watervole | Military SF

I like John Scalzi's Old Man's War, The Sagan Diaries, and The Ghost Brigades. I haven't got a copy of The Last Colony yet but I'm looking forward to it.

I've been wondering about whether to get "Old Man's War" -- it did look interesting.

Armor by John Steakley is another one I enjoyed.

The Man Kzin Wars series of short story collections is a bit of a guilty pleasure. The quality varies a lot because they're written by many different authors.

Joe Haldeman is the one I always think of

Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series by far and above all the rest, because she has a mix of what I might call "military problem solving" and character-insightful stuff and humour.

David Weber comes next, with his Honor Harrington series; he manages to make the military stuff accessible by making it reasonably character-oriented.

Elizabeth Moon, "Vatta's War" series -- though I must admit I was frustrated by that series simply because it started off as trading-SF (in the first book) and then changed over into military-SF for the others, and I like trading-SF more than military-SF as a rule.

Steve Perry "The Man Who Never Missed"; I didn't like the rest of that series as much, but I very much liked this one as a standalone story. This one was small-scale military -- guerilla warfare rather than large-scale engagements.

There have been a few others that I've read and considered okay, but the above are my favourites.

I'll agree entirely with the first three - Bujold is probably my favourite author at the moment, and I have to be careful not to pick up Barrayar when tidying/dusting because I know I won't be able to put it down again without reading it.

Dave Freer's Rats, Bats and Vats has an excellent cast of very strange characters, including the rats and bats.

Eric Flint manages to do military SF in the ancient world in his Belisarius series.

Johnny Ringo's Posleen series is an excellent near-future set.

I'll chime in again on the first 3, and following investigations sparked by the above have found that Rats, Bats & Vats is available for download from the Baen free library if you can read on a computer or handheld (I plan to use my Palm Pilot). Eric Flint and Johnny Ringo may also be in there but I didn't look.

They are indeed. I read them all on my Palm as well - it's it wonderful to be able to carry half a dozen books in your handbag/pocket? :)

I adore it for the big stories like this - I wish more companies followed the Baen model. Actually I adore it for short slash stories too :-) When my last Palm died, replacing it was a high priority and I can't imagine that changing any time soon.

I'm actually blanking, mostly. Although I recently read Karen Traviss's Star Wars tie-ins, and found them to be very enjoyable.

Huh. I've tried some military SF and usually put it down again, not liking the writing.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan novels. Particularly The Warrior's Apprentice and Brothers in Arms.

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game.

I've tried some military SF and usually put it down again, not liking the writing.

Yeah, like Hard SF, military SF tends to fall down in the characterisation department. And the writing style is often stodgy.

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game.

Funny, I'm not used to thinking of "Ender's Game" as military SF, probably because the series as a whole isn't military SF, just the first book.

"Stodgy," yes, exactly! :-)

Funny, I'm not used to thinking of "Ender's Game" as military SF

I'm not either, but it really is very military, and I only just realized that myself.

Oh! Another one,

watervole: Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, since I definitely count alt-historical novels as scifi.

I don't consider Temeraire to be SF, since, even though it's alt-historical, it's alt-historical fantasy, so I'd call it Military Fantasy more than Military SF.

I'm not really a mil-SF person, but I did enjoy Old Man's War - not particularly deep and thoughtful, and relies a little too much on coincidence, but a good fun read.

Elizabeth Moon, especially The Deed Of Paksenarrion (which, admittedly, is really military fantasy rather than military SF).

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series (I have only read the first but am looking forward to reading the others).

I haven't read any Bujold (which will amuse anyone who knows my non-LJ identity) but am told she's good.

David Feintuch's Midshipman's Hope and sequels. (Not as good as many of the others I note here.)

Haldeman, yes; The Forever War, obviously, and there are others whose titles I am momentarily blanking on.

Anne McCaffrey and collaborators (e.g. Elizabeth Moon, see above): Sassinak etc.

I'm absolutely certain I have more; this is a sub-genre I enjoy, mostly because of Moon's work. If I think of more I'll post them...

Lois McMaster Bujold's 'Miles Vorkosigan' sequence and Karen Traviss' 'Wess'har Wars' novels both feature, from my experience, very realistic military characters (i.e. not stereotyped heroes or monsters). Traviss' 'Republic Commando' books are also very good, and I particularly enjoy shoving them under the noses of people who are dismissive of all tie-in fiction. Yes, they're Star Wars books, but they are extremely good.

I was rather disappointed by Scalzi's Old Man's War; the central concept was good, but the writing and plotting was very stereotyped and lazy.

If we move beyond the written word, the new Battlestar Galactica is absolutely superb military sf, far better in fact than most books of that ilk.

David Weber - the Honor Harrington series but also Path of the Fury.

You'll never believe it, but I don't read that much military SF.

Still, I'll nominate Niven & Pournelle's The Mote In God's Eye as just about qualifying.

And Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - yes it bloody is SF, even if he won't admit it.

Heinlein, Karen Traviss....more if I think of any.

Haldeman as well, and Ender's Game.

The only ones I can think of immediately where the voices sound authentically military are Traviss (though the later books are not as good as the early ones) and Haldeman. Oh, and I shall be crucified for this, but I still like Starship Troopers. Not to mention the uninflated Dorsai! volumes, particularly Dorsai! itself. Much as I love Bujold, I am never convinced by the military details, and I'm afraid I have no time for SF that is just about the military. (I did like Old Man's War, though, but tend to think of it as part of my massive space opera read of recent years.)

The Honor Harrington books by Davis Weber - excellent characterisation but also reasonable convincing battle stuff (None of the star-trek 'fire phasers now' stuff) & it's seems, to none miltary me, convincing military thinking.

I love the Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan books; they are not all military SF but some of the stuff is, esp the first two before Miles comes along.

Some of the David Duncan 'sword' stuff is enjoyable, although not in the same class as the others, it's more fantasy military than Sf military but it's def. military.

Military SF authors: Harry Turtledove, David Drake, S M Stirling, David Weber, Eric Flint, Lois McMaster Bujold, Joe Haldeman, Gordon R Dickson, Orson Scott Card, Karen Traviss, - will add more if I think of them.

If we put these in a merit order I'd start with Haldeman and Bujold, then Stirling and Weber, then everybody else :)

My favourites:
Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
C. J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station
David Drake, Hammer's Slammers
Gordon R. Dickson, The Tactics of Mistake
Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Bujold, Vorkosigan books; Dickson's Dorsai; Heinlein, Starship Troopers; Tanya Huff, Valor's Choice/The Better Part of Valor; Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry etc; Haldeman, Forever War. This is spread over many years (and I have read others which I did not like): it's not my favourite sub-genre by a long way. The marquis is a much keener reader of such things, and rates Turtledove very highly. Also Glen Cook, who is probably military fantasy. He is down on David Drake though ('just a Hornblower clone') and thought the Temeraire books were lightweight.

Can I say that I agree with the Marquis about the Temeraire books. They are lightweight, and not well thought out, either. (I still can't take the dragon-carrier sailing ships where the dragon climbs out of the sea and on board at the prow end and doesn't sink the thing....)

A lot of what I've read has already been mentioned, however here are a couple more.

David Drake's 'Hammer's Slammers' series tend (well in the ones I've read) to be more character driven than the set battles. Also his 'General' series

Fred Saberhagen's Beserker series - though since several authors have played there it's difficult to have an overview - though the stories tend more towards the 'Boy's Own' style than deep characterisation - maybe I'm doing the books an injustice and it's not my style (very much my reaction to Ringo's Posleen wars saga, though I like his 'March to......' series done in collaboration with David Weber and 'Through the Looking Glass' is much easier to suspend disbelief than the Posleen universe tales).

What surprised me is that so far no one has mentioned the Bolos, Keith Laumer's creation, which again several authors have written about including D Weber

I'm not that fond of military SF in general, but I recommend for Lois McMaster Bujold, and Elizabeth Moon. Elizabeth Moon is an ex-Marine, fwiw. I've not read the Vatta's War books by her, mentioned above, but I have read the Serrano Legacy books, and thoroughly enjoyed the first six. (I think it should have been wound up there.) The first three feature Herris Serrano as the hero, and the second three feature another character called Esmay Suiza, so you can read them as two trilogies.

Off the top of my head

Almost anything by or involving Steve (SM) Stirling is worth a look.
Keith Laumer's Bolos series
A lot of Raymond Feist's work (whilst fantasy) involves large scale battles.
Anne McCaffery/SM Stirling - The City who Fought
Poul Anderson's Flandry series
Jim White's Sector General series - particularly "Major Operation"
Heinlein Starship Troopers and Space Cadet
Harry Harrison Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues.
Niven/Pournelle Mote series

Alastair

Military SF

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