Do I Even Like Military Sci Fi? | SFF Reviews
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- -- How to Support My Channel --
Patreon Book Club: www.patreon.com/user?u=28856397
60 Day Free Scribd Trial: www.scribd.com/g/816qss
Libro.Fm Audiobook Free Trial: libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm...
$10 Off BookOutlet: bookoutlet.ca/Loyalty/Referral...
Amazon Wishlist: www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/...
Audiobook Wishlist: libro.fm/wishlist/1127085
Subscribe, Like, Comment & Share my Videos Online
-- Thank You! --
Books Mentioned:
On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington #1) by David Weber
/ 4327007122
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1) by Orson Scott Card
/ 546733567
Dauntless (The Lost Fleet #1) by Jack Campbell
/ 4336536082
Stealing Light (The Shoal Sequence #1) by Gary Gibson
/ 4303826211
Machinehood by S.B. Divya
/ 3687922553
The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire #1) by Andrea Stewart
/ 3608665051
The Bone Shard Emperor (The Drowning Empire #2) by Andrea Stewart
/ 4234494894
The Liar of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater
/ 4316498837
Glasses
50% off frames & 20% off lenses with code RACHEL
Zinff Optical www.zinff.com/?YT&...
-- Social Media --
Twitter: / shades_orange
Goodreads: / theshadesoforange
Instagram @theshadesoforange
Email for Publishers, Authors & Other Business Inquiries: orange.shades.of.life@gmail.com
I would also recommend The Forever War - it is my favorite military sci fi book.
Ah yes. It's definitely on my tbr
Yes! Yes! Yes! It's a classic! Gotta include Forever War (and Forever Peace) alongside Starship Troopers and Ender's Game even though the politics and personal opinions of theses authors are highly varied and some are problematic, I think these books have to be on any military SF list.
Absolutely. Described as Starship Troopers written by a Vietnam veteran. One of my favourite books.
Scary how prescient this was/is from the time it was written to today.
The society that's based at the very beginning is already kinda dumb. The female soldiers all being forced to be sexually available because the outer asteroid soldiers are pent up was stupid and poorly explained I almost put the book down right there. It didn't bode well for a series supposedly about society marching on and becoming alien when the baseline society was based in nothing anyone but a hedonist would recognize as normal is weird. I've been in the military, thats not how any of that works.
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...
Thanks for the recs
In addition to the Vorkosiverse, Bujold has also written two different fantasy series: the “Sharing Knife” series is set in a possibly-familiar North American Midwest, while the “World of the 5 Gods” is one where gods exist, but the effect they can have on the material world is tiny. (Start with “The Curse of Chalion” then “Paladin of Souls.” If you like them, there is another novel, plus several novellas following different characters in the same world.)
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.
Thanks... I really appreciate hearing the perspective from someone who had a deeper connection to it. It makes sense that it didn't click on that level since I don't have a close family/friend connection to the military so I felt like I was reading it as an outsider. Still a solid read, but didn't hit my on a personal level like many of my favourites.
@@TheShadesofOrange I enjoyed the Ender Wiggin saga but another one of his I liked was the Alvin Maker series.
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..
Thanks for the rec! I'll check it out!
@@TheShadesofOrange not really related I have always been a sci-fi fan and read a lot I usually finish a book in 2 days. Anyway never really understood the attraction of fantasy UNTIL I read assassin's apprentice by Robbin Hobb . It has somewhat ruined books for me. I read the whole 9 long books in about a month and now everything I read just looks 2 dimensional colourless and tasteless. Just thought I would share some you seem to be looking for good stuff to read.
One of my favorites.
I remember reading this back in the mid-80s. Felix reminded me of "The Rage of Achilles" from The Ilium.
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.
Good to know!
I've read the Honor Harrington series all the way through. Some of the books multiple times. Top Notch.
If an author creates multiple characters his readers care about, rather long novels are inevitable.
Ah, but the information in those 'longer' books that you 'waded through' was important. It sets the scene and explains the 'history' of the setting. They also show that the other participants of a war do NOT think the same way as 'the good guys', and they do not see themselves as the 'bad guys'... even the Solarians, and the 'Mandarins' controlling 'Solly' space. So, to paint the later novels as 'boring and too long to read enjoyably', is to ignore the insight into the thinking of the other 'players' in the conflicts, and their governments and peoples. The overall 'universe' would be 'poorer' without that information, to my mind's thinking.
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".
Yes I misspoke in several places
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."
Thanks for the rec. I didn't include it because I didnt read it this month. I do want to try it out at some point
@@TheShadesofOrange The novel is quite different from the movie. Juan Rico starts the story as a bored rich kid, and goes through a military training program with a 90% failure rate, and a one percent death rate. The movie made a Filipino in the novel a Waffen SS wannabee.
@@tomhalla426 Right. The movie was insulting to Heinlein IMO. As a Marine, our boot camp was difficult. Not everyone made it, and I didn't keep notes, but I would guess that we lost about 10%. But enlistees have mostly positive attitudes because they wanted to be there. They could have chosen an easier branch if they wanted to (this was during the Korean war when they were drafting).
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.
I highly recommend “In Fury Born.” By Davis Weber as well.
Thanks for the rec. I wasn't aware that he had other series
@@TheShadesofOrange There is also the Safehold series, which is another military series. Not quite as good as the Honor Harrington series, but one I was a completist on.
I have read all the series and the characters receive more depth. Great series and David Weber's other series are great also.
A good fun military Sci-Fi is the Omega Force series by Joshua Dalzelle. Also try the Black Fleet saga by Joshua Dalzelle.
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.
I hope you find something you like in the subgenre!
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.
Yeah I really need to get back to the Harrington books
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.
So glad it worked so well for you. I really appreciate hearing more perspectives on it
🎉Read the whole Honor Harrington series.
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.
Thanks for the rec
Weber’s Honor Harrington series is quite good. It consistently works on several levels, with the world building very well done.
I definitely need to read further
You always broaden my horizon, I didn't know Military Sci fi was a thing! love youru videos!
Aww thank you Paulina
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.
Gasp! As a coffee addict, I don't understand how you function! (Jk) but yes I'm the same with sci fantasy... it rarely works for me. I appreciate you weighing in on Ender's Game. I'm curious to keep going with the series
Two authors you might enjoy are Elizabeth Moon (Hunting Party) and David Drake (With the Lightnings). Both are first books in longer series.
Thanks for the recs
The best Urban Fantasy is the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. The first book is "Storm Front".
The Dorsai Series by Gordon Dickson has one of my favorites The Tactics of Mistake.
Haven't heard of that one
I read that years ago and really enjoyed it, especially the basic concept
"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.
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!).
Thank you! Your enthusiastic message is making me more excited
@@TheShadesofOrange : I have read a LOT of Fantasy and Sci-Fi in the past, oh, let's say 60 years or so... I mean, a LOT. I once tried to count how many, but gave up after it got past 150,000 books... no, really, I have read THAT many books, and more. I read every day, at least for several hours a day, and I always have, since I was something like 7 years old. So, when I 'gush' over something to someone, it's at least a considered opinion of the subject. As said before... Enjoy the Honorverse and all its stories. I think you'll thank me for it... eventually... when you come up for air. :)
The Dorsai, old man's war are good ones.
"Dauntless": sorry, but I disagree. It is clearly defined why. He is better than the rest. He came from a time when people spent decades of training/service to end up as a captain of a ship. Everyone else is a product of 100 years warfare, where people are rushed through rudimentary training ending up at the top positions after maybe a year-two on the outside. This is a very plausible scenario, and the author would know since he is a former Navy officer.
Yeah I see what you're saying
Some of my favorite books are MilSF (or at least MilSF related).
Downbelow Station by Cherryh, along with the rest of her Alliance/Union stories.
The Ancillary books by Leckie, the main character is a Fleet Captain (and formerly a Fleet Spaceship).
The Vatta's War series by Moon, the main character ends up in charge of a large fleet.
They are all Military to a degree but what I like are the characters.
Thanks for the rec. I loved Ancillary Justice. I definitely need to read some Cherryh
Go all the way with Honor Harrington. I enjoyed it.
Haha okay... I'll try to go all the way 😄
When you wish there's a ×3 speed option.
Military sci-fi/Fantasy Recommendations:
1. Genocidal Organ by Project Itoh
2. The Red Trilogy by Linda Nagata
3. The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
4. Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson
5. Frontlines series by Marko Kloos
6. Forever War
7. The Poppy War by R.F Kuang
#TheShadesofOrangeBooktubeChannel
Wow thanks for all these awesome recs
Others you might consider are, first older; The Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen, the Dorsai series by Gordon Dickson and the Lensman series by EE Smith. Then there is the Bolo series by Keith Laumer and Tanya Huff did a series on space marines, forget the name. Theior is also the Crimson worlds by Jay Allan and the Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas.
Thanks for the rec
Actually in the lost fleet they didn't wake him for those reasons. He just happened to be found en route to the "Peace Talks" total coincidence. He just happened to be the ranking officer by a longshot when the "Talks" broke down.
Ah yes I explained that wrong
Old Man's War by John Scalzi is a good one. My favorite military science fiction book is Bill The Galactic Hero, because it most closely resembled my military experience.
I like that one
Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet was great fun. Just listened to it again. I'm slightly under-enthused by the lack of introducing the third enemy in the first series at all. I was hoping for that reveal at the end.
-=-
my fave: Ascension Series - By Ken Lozito
a secret on another planet for over 50 years.
a shadowy [morally ambiguous seeming] military corporation.
a motley crew unlikely together and no idea what's to come.
That Ender's Game book looks well read :D
David Drake writes a lot of interesting military sci fi, mostly under the banner of Hammer's Slammers, anthologies of short stories about a fictional far future mercenary unit. The stories tend to feature rough characters in ambiguous situations, lots of ugly decisions combined with historicity. It's action packed military sci fi that doesn't sugar coat combat or glorify war. The Sharp End is a good one, taking on the now archetypal story structure from Hammet's Red Harvest.
And for fun serialized military sci fi I've gotten some good kicks out of the Kris Longknife stuff. Really fast paced space opera, two fisted space princess fun.
Anyway late to the party but felt like I should throw those out there.
Thanks for the rec
See also the *With the Lightenings* /LT Leary series. Think O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin historical novels [ *Master and Commander* and 21 subsequent novels] crossed with his own knowledge of Roman history.
Another great series is the Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson.
Thanks for the rec
“……The Barney guy”🤣🤣🤣
I’m late to this party, but I’m really glad the algorithm showed me this video and your channel. Video was fantastic!
I love and have read almost all of the Honorverse books. Definitely recommend you push forward to read the first 4 books. That will definitely be enough for you to accurately judge if you want to plunge into the whole Honorverse. Book 4 is the most character driven of that lot, which is why I say to try to reach there. And by then, you will know whether or not you can tolerate any more of David Weber’s infamously large infodumps!
If you do want to continue, know that the books’ plotlines explode in scale after book 9/10 as that is when the two side book series come in. There are lots of interconnected events between the three parallel series, and it is very hard to keep track of them all. I had to start taking notes because there are eventually 40+ important recurring characters to remember (this IS a space opera after all). If you don’t like that sort of complexity and scale, then maybe call it a day with book 10. But wow, do things get very VERY spicy after that!
Also, I have a recommendation that I didn’t see in the comments, probably because it is a bit out there. It’s called Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It was a military space opera book series from a Japanese author in the 80s that was recently translated into English. There was a TV show that was very well-regarded but it is very old, so I recommended sticking with the books. It’s about two aspiring military geniuses on opposite sides of a war that inevitably have to confront each other as they rise through stardom. It reads almost like a comedy, as if the narrator was a snarky historian with a dry sense of humor. This recommendation is definitely out there, but that’s even more reason to check it out! It’s fun, light-hearted (as far as war goes), and a pretty quick read.
Thanks for the recs... very good to know about the later honorverse books! And yes I'm dying to read the galactic books.
On the subject of military sci fi, I'm neutral on the subgenre. Rarely do I ever feel in the mood to read it, but if I like a writer who dabbles in this field, I'll read their books. If I enjoy a series I'll keep reading it so long as the quality is strong. I like action and intrigue and good military sf has both in abundance. But I've found these qualities in other genres as well.
Dogs of war by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Gun of the south Harry
Turtledove
The Lost Fleet gets better with utilizing its characters both enemies and allies as you continue. Particularly Cressida shines later as an example.
Good to know
If you enjoy Honor Harrington, I suggest the Empire on man series by Weber and Ringo. First book is March Upcountry. 4 fun books with awesome characters worlds and top shelf payoff.
I'm not familiar with that one. Thanks
And could conceivably continue...
Military SF without strategy :
Frontlines - Marko Kloos, character driven
Lazarus War - Jamie Sawyer, action packed, storyline driven
Planetside - Michael Mammay, detective story, character driven
I gave up on Honor Harrington on book 5, mostly because the series wasn't exciting for me, and that tome was a bit islamophobic.
I second Frontlines. Am also quite enjoying Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon. Currently reading book 4 of 5. Character driven series with female protagonist.
I’ll second these recommendations too. I’m waiting for the third Mammay book to arrive at our library.
Thanks for all the recs!
Glen Cook had a couple of novels in which he drew strong parallels between submarine warfare and the future of war with spacecrafts. I don't remember the story being exceptionally strong, but the ideas and possibilities he explored were interesting.
Oh cool! I'll have to look those up
You are looking for "Passage at Arms"(1985) set in the Starfishers Universe (absolutely no knowledge required). Das Boot set in space. No politics, just an awesome description of hunting and being hunted by an adversary that wants to win just as much as you do. Sadly that universe was never revisited, and the stunning science (for 1985) never re-used.
I agree with your commments on dauntless, but I LOVED the whole series and got quite attached to Tanya. I'm not always huge on military sci fi, but this series was great. I read to the end. I have an hour long commute to work so audiobooks are my best friend so I don't know if a talented VA/reader helped bring more life to the characters, but I never had an issue with everyone staying flat
Good to know
Great suggestions, most of them new to me. If you have familiarity with the games, novels in the Halo universe have several good books. I recommend Contact Harvest (first contact genre) and Fall of Reach.
I appreciate the recommendations!
The Weberverse has a large cosplay representation at LibertyCon every year. But then, Baen Books is very big in Chattanooga.
I like Military sci-fi, in fact I read quite a bit when I was younger. Hammer's Slammers and Phule's Company were favourites. I did not care for On Basilisk Station; it felt too contrived. Not sure if that's the right word, but there you go.
there's an ongoing military sci-fi book called the deathworlders its a free to read and is responsible for the inadvertent creation of the subreddit dedicated to the niche of HFY sci-fi. the early stuff in it is short and a little rough but the later chapters start getting larger and more refined. one thing to note is that it starts as a first contact story but starts morphing into a military sci-fi book farther on. i'm excited to see the refined cut of this book when the author releases it for sale but also interested in the confirmed but not yet released sequel.
Never heard of that one... thanks
How far along the The Lost Fleet series to read? The first two books. The second book will give you a much better idea what the whole series is like. I feel like the author's style really suits bingeing on audiobook, and also when he reads his own preface it's like a nice little fireside chat. Also, the Expeditionary Force and Bobiverse series are pretty funny and worth sampling.
Good to know!
Thank you.
@TheShadesofOrange By the way, a left handed salute is a pointed insult.
Doh! I'll have to see if I can switch the image
Here's a couple more military sci-fi suggestions:
The Corporation Wars by Ken Macleod - trilogy about AIs in a distant star system fighting against each other. Interesting series as all the characters are essentially computer programs and hardware.
Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole - standalone book about a Coast Guard spaceship based on the moon. The main protagonist, captain of the ship, is a woman.
And I'll second the Vatta's War series by Elizabeth Moon. Good all around series.
Thanks for the recs!
It's quite a long time since I read the Last Fleet series, but my hazy memory is that the plotting and character work got better as the books progressed. However the series went on so long (with spinoffs and sequels) that eventually I went off it a bit, it started to all feel a little same-y (I may well go back to it one day). So I would say do carry on, it's a lot of fun, but you may find you don't want to read absolutely everything in that universe or at least not all at once?
Good to know. I'm not in a rush, but I'll keep picking up the books when I need something fun
on basilisk station was SO hard to read, i didn't get very far because of all the exposition. just constant descriptions of people and things and nothing was happening.
Sorry the writing style didn't work for you
Honor is a Mary Sue through and through (that is not unusual for space captains) but she does get pretty banged up as the series goes on both emotionally and physically so there is that. Entertaining and probably Weber's best. The Vorkosigan saga has been mentioned and that's another great series. Another one is The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell, pretty gung ho but well written.
Good to know what to expect
The War World Series might engage your interest.
There is a series of books by Elliot Kay that are very good military science fiction. The first book is Poor Man's Fight. There are 5 more books in the series. Marko Kloos frontline series is also good as is his new Paladian series.
Thanks for the recs. I'll look those up!
Haven't read any Basilisk Station books. Have the first one now. And I did find Dauntless. Trying to decide if I should download it; I get annoyed with the one-hero trope, or one lone scientist outthinking all others trope. In real life, it takes teams of people to come up with breakthroughs and strategies.
I enjoyed Cry Pilot by Joel Dane as a military read. I'll have to do a quick reread to see if it is as good as I recall. The fact that I recall it means it was an above average read.
Currently reading Spin (#21 on Fit 2B Read's list--I picked up a few more books from that list). Spin is quite good and getting better all the time. There's the main mystery of the event, and there's the mystery of what is happening to the protagonists in the current day and why they're where they are. Clues to both mysteries are revealed in the flashbacks to the past.
Scalzi's Old Man's War is good. People kept asking him if The Forever War was his inspiration. He had never heard of that book, so he went and read it after a few hundred people compared his book to Haldane's book. I read most of Scalzi's books. First one is the best, I think, but the others are enjoyable enough (I didn't read the book that tells the same story but from the point of view of another character).
Thanks for the rec. And I'd say Belisk Station was a stronger read than Dauntless. I really enjoyed Old Man's War. Glad you're enjoying Spin.
You have to read the entire Honor Harrington series, another military sci fi series I enjoy is the Odyssey One series/universe by Evan Currie, despite the hero being a jack of all trades
Working on it
Have you considered The Forever war by Joe Haldeman, I think you may enjoy the characters and their stories.
Yes I've heard good things about that classic so I have it on my tbr
Regarding your question about how far in the Honor Harrington series you should go...... You should go all the way to the Battle of Manticor. I promise you will love it.
Nice.... I'm hoping to binge read a lot h the series over Christmas
Super helpful list!
Thanks!
Creators naming characters after themselves in a classic. See Mr. Lucas and his protagonist Luke S. 😆
I've actually never thought of that 😄
I read the first two or three Honor Harrington books about 8 or nine years ago and enjoyed them. I’m not a big fan of Card because of his opinions, and I don’t really enjoy his writing except for Ender’s Game, which I thought was okay. I never continued the series. I really want to read Dauntless. Have you read The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi at all?
The Bone Shard Daughter immediately went to my tbr.
I'm actually reading the Collapsing Empire right now! And so happy to add The Bone Shard Daughter to your tbr
'Ender's Game' was a five star for me the first couple of times I read it, given my perspective on life at the time I read. First time was high school, second time my first duty station in the military, and the final time after deploying to combat. It has since dropped to about four stars after experiencing combat, but the Battle School setting holds up well given experiences. Exhaustion, both physical and mental, have not been described as effectively as Card did. Part of the drop in how I view the novel is the follow-on novels Xenocide and Shadow (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, etc). They just didn't hold up.
As far as other character driven military science fiction, to me the author that matured the genre the most in the late 70's and early 80's and inspired the current generation of mil-SF writers has to be David Drake and his "Hammers Slammers" short story collections. When I first read his books, in high school (about the same time I cracked open Ender's Game), they were 'meh' and seemed more action oriented. My father had sent me his old paper back collection while I was deployed in '06 and I read "At Any Price" by Drake and instantly connected with the characters and experiences more than I ever did with Card's work. Unlike Ender, the characters in Drake's novels are certainly 'protagonists' but not heroes by any stretch. They were soldiers, and they had personalities I could recognize in myself and those around (good, bad, and ugly). Anyone who has been to combat, or suffered a traumatic incident that left them with anger issues and Post Traumatic Stress should read Drake's "Redliners" which is frankly his Magnum Opus in my opinion. Reading his Forewards and Afterwards will explain a great deal as to why these stories touched my life, and the lives of many other veterans.
One of the authors Drake inspired is John Ringo. His "Troy Rising" series, loosely based off the webcomic Schlock Mercenary (which is makes it even more fun to read....) has a great story driven narative that follows a down on his luck grocery store clerk who finds something worth trading with aliens on earth ("Live Free or Die") and then moves on to also focus on a young lady who enlists in the cold space navy to defend earth ("Citadel" and "Hot Gate"). I think Ringo does a fine job focusing on his characters and their development without getting too much into tactics and technology that often times can happen in military SF (especially when the authors are service veterans... we love our alphabet soup acronymns and terminology....).
Thank you for the thoughtful response. I loved hearing why it connected with you. I get a sense that the life circumstances has helped the book to hit home for many readers. It's one I appreciated, but really lacked the personal connection for me.
You should do a video on military scifi.
I want to once I read enough!
You should read the whole series and read the spinoffs, which are incredible. The character development of all characters is magnificent.
Sounds like I better go all way! 😄 definitely appreciate your feedback
@@TheShadesofOrange And if I may recommend a series of books which has nothing to do with SciFi save for the cause of the originating incident... you should definitely take a gander at Eric Flint's seminal work, 1632, and the whole series of books within the same alt universe which it inspired. A series which Flint has both edited and partially authored.
@@ManelGabriel you ever been to LibertyCon? They're sold out this year, but they host a mini-con for Flint's fandom.
@@Viksbelle Sadly, yours truly lives in Europe, so attending Cons in general is a tad complicated.
Fantastic as usual my friend.
Thanks as always James
My opinion on Ender's Game is that I felt it was geared towards young teenagers. I think the people that really like it are expressing a sense of nostalgia. I may be wrong.
Yeah most of the readers I know who loved it, read it when they were younger than me
Read all of the Honor Harrington novels. You will not regret it.
I'm really craving to go back and finish it out
@@TheShadesofOrange I'e decided to re-read On Basilisk Station. BTW, Basilisk Station is NOT a space staion but an assignment to a planet and surrounding area, including the wormhole terminis that services the station.
I definitely recommend Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's truly the best Sci-Fi Military Fiction there is
Yes I need to get back to that one
Something hardly ever mentioned:
Gibraltar Earth Trilogy by Michael McCollum
Humans capture an alien starship after destroying another one that attacked for no reason. Must fight an alien empire that does not know humans exist. Mouse versus elephant.
Never heard of this one
@@TheShadesofOrange
McCollum is an aeronautical engineer. This is harder SF than most. He has another trilogy starting with Antares Dawn. I think the Gibraltar series is significantly better.
David Weber's latest books read more like the minutia of a political meeting being turned into a book, rather than exciting war stories.
Good to know
Fo military sci-fi try the following:
1) Old Man’s War by John Scalzi - there are 6 books in the series but book 4 is just a retelling of book 3 told from the perspective of a different character.
2) Frontlines by Marko Kloos - all 7 books are great
3) On Silver Wings by Evan Currie - there are 8 books currently with a 9th on the way but you can stop after the 6th for a conclusion of the main storyline.
For the mentioned series:
1) Ender’s Game - the remaining 3 books in the series are nothing like (and in IMO better than) the story in Ender’s Game. Those three are Ender’s redemption arc and the first can really be seen as the prequel establishing why he needs a redemption arc.
2) The Lost Fleet - I’ve read and liked them all, but if i was to be perfectly honest, they’re all kinda the same. I’d recommend reading them until you get tired of them and then move on to something else.
Thanks for the recs. I love old man's war so I'll look up the other too. And you have me super intrigued to keep going with Ender's Game. And good to know about Lost Fleet. I could see myself picking up the sequels randomly when I'm in a reading slump and want a familiar story
The Good: Military SF series that I (highly) recommend: both the Fronlines and Palladium Wars series from Marko Kloos; and Planetside trilogy by Michael Mammay, plus Misfit Soldier. Both authors write about foot soldiers rather than ship handlers. One should notice that the Planetside series is very... grey... in their morality, as the end of the first book will show.
Lost Fleet: Dauntless is a decent book, but the follow-up books get better and better as they progress. Even Jack gets better over time. His two female foils, Dejani and Rione are fascinating from the get go (specially Rione). The spin off Lost Stars, is excellent. But read them in release order, or you'll lose a lot of flavor.
And, a minor correction: the war described in this series is between two human polities, the Alliance versus the Sindicate Worlds. No aliens fighting in this book.
Minorspoiler: as the series stands now, it's a bettteer space exploration series than anything I'veseen in a long, long time. Star Trek should take notes.
The Bad: Sorry, not sorry, to say. Harrington's first name should be "Mary Sue". If you get to the book "Fields of Dishonor", pay attention to a certain wake. The mourners were all concerned about how Harrington would take it. I don't remember a single thought about the deceased. There are other signs of her Marysueness. Let's just say that this is a series that I felt let me down hard, after a promising start.
Thanks for all the recs! And I think I'm starting to see the Mary Sue trait that you mentioned
I second the Frontlines series, Palladium Wars is next on my list to read.
When reading the Harrington saga, it helps to know a little history - because the early books draw on the history of the Napoleonic Wars between England and France. Manticore is a constitutional monarchy (England), Haven is Revolutionary France (they even have a leader named Rob S. Pierre), and Honor herself is modelled on Horatio Hornblower. Of course by now they've grown far beyond that model. Honor remains the primary character in the main series of books and I enjoyed all of them, many other characters are introduced and some of them are the focus of spinoff series. But be warned that over time, the books get longer and the plots more complex.
I thought Ender's Game had a fascinating premise; he's the best natural strategist alive but he's only six years old.
I'm a little surprised that you missed what might be the first example of military Sci-Fi : Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Don't judge it by the movie, that was a satire which took a few ideas from the book but missed the real point.
I really appreciate the background on Harrington. I never would have made that connection myself.
And this video was neve intended to be a military science fiction video, which is why I didn't include Starships. It's just group reviews of all the SFF I read that particular week... which happened to include a few military science fiction
Horatio Nelson not Hornblower...
No list of Military SF is complete without the Alpha/Genesis: *Starship Troopers.*
I'm actually reading it right now! Then I come back with a proper recommendation video
@@TheShadesofOrange Do please give it a careful and thorough read. There is more there than a surface reading may indicate.
@@TheShadesofOrange Pay attention to the quotes that open each chapter, you'll find them interesting in their own right.
I know you like your dark so I'll recommend Germline, The Subterrene War #1, by T.C. McCarthy. Its got some grit and some great ideas with lots of development across the books (if its not as Dark as I remember Im sry I may be mixing it up with something else).
Milfic Sci-fi in general doesn't focus in on the tactics and strategy so much - they tend to be more about characters in the war/conflict situations and the reactions. The Man Who never missed is a series of novellas that are a lot of pulpy fun. Gordon R. Dickson's 'the Dorsai' is an interesting series mostly for the human cultural clades that develop as pressures mount for resources and power. All The Man Kzin Wars series are great Milfic with some real standouts hidden among these short stores and novella collections. The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton is Milfic adjacent and just a fantastic space opera. Voice of the Whirlwind by Walter Jon Williams is solid (I think one of his best) story of sci war and action. Just about any of the series by Rick Partlow are average to above average Milfic - Holly War series is a good quick read and fun. Wholesale Slaughter is good Milfic. Drop Trooper is very popular and a solid read. Cobra by Timothy Zahn kicks off a power suit super soldier set of books which are fun. His The Icarus Hunt is very milfic but also a great Aliens-must-work-togehter story. A lot of people like Hammer Smlamers by David Drake. I happen to be one of them and enjoy the stories a lot. The Succession sereies (only two books :sad:) by Scott Westerfeld of 'Uglies' fame is great spec opera/milfic-ish books. Anyway Its a good read in a fun setting and really should have more of a following. The Janus Group, books by by Piers Platt is getting some hype behind it and its a fun read. There are a few to get you going :)
Thank you for all these recs! These should keep me busy for a while!
Interesting that one would seek permission from others to read a book. But those first books are good reads.
Yeah I was trying to avoid getting so many upset comments but I did a poor job
From the Stainless Steel Rat Series of books, because it has the military and it's sci-fi in it, "The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted." By. Harry Harrison.
Thanks for the rec!
@@TheShadesofOrange You're welcome.
The Kris Longknife series is very good.
Thanks. I'll have to look that series up
The Harrington series is great
I definitely need to get back to it!
Great video as always - the David Weber book looks interesting; shame you didn't like Machinehood, that looked interesting too from the synopsis and some of the things you said...Forever War, Old Man's War and Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dogs of War are probably my favourite military sci-fi books....I have Starship Troopers to read out of curiosity, but I may not like the right wing politics in it, if it's an explicit message in the book.....?
Thanks for the recs. I haven't read any of those. And yes I was so disappointed by Machinehood
If you want a character and story driven military science fiction series, I would very much second old man’s war
I like Joel Shepherd Cassandra Kresnov series and spiral wars
Good to know. Thanks for the rec
Honor Harrington is the main protagonist in all the books of the main series. There are some spinoff series in the same universe. The problem of the series is that in delves too much into politics, technology, and the personal Harrington story. Sci fi themes like aliens are very scarce and limited. You may get bored. It really depends on your interests in sci fi. In my opinion the best book is the first. My current favorite sci fi books is the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Peter Hamilton. It’s long (over 3000 pages) and its mind glowingly brutal. Maybe too strong the theme, but definitely a classic. Not for every one, some controversial chapters, but epic in scope.
Good to know. I'll try the next few books and see if they work for me
My thoughts along Machinehood were the same-the AI idea was very interesting and plausable, but the rest kinda lost me. I really need to pick up The Bone Shard Daughter!
Ahhh sounds like we had the same sad experience with Machinehood! Definitely hope you enjoy Bone Shard
I've got a ton of military sci fi books for you to check out
Expedition Force
The Empire's Corps
Ruins Of The Galaxy
Ruins of the Earth to name a few
Thanks for the recs
Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force #1) by Craig Alanson
It is a great and already longruning searies that combines action, thrils and comedy.
Exelent caracters make the searies, especially Joe Bishop and Skippy the Magnificent.
The premice is also very well done because in this univers humanity has only the curent alevel of tech and interacts witrh speaches verrry verry paworful and must play the political game to not be exterminated.
Trust The Awesomeness!
Thanks for the rec!
The Oncomming Storm by Christopher G. Nuttall is a great series that I think y ou will like
Thanks for the rec. I'll try to track in down
I know this video was like a year ago, but I will comment anyway lol. I am very intrigued by The Basilisk Station, especially because I also don't drink coffee but I am literally addicted to hot chocolate 😂. I love Ender's Game. I just love the ideas and concepts and the hard-hitting look into what it means to be human. I don't know. It just seems to have a depth to it that I don't find very often in books of this nature. I just bought Dauntless by Jack Campbell a few weeks ago so I hope I like it as well. 😀
You don't like coffee? Gasp
@@TheShadesofOrange 😂 I know, how unAmerican of me! Lol
@@cindywingetbooks All the way back to the Tea Parties of 1773, in Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston.
Whether or not OSC is in the closet, Ender's game is one of the biggest names in sci-fi (but the library thing was a nice touch).
Starship Troopers is controversial itself. Still, good.
Old Man's war to me was like John Scalzi's Starship Troopers. It's fun, but I still haven't bothered to read the next one. I felt like it was enough for me. For now anyway.
I know I have to mention Joe Haldeman's Forever war, but I don't really remember it anymore.
I really enjoyed Old Mans War. Definitely want to try Forever War & Troopers
Grim Dark
Have you read any of the Halo novels? Some are more military some are more Sci Fi, but also some are good and some suck
No I haven't! Only played the game a few times
@@TheShadesofOrange If you like the game I would give the first book, The Fall of Reach, a read. You could finish it real quick.
I really enjoyed the first Honor Harrington books, but the series lost me around book 5 or 6, I thought the writing went really downhill :/
Good to know. I just started book 2
Do yourself a favor and check out Warship by Joshua Dalzelle. Wish I could read that series for the first time again.
I'll have to look that one up
I think I've read the entire Honorverse canon at least half a dozen times. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. The prose is pretty mediocre, the characters are pretty flat, and the science is derivative, but I can't help loving it, one might wonder why. Story! Weber is a great storyteller and he has a lot of story tell.
Oh I can definitely get that. The books feel like comfort reading
Everybody seems to love Ender's Game except me. Am I missing something? I couldn't finish it.
Yeah I thought it was good, but didn't love it
One I think seems underappeciated is Stirling's Drakka series . They are a what if alternative timeline storyline that has a what if the American revolutionary German ( Hessians ) were to resettle in South Africa ? And over several generations centuries conquer all of Africa and eventually Asia , Europe and the entire world leading to the good guys leaving Sol system for another .. They were verry evil even cruel . I still remmmeber a slave airline stewardess trembling with terror trying to get a patron to get away from this to become someone's concubline.. even that would be better than her then current situation . Also Honor Harrington series and Bolo books of very intelligent super powerful capable destructive tanks defending humanity against their alien foes .. over time millenia they got even more and more advanced super high tech
Thanks for the rec... never heard of that one
Glad to find someone else who wasn't wowed by Ender's Game. I was underwhelmed.
Ah thank you! Nice to know I'm not alone
Didn’t do it for me either. Don’t understand the hype…..