Science Fiction Aficionados discussion

Sound off with Author names and at least one title of MilSciFi. Purpose is to compile a roster of authors. We can scan it and maybe find someone new. Might divide it into ranks; i.e. Privates/Corporals=21st century, Sgts=1980-2000, Generals=Golden Age (R.A.H) or by # of titles published. Anyway, lets get some names.

Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers

Jack Campbell: THe Lost Fleet!

L. E. Modesitt jr: The Parafaith War

A Galaxy Unknownby Thomas DiPrima.

Zahn Timothyby Conquerors' Pride

John Scalzi: Old Man's War? (i think - it's on my TBR list, so i don't really know for sure)

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game and the rest of the Ender Wiggins saga.

E.E. "Doc" Smith - First Lensman and the Galactic Patrol series.

Gordon R. Dickson - Dorsai!.
Militaristic at least.

James W. Kunetka - Warday

Mike Mars series Mike Mars Flies the X-15 - Donald A. Wollheim.
There is an entire series of these borderline promotional for the US Space industry books.

L. Ron Hubbard. Yup, the Scientology king wrote 'lots' of SciFi and much was military related.

C.J. Cherryh - The Faded Sun Trilogy

Mordecai Roshwald - Level 7

i would say that Ender's Game only sorta counts as military scifi, tangentially (there is no "grunt's eye-view" of warfare)...but i really don't see how the rest of that saga would qualify. it seems like straightforward science fiction to me, with elements of space opera and planetary romance.

mark wrote: "i would say that Ender's Game only sorta counts as military scifi, tangentially (there is no "grunt's eye-view" of warfare)...but i really don't see how the rest of that saga would qualify. it seem..."


The Battle School is a military academy. The soldiers are the children. Our modern warriors today have a growing contingent who fight their battles by remote control; either from their naval ships over the horizon, smart artillery specialists who shoot targets they can't see but are illuminated by spotters, or now those who fly UAV's from the other side of the Earth.

The extension to a distant galaxy doesn't seem any different. New era, new techniques of warfare.

I'd say that later parts of the saga where the ansible is discussed or is a greater element of the story is that 'worlds' (the Ender world if you will) version of a 'grunt's eye-view'.

Xenocide is all about warfare. Biological warfare and the destruction of entire species. Thinking species including possibly mankind could be wiped out. One option to win the war for humans is the destruction of an entire planet to 'save' that one group and bring to an end another. Mhmmm sounds and tastes like a pretty nasty form of war to me.

Richard Morgan: Altered Carbon, Steele Remains, Ghost Brigade, etc.

Lois Bujold: Miles Vorsigan series

good points, CD

Hey! I'm a Military Science Fiction author!

Infinity Squad by Shuvom Ghose



Since I'm so new, per the original post's rankings I guess I'd be whatever comes below privates. Wait, that came out wrong.

Anyway, hope you enjoy my mil sci-fi book, I tried to make it a cross between Catch-22 and Starship Troopers, a little bit lighter than standard "War is Hell" stuff.

Thanks,
Shuvom

Shawn Kupfer, 47 Echo. A good little military sci-fi book.

The Ramal Extraction: Cutter's Wars
The Man Who Never Missed

Add Steve Perry to the list.

Keith wrote: "Joe Haldeman, The Forever War

Can't believe that hasn't been mentioned yet."
Darn, beat me to it! Great read.

Robert Buettner: The Orphan's Series. Start with Orphanage

David Feintuch series beginning with Midshipman's Hope (Seafort)

Michael R. Hicks, but I have trouble keeping the series straight.

Armorby John Steakley.

I loved Altered Carbon, but am not sure that it qualifies as Military Scifi.

Budd wrote: "I loved Altered Carbon, but am not sure that it qualifies as Military Scifi."

No, it doesn't. But Broken Angels does!

The Honor Harrington series by David Weber and the Hammers Slammers series by David Drake.

John wrote: No, it doesn't. But Broken Angels does!

"

I loved Altered Carbon so I should probably read Broken Angels.

Do some of Saberhagen's Berserker short stories count?

Not vouching for all the books in the series but - Jerry Pournelle's Falkenberg's Legion series and John Ringo's Legacy of Aldenata books - are MilSciFi.

Ranks of Bronze, by David Drake


Rally Cry, by William Forstchen



Flight of the Old Dog, by Dale Brown


and me- I have a mil scifi/fantasy series now;

I'll throw my hat in the ring as well.
Here is my military sci-fi novel that was released last fall. The first in a series:

http://www.amazon.com/Day-One-Sol-War...

John Scalzi's Old Man's War series

ATLAS by Isaac Hooke



:D

Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton

Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric S. Nylund

Legion of the Damned by William C. Dietz

Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson

Hammer's Slammers by David Drake

Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff

Lalonde's Spinward Fringe series.

Worth 2nd mention:
Starship Troopers
Armor
Forever War / Peace

Since this thread doesn't get much traffic....I will add something.

The KaliSun Initiative

By me :)

Written this year

Hopefully this isn't too much self-promotion.
My new military scifi novel, Gateway has been well reviewed and may be to your liking if you're a military scifi fan.
Gateway
You can learn more at www.briandorseybooks.com

I'll add:

Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd, beginning with Mutineer, and his prequel Jump Universe series, beginning with The First Casualty.

The Serrano Legacy series by Elizabeth Moon, beginning with Hunting Party.

Drakas series by S.M. Stirling, beginning with Marching Through Georgia.

Starship series by Mike Resnick, beginning with Starship: Mutiny.

Embedded by Dan Abnett.

Tour of the Merrimack series by R.M. Meluch, beginning with The Myriad.

The Planet Pirates series by Anne McCaffrey, beginning with Sassinak.

Phule's Company series by Robert Lynn Asprin.

Bolo series by various authors, starting with Keith Laumer.


Also, pretty much everything ever written by David Drake and David Weber.

Nice to find this thread, both for the recommendations and to add my own work to the mix. This Corner of the Universe is a five-book series following the story of Captain Garrett Heskan and the original crew of BRS Anelace, and four books are released so far. Here's the link to Book 1 and my author page:
This Corner of the Universe
Britt Ringel

Just discovered the thread. My own work is MilSciFi. My novel is, Gray Panthers: Battle for Earth. I am David Guenther
Although I was a USAF MSgt. I'm guessing my rank here will be Space Cadet. :-)

I'd say Redliners by David Drake is a fantastic one.

Desert Strike is pretty good, though the science is wonky.

The Fallen Race by Kal Spriggs has lots of exploding spaceships.

Oh, and I haven't read this one yet, but I keep meaning to: Space Carrier Avalon

Hello all,
Recruit Matthew Sylvester reporting for duty - Blaise Maximillian: Bitter Defeat
Blaise Maximillian: Emancipation

I'm getting good reviews which is nice. But poor sales. Which isn't :)

Welcome to the real world! As a life-time sales and marketing expert, let me tell you that 99% of all sales are due to a steady advertising/marketing program. 1% are the miraculous word-of-mouth successes. The latter are as likely as winning the Publisher's Clearing House $7000/wk for life lottery.

One mini-technique you might consider is having glossy business cards made up with the cover of your book on one side and a teaser pitch on the other. Hand them out to people when appropriate.

That's a good idea!

Elizabeth Moon both the Vatta's War and Herris Serrano series (starting with Trading in Danger and Hunting Party respectively) (Not only one of the few women who write mil sci-fi, but she actually was a marine)

I've noticed a few of the individual series mentioned, but the entirety of the Warhammer 40k Universe is worth a mention. Don't let the fact it's based on a game put you off. As with any large shared universe, the quality varies, but when it's good it's really really good. My favourite sub-series is Ciaphas Cain Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium but the already mentioned Hammer's Slammers is very popular too. Braino. Hammer's Slammers is awesome, but is not Warhammer 40k. I was (stupidly) mentally conflating them with Gaunt's Ghosts - that one starts with First and Only

Debra Doyle has the Mageworld series, which despite the name is definitely space opera (and I'd call it mil sci-fi). The Price of the Stars

Tanya Huff has the Valor Confederation (this is more of a grunt's eye view than high overview politics - Huff is also a veteran I believe) Valor's Choice

Brian wrote: "Hopefully this isn't too much self-promotion.
My new military scifi novel, Gateway has been well reviewed and may be to your liking if you're a military scifi fan.
Gateway
You ca..."

Another milific sci-fi is my "Staff Sergeant Belinda Watt."

mark wrote: "Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers"

I reread it recently (after seeing the movie) and found it this time it seems like an SS training film.

Here's a list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

My personal favorite from it is Andre Norton's Star Rangers and Star Guard.

Just reading "Martian." Pretty good so far, especially after seeing the movie with Matt Damon--which was a COMPLETE rip-off of the Val Kilmer movie "Red Planet." (and that is a GREAT movie.)

Linda Nagata's The Red series is very good indeed.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/1288...

If you like space battles, Evan C. Currie's Odyssey One series is good.

OMG--I'm actually RE-reading it! Didn't realize until I got 100 pages into it that I'd read it when it first came out.

VERY techno--only an engineer could love it. It should have been called "Robinson Caruso of Mars" but the kids probably wouldn't recognize that masterpiece.

Tom wrote: "OMG--I'm actually RE-reading it! (Martian) Didn't realize until I got 100 pages into it that I'd read it when it first came out.

VERY techno--only an engineer could love it. It should have been called "Rob..."

I was going to say, The Martian is only as much a ripoff of Red Planet as both are of Robinson Crusoe (or Castaway).

You might be the only other person on the planet other than me that considers Red Planet a great movie :)

Speaking of which, I really like John Carter of Mars, but it took several viewings to get over the hero's dopiness. (The Princess was fabulous and probability an inspiration for "Staff Sergeant Belinda Watt.")

I like that too, it's not nearly as bad as people say. But I think I like it probably because I read the hell out of that whole Barsoom series as a teenager. I really wish that film hadn't been hyped quite so hard, failed quite so badly, and that they'd made more of them.