ever read a starship battle scene and thought to yourself "Gee, I wonder how the designer of that missile calculated the correct specific impulse for it's engine, and was it really worth the investment considering how many ships in the enemy fleet it's effective against? I'd sure loved to have been a fly on the wall at that budget meeting!" then you'll love David Weber's Honorverse books!
Especially the unabridged audiobooks. Nothing like listening to someone read tables of line of battle stats to keep you awake on a long drive!

Would we be remiss not to mention the daddy of MilSF*, Heinlein's "Starship Troopers?"

And my personal favorite is LMB's Vorkosigan saga. Not all the books are MilSF, but some are, and if those aren't enough to get you hooked on the rest of the series, something is wrong with you!

ApK

*MilSF looks dirty. I keep wondering if the "S" stands for "Slowly." Nudge nudge wink wink.

Yep, that's a solid description of a David Weber battle scene.

Also, I second the Vorkosigan saga. It's not really MilSF (some of it is) but it's amazing.

GeoffR · 10-09-2015, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgbino

Walter Jon William's Dred Empire's Fall series is too good for words.

Are these available as ebooks anywhere? I can only find the short story Investments.

mgbino · 10-09-2015, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Are these available as ebooks anywhere? I can only find the short story Investments.

I bought the e-books from Amazon.com, so they are available in the USA at least. I'm not sure about elsewhere.

10-08-2015, 06:26 PM	#1
Waylander Fanatic Posts: 594 Karma: 2905052 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 5 SE, Onyx Boox Poke 3	Military Sci-fi Looking for Military Sci-fi recommendations. Reading John Ringo and enjoying him. Got David Drake's Hammer's Slammers omnibuses. Read T.C. McCarthy's Subterrene War. Read Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill etc. Heard of David Weber's Honorverse books, and am probably going to give them a go. Love Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series, read first three books. Any other ideas?

10-08-2015, 07:32 PM	#2
artifact Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3569616 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: jetBook (RIP), Kobo Touch	I am a Space Opera fan so these might not be MilSF enough: Jean Johnson's Theirs is not to Reason Why series is Mil heavy. The story is based around a precog who is combating the end of the universe so it may annoy genre purists. Starts with A Soldier's Duty. Mike Shepherd/Moscoe's Kris Longknife is a a Space Opera/MilSciFi fence sitter. The earlier books being far more Mil and the latest more Opera. Mutineer is first. There is another about a female space marine that is slipping my mind at the moment -- I thought it was Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon but that isn't it. Maybe someone else will remember. This series has some high pheromone humanoid aliens in it that could cross the romance scene ick factor for some readers. (Vatta's War is more pure Space Opera IIRC.) Edit: Found it, Confederation by Tanya Huff starting with Valor's Choice. A new series/book in the setting just came out. Last edited by artifact; 10-08-2015 at 08:06 PM.

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10-08-2015, 08:14 PM	#4
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,137 Karma: 89858112 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen Series. Empire of Man Series by Ringo and Weber. Jonathan P. Brazee's The United Federation Marine Corps Series. Ark Royal series by Christopher Nuttall Steel Walls and Dirt Drops by Alan Black The Black Fleet Trilogy by Joshua Dalzelle Apache

10-09-2015, 01:18 AM	#5
Waylander Fanatic Posts: 594 Karma: 2905052 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 5 SE, Onyx Boox Poke 3	Thanks for the recommendations, they look really good. I've looked at Baen and the Baen authors mentioned are the only ones I'm really interested in. Anymore ideas?

10-09-2015, 05:12 AM	#6
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,099 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I've been reading the Frontlines series by Marko Kloos lately, and have enjoyed it a lot. The first is Terms of Enlistment and was probably my favourite. Published by 47North, aka Amazon, which means I've read the whole lot from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as part of my Prime sub. I also enjoyed The Red by Linda Nagata earlier in the year.

10-09-2015, 05:36 AM	#7
darryl Wizard Posts: 3,108 Karma: 60231510 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7	Baen has a lot of military SF. Sounds like you would enjoy Tom Kratman's books. The following quote is from the authors own page, tomkratman.com. "Tom Kratman's A Desert Called Peace is practically the platonic ideal of epic Jacksonian war-porn. The printing process involves soaking the books in testosterone. It is so beautifully, terribly and gloriously Jacksonian, in fact, that merely reading the book carries the risk of pregnancy for unprotected women and metrosexuals."

10-09-2015, 07:28 AM	#8
Waylander Fanatic Posts: 594 Karma: 2905052 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 5 SE, Onyx Boox Poke 3	I can't stand Tom Kratman's writing. I hear that Baen authors aren't really edited, except for copyediting. Man, he needed a good editor with a vicious red pen to reduce the size of each book by half. If that had happened, his Carrera books would be a lot better.

10-09-2015, 09:00 AM	#11
mewmartigan Guru Posts: 852 Karma: 8242060 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Kindle Oasis (2019)	I would second the Empire of Man series from Weber and Ringo. 4 books series, good military scifi.

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