Do I Even Like Military Sci Fi? | SFF Reviews #booktube #scifibooks #fantasybooks

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Books Mentioned:

On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington #1) by David Weber

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1) by Orson Scott Card

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet #1) by Jack Campbell

Stealing Light (The Shoal Sequence #1) by Gary Gibson

Machinehood by S.B. Divya

The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire #1) by Andrea Stewart

The Bone Shard Emperor (The Drowning Empire #2) by Andrea Stewart

The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater

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[emery]

"Dauntless" Black Jack was lost after a battle. His escape pod was found 100 or so later. The Black Jack has to deal with out of place hero worship. He has to take command and save the fleet from a 🎉trap. The problem is that it the modern fleet officer are not trained in multi ship unit tactics. Definitely read the whole series.

[tanjaj.]

I would also recommend The Forever War - it is my favorite military sci fi book.

[donsample]

A military SF series to check out is the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. Different people have different ideas about the best place to start, but the main character of most of the books is introduced in _The Warrior's Apprentice._ Later books in the series following _Mirror Dance_ shift off into mysteries, political intrigue, romance, a caper or two...

[franksmedley]

Hello Shades.
Oh, my dear! You definitely should read the entire Harrington series. AND, both of the 'spin off' series as well. After that, if you're as hooked upon the 'Honorverse' as most of us are, you might look into the Manticore Ascendant series as well. The 'spin off' series go a Looong way towards explaining and expanding the universe in which Honor exists. The politics, the technologies, the growth in both, the complexities of interactions between the various 'star nations', and more. Manticore Ascendant is a sort of prequel series... showing how Manticore became the economic hub for its sector of space, and the military power it eventually becomes, in spite of having a Nobility that would hamstring such efforts if it conflicts with their interests. There is also a 'young adult' series about Honor's early years, and her association with Nimitz. And then, there are the several books of short stories written by other authors set in the 'Honorverse'. Some of which feature Honor herself, do even more to explain how certain events occurred and 'panned out'.

So, should you read the Honorverse? YES! Most resoundingly, yes. But to have an even 'fuller' view of Weber's works, I would also suggest the other series set in that universe as well.

But, all this is merely my opinion... one that is based upon decades (more than 50 years now) of reading all sorts of Fantasy and Science Fiction books, novels, and series. The 'Honor Harrington' tales are one of the best series of novels (at least in my humble opinion) that I have ever come across. When I was younger, oh so much younger, I remember being impressed with the vast scope of E. E. 'Doc' Smith's 'Lensman' series. Later on, that was eclipsed by the works of many other authors, including the 'Fuzzy' books by H. Beam Piper, and the 'Amber' novel series by Roger Zelazny. I even read the entire series of Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' series. And to date, the Honor Harrington novels have been a 'cut above' all other 'military' SF I have ever read. I do hope you read the entire series, and I'll give you a 'heads up'... 'Toll of Honor' will be the 20th book in the combined series, to date, and is scheduled to be released by April 2nd of 2024. I know that 20 books seems like an insurmountable 'slog fest' to read through... but I assure you, that if you do read the first 5 books of the Honor Harrington novels, you'll be hooked, and WANT to read 'em all. Not only that, but I, myself, can't wait to see what David Weber has in store for the ongoing series featuring Honor and all the others of her Star Empire.

I bid you an amazing journey should you read all the above series to their most recent books. I know that I have enjoyed them, time and again (yes, I DO re-read series!).

[Maren]

The Honor Harrington series stays great, especially the first few books are still favorites for me! The later books are a bit too long for my taste and could have benefited from stricter editing, but they're still great.

[tomswift]

As military science fiction goes, I really liked Armor, by John Steakley. The story starts out as a sort of men vs bugs, like the Starship Troopers movie, but it becomes much more layered than that as it progresses. A really good tale, in my opinion. Steakley also wrote Vampire$, which John Carpenter made into a movie which could have been better.
Both books were a good read but Armor, the implications were almost staggering..

[peterzsiros]

Ender's Game is a deeply moving novel for us veterans, and it is a de facto military leadership handbook. OSC wanted to tell the story of Speaker for the Dead, and Ender was part of the path to that. Ender in Exile is also excellent.

[ryderlynch]

Ah David Weber's On Basilisk Station isn't the name of the series. It's merely the name of the first novel in the series. The overall series is called The Honor Harrington series while the universe of the books is called the Honorverse. The rest of the series takes place all over the settled galaxy. And Basilisk Station isn't a space station, it's a duty station to which Honor's starship, the HMS Fearless, is sent for embarrassing an admiral. Also Nimitz isn't a "pet". He's a sentient tele-empathic character. He's a bonded companion for Honor, not a "pet".

[drofwarcnwahs]

I think you missed the main point in The Lost Fleet. Jack is the most competent because he was trained during a much earlier time and placed in a stasis pod for many years (decades or century, I forget). During the intervening years the quality of training and recruits deminished as the war dragged on. So, he is by default the most competent.

[PygKLB]

Two authors you might enjoy are Elizabeth Moon (Hunting Party) and David Drake (With the Lightnings). Both are first books in longer series.

[SaintAlphonzo]

I highly recommend “In Fury Born.” By Davis Weber as well.

[Hytski]

Starship Troopers is a book you left, probably because who doesn't know it. I myself have read it two times. The movie is very different by the way, only the framework is similar. It's not a good read, but it is an essential book in my life. Not because I adore the world it creates, but the exact opposite. The book made me realise, how some people want a vastly different society. My country has mandatory military service, which can be replaced with social service work, and Startship Troopers made me choose the latter.

"War is not violence, plain and simple. War is controlled violence, with a purpose."

[commonsense]

I have read all the series and the characters receive more depth. Great series and David Weber's other series are great also.

[NakiasHideaway]

I've been wanting to read military sci-fi but wasn't sure where to start. I think I have a couple on my TBR but will definitely check out On Basilisk Station and Dauntless.

[levvellene]

I just love the Harrington "saga". It took me a while to get through all the books, early on. But after that I do tend to read them again and again...


Beyond that, you should try to read Ian Douglas' Mars trilogy. It's about US Marines going to space in the very near future.

[wodclerc]

Ian Douglas, deep space star carrier series. Currently almost through book four, five lined up ready to go. Am just eating them up, best I read in a while.

[KristinD]

You sold me on On Basilisk Station; I also don't like coffe, but I LOVE hot chocolate! I didn't think I liked military books, but some of my favorite parts of The Expanse books were around the military parts (I loved the battle descriptions in Caliban's War). So, I've been searching for military sci-fi to check out. I like hard, realistic sci-fi, and I sometimes have trouble finding that... (Tried reading a book where the main character used magic to connect to the ship and it just wasn't working for me. Same feeling with the Star Was High Republic books.)

I enjoyed Ender's Game; "the enemy's gate is down" concept really makes you think about looking at all situations differently. The sequel, Speaker for the Dead, wasn't bad either (not military at all). But, I also had trouble separating Orson Scott Card, the man, from the art... Library books and/or used books are the way I deal with this.

I can't wait to check out some of the other books on your list and from the great recommendations down here in the comments.

[davidboivin]

The Dorsai Series by Gordon Dickson has one of my favorites The Tactics of Mistake.

[emery]

🎉Read the whole Honor Harrington series.

[AustinBeeman]

Enders game is a masterpiece. One of the genre finest works. Card’s fiction has a humanity, grace, and mercy that doesn’t exist in most author’s stories.