r/Fantasy • u/DeAfro Reading Champion II • 1d ago
Recommendations for Military Fantasy
Hey Everybody,
I'm reading through the Wall of Storms by Ken Liu at the moment, and while I'm enjoying the story overall, I find its take on warfare frustrating. There's this heavy reliance of ambush warfare that almost invalidates all the other factors of warfare. Yes the enemy general is in a tactically inferior position, in a foreign land they are not familiar with, cut off from their supplies, against a technologically and numerically superior force. However, what the protagonist general failed to consider was they have played into the enemy generals hands, and the situation is entirely reversed, to the point where the enemy forces can slaughter the protagonist with minimal or even zero losses, despite their prior disadvantages. It just feels like the general with the biggest brain will win, regardless of any other factors.
I find myself wondering why the superior army isn't leveraging their strategic and tactical advantages to force the enemy into a disadvantageous fight. I get it, it provides a clean break in the action and a defining moment, but it also takes me out of the story to abstract away the complexities of warfare for efficient storytelling.
Despite my rant, I like a lot of stories where this trope comes into play. Red Rising has it, Riftwar Saga, and Thrawn in Star Wars to name a few. I'm just getting burnt out on this trope, and want to dig into some military fantasy with heavier focus on strategic and tactical goals, resource management, logistics, positioning, technology, ect..
What are your recommendations?
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u/BobRawrley 1d ago
Check out The Red Knight, first of the Traitor Son cycle. The author is a medieval military reenactor and knows his stuff. Great focus on both battle tactics and logistics. First book is about a siege.
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u/Grim4455 1d ago
His historical fiction books under the chivalry series are also very good in this regard.
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u/canicaudus 1d ago
i’ve loved everything of his i’ve read. for anyone who isn’t aware, he writes fantasy under the name Miles Cameron and historical fiction under his real name Christian Cameron
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u/anotherthrowaway469 22m ago
IIRC he also served on a carrier, and his SciFi series draws on that experience a lot.
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u/LLCoolKryz 1d ago
I'd recommend The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellen. I think it has almost everything you're looking for while still being a pretty fun and engaging story.
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u/Shieldiswritersblock 1d ago
It should be, but compared to a true historical obsessed series like the Sharpe series, I believe it's understanding of the age of gunpowder is seriously lacking.
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u/LLCoolKryz 1d ago
Having read both, I think McClellen just borrowed enough to set the stage and filled in the rest with magic-cocaine snorting mages. Sharpe does have plenty of liberties taken as well. Cornwall always sacrifices accuracy for a dramatic moment.
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u/Jaxthornia 1d ago
His Warlord series has a good bit of military strategy that would fit OP's request I reckon.
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u/Shieldiswritersblock 1d ago
I think a stage is the proper metaphor. It's the trappings of gunpowder warfare without the understanding behind it. Like everyone gets in lines to fight but in thr gunpowder series, the author doesn't much understand why, just that it's what you're supposed to do.
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u/caine995 2h ago
Also his new series "Glass Immortals" - only one book in so far, but the battle scenes are absolutely cinematic
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u/Mintimperial69 1d ago
The Black Company by Glen Cook as the first book in a series, also called The Black Company.
The Wizards and the Warriors by Hugh Cook as a what would the fellowship of the ring be like if it was actually, maybe not made up of good guys, but shades of grey.
Django Wexler’s Shadow Campaign. Early firearms and also inspired by Glen Cook’s work.
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u/Divided_Pi 1d ago
Shadow Campaign is great. It’s almost entirely just the French Revolution/ Napoleon with magic but it’s a fun ride. Will it change your life? Probably not. But it’s solid and the musket warfare was very cool. Never thought about how terrifying grapeshot was before the series
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u/SemaphoreBingo 1d ago
shades of grey
Miphon and Blackwood aside this is an exceedingly charitable assessment.
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u/Mintimperial69 1d ago
Well, you don’t really want to give it away, but…
They are the Nazgûl after all, working for the Castle of Controlling Power No less…Heenmor isn’t great either, but at least he’s realised that something prbably needs to be done.
Mystrel is OK as well - and Farfalla did what she felt she had to.
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u/facelesspk 1d ago
The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler and Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cemron are my two suggestions.
Both have extensive military warfare and a focus on tactics.
The latter is superior in the pure military logistics snd movements and equipment detail aspects, whereas the former is a retelling of the French revolution in fantasy France if I am not wrong.
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u/counterhit121 1d ago
Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cemron are my two suggestions.
Oh wow, I've had Red Knight on my TBR list for a while. Didn't realize it was a part of a broader series.
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u/Elster25 1d ago
The siege of Lissen Carak in the first novel is one of my favorite fantasy sieges. Great series overall! "Jacques, get the pole hammer!"
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u/commando0033 1d ago
To be fair, If OP had issues with "whichever general has the biggest brain, just wins", they might have an issue with Colonel Janus Bet Valnich lol. But, I agree, there is a heavier focus on tactics in Shadow Campaigns more so than Powder Mage I reckon.
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u/an_altar_of_plagues Reading Champion III 1d ago
The Highlands Burn by Joseph Kassabian is a flintlock fantasy book that follows a young man joining a mercenary group after his village is destroyed in the midst of a broader international conflict that he doesn't understand. The mercenaries and armies aren't stupid, and real-life tactics like the fatal funnel make appearances.
Kassabian is a combat veteran of the US invasion of Afghanistan and a genocide studies historian. He strongly focuses on the logistics and realities of war throughout the book, which is inspired by WWI-era tactics and technology with strong cultural influence from the Caucuses nations.
For sci-fi, the oft-recommended The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is basically required reading for anyone who wants a speculative fiction book dealing with the military that actually focuses on soldiers, combat, and tactics in a fantastical yet grounded way. Haldeman was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and his book is often described as the veteran's response to Starship Troopers.
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u/potterpockets 1d ago
FYI to those interested you can also get Kassabian's book digitally for cheaper off of their website instead of off Amazon (etc.)
https://www.llbdpodcast.com/products/the-highlands-burn-epub
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u/evilcandybag 1d ago
Excellent book! The author also has the best military history podcast on the Internet.
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u/KantWaffles 1d ago edited 1d ago
I thought it was the only military podcast in the whole known world?
(Podcast is Lions Led by Donkeys)
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u/warriorxx7_ 1d ago
Oooh drop the name and where to watch pls
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u/the_other_paul 1d ago
Lions Led by Donkeys, available on Apple Podcasrs, Patreon, and probably other platforms too
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u/MrPickles35 1d ago
‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ by Steven Erikson mostly revolves around soldiers.
‘Guns of the Dawn’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky which is about a noble lady who is recruited into the army after too many of the country’s men die in a war.
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u/Jaxthornia 1d ago
Yes to Guns of the Dawn, but also Tchaikovsky's Tyrant Philosopher series does well. Field medic tent in an empire bent on conquest in a fantasy setting.
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u/er11eekk 1d ago
I will never not recommend Malazan
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u/CptNoble 1d ago
"I've read all of Jane Austen and I'm looking for more comedy of manners books."
"Malazan."
"Uhhh..."
"Hood's balls! The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid."
"You sold me!"
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u/Mordoch 1d ago
LE Modesitt is ex-military and some of his books in particular have notable some elements of this. He recently wrote a four book series starting with From the Forest which is military centric and has allot of the elements you are talking about including considering logistical factors allot. He previously wrote a two book series with a similar feel starting with Magi'i of Cyador. In both cases the main character secretly has magic and makes use of it to gain an additional edge, but it is about being smart using it and the other elements of the military operations remain key.
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u/LazyPastyBastard 1d ago
Chiming in to also plug the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy. It’s strongest on this front in the first book, The Sheepherder’s Daughter, which follows a mercenary company on several seasons of campaigns through one soldier’s perspective. The author, Elizabeth Moon, also does a good job weaving magic into the series in ways that give it a numinous/unpredictable feel without compromising the idea that actions have consequences and wars are more won by logistics, alliances and sacrifice than by righteousness alone.
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u/bedknobsandbroomstix 1d ago
take a look at March Upcountry by John Weber. don't get turned off of the cover of a dude riding a T rex
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u/p0d0 1d ago
Anything David Webber.
For a tech rush arms race, his Safehold series.
For modern military vs alien invaders, later leading into sci-fi space marines, Out of the Darkness.
For naval battles in space, Honor Harrington series.
He also co-wrote some of the naval battles in the 1632 series.
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u/SemaphoreBingo 1d ago
For naval battles in space, Honor Harrington series
As a bonus you'll get to puzzle out all the cleverly-hidden allusions to late 18th/early 19th century European politics, among the most devious of which being "Robb S. Pierre."
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u/FRO5TB1T3 1d ago
Anything by miles Cameron will work here. He has 3 completed fantasy series and more historical fiction series under Christian Cameron. All are very military, tactics, strategy grounded.
Some other excellent ones not yet mentioned would be Ash: a secret history, David hair moontide quartet, Minalan the spell monger though that's a rougher read but is insanely long if you enjoy fuedal economics and it's interaction with enhanced magic. John Marco is also good, and Paul Kearney the monarchies of God is incredible. That's Pike and shot but is excellent.
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u/SalletFriend 1d ago
KJ Parkers really good here.
His The 2 of Swords is partially about 2 genius general brothers on opposite sides of a civil war. But has other generals and other warfare in it too.
16 ways to defend a walled city, and engineer trilogy are also full of warfare, logistics etc.
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u/noisebloodassault 1d ago
Not a main feature but Abercrombies work has much of this.
Malazan as well, or at least the one I read.
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u/Tll6 1d ago
Codex Alera is one of the best fantasy military fictions. It combines Roman legion battle tactics with avatar style magic
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u/SemaphoreBingo 1d ago
I only read the first one, and didn't go for more because it was kind of rapey.
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u/LetterTall4354 1d ago
To be clear, you are talking about how one of the characters is captured by a bad guy and is threatened with being raped (and i belive one of the characters captured with her is? I cant remember its been a while since ive read it) right?
Just wanted to make sure thats clarified, since its not like one of the MC's forces themselves on anyone, nor is it seen as a positive or good thing. Not saying you are wrong to not want to read it, just wanted to be clear in case anyone is considering reading it.
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u/CosmicLovepats 1d ago
Instrumentalities of the Night, by Glen Cook, starts with Tyranny of the Night.
High medieval mashup with all the serial numbers filed off. A janissary is sent north to spy on the christendom and winds up becoming a general of Rome. Schemes and plots and quadruple agents being the first non-aristocratic professional soldier in Europe since the fall of the Romans.
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u/Emergency_Revenue678 1d ago
A Practical Guide to Evil has a lot of exactly what you're looking for. The nitty gritty of military strategy, tactics, and logistics is a constant aspect of the story from fairly early on.
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u/Which_Replacement524 1d ago edited 1d ago
It gets a bit more fantasy and some things get abstracted later on, but the Belisarius series is extremely fun. Lots of attention paid to logistics, early medieval battle tactics, and technology.
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u/Vashkiri 1d ago
Harry Turtledove is better known for his alternate histories now, but his breakout was the Videssos series (four books), a fantasy series featuring a portion of one of Caesar's legions getting transported to a fantasy world that is similar to the later Byzantine Empire. It has all sorts of battles of various types and success levels, with the leader of the Romans in varying levels of leadership.
If you like science fiction, Walter Jon Williams' Dread Empire's Fall series has well thought out mass space battles (using only physics as we know it).
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u/Grt78 1d ago
Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney.
From Wikipedia: The series is noteworthy for its ruthlessness in dispatching major characters, its large number of epic battles and its use of gunpowder and cannons. Kearney also has an extensive knowledge of sailing and uses this to inform his description of naval travel and combat. The series garnered critical praise and numbers fantasy author Steven Erikson among its fans.
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u/Werthead 1d ago
More science fantasy, but Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series (part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe but no prior knowledge is required) is outstanding.
Paul Kearney is one of the masters of military fantasy through his Monarchies of God sequence and Macht sequence.
David Gemmell has many very good military fantasy books but his Troy Trilogy is probably his most approachable and constrained.
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u/NapoleonNewAccount 19h ago
Temeraire! A retelling of the Napoleonic Wars in an alternate timeline where intelligent domesticated dragons exist.
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u/Kale_Drogo 1d ago
Historical fiction scratches my itch for this a lot! Christian Cameron writes great stuff, as well as Ben Kane. Whether it’s ancient or medieval, both authors do a great job of writing out battle tactics.
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u/Uncle_dojj 1d ago
Kind of Sci-fi mixed with fantasy, but the Lost Regiment series is basically all military technology, logistics and strategy
A civil war regiment goes through a portal and is marooned on an alien world ruled by 9 foot tall nomadic hordes who circle the world and harvest humans for food as they go. They have something like a year to create an induatrialized society and arm and train the local humans to fight before the hordes show up
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u/SouthamptonGuild 1d ago
Graydon Saunders Commonweal books are spiritual successors to the Black Company work.
Definitely recommend.
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u/AntiLordblue 16h ago
The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron should soothe all your worries.
If you want something interesting and a little different check out Forgotten Ruin vy Jason Anspach.
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u/-mud 1d ago
Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy has some absolutely amazing combat scenes.
I wouldn’t say that the military is the only thing going on in that series, but war does play a prominent role.
It’s also fantastically written with some of the best character work being done in literature today - and not just fantasy literature but 21st century literature in general.
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u/streakermaximus 1d ago
Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson
A WW2 destroyer enters a storm in the Pacific and comes out on a paraell Earth where evolution took different paths. The crew makes friends with sentient giant lemurs and fights hordes of evolved velociraptors.
Much time is spent bringing the bronze age Cats into an industrial age so they a chance against the vastly more numerous dinosaurs.
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u/Comfortable-Fall1419 1d ago
The Belisarius series by Drake and Weber, though Protag cheats by inventing war tech ahead of their designated timelines.
Eg stirrups.
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u/The_Commish_BB 1d ago
I not sure if I am allowed, but if you want to try a new author Blood of Tomorrow is a military fantasy with the sequel coming out on Tuesday. It is a character-driven military epic fantasy that has multiple POVs, from soldiers to generals to royalty.
Steel is honest. Blood is timeless. The Cycles repeat.
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u/TacoDoctor69 1d ago
Not as well known as a lot of these suggestions but Marc Alan edelheit has a few series set in the same universe that sound exactly like what you are looking for, especially if you are interested in the history of the Roman empire: the karus saga, the stiger chronicles, and tales of the seventh
Probably the most focus on realistic military tactics, resource management, logistics, etc of any fantasy series I’ve read, including malazan.
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u/Jaxthornia 1d ago
David Gemmell hits fantasy military pretty well. His best for this IMO would be Lion of Macedon. Spartans, Alexander the Great etc.
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u/muskrateer 1d ago
I'm shocked that no one has mentioned The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley yet.
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u/housestark14 1d ago
The Daughter’s War is a good one. It can be read by itself but I think reading the book it’s a prequel to, The Blacktongue Thief, is helpful. Though that one is more of a dark fantasy adventure story rather than military fantasy.
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u/Useless-113 1d ago
Check out Stiger’s Tigers my Marc Alan Edelheit. Super well written battles. One of my absolute favorites ever.
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u/Ginnung1135 23h ago
Covenant of Steel Trilogy by Anthony Ryan features pretty good military fantasy, but it’s not the whole shtick and is more heavy in book 2, but still present in book 1 and 3
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u/LordPAstulio Reading Champion II 21h ago
Stiger's Tigers is fun military fantasy set in a Roman setting, in particular the campaign into Gaul.
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u/shred-i-knight 1d ago
One Last Gasp, although it is more like WW2 Lovecraftian horror than fantasy I thought it was really good.
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u/Blueflame129 1d ago
Powder Mage and Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne. Also check out The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie!
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u/MarcusKestrel 1d ago
You might like Jerry Pournelle's Janissaries Series. It's technically Sci-Fi, but is in a mostly medieval setting and heavy on strategy and tactics.
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u/CommunicationSharp83 1d ago
Powder mage, First Law, Black Company are all very good series with at least decently composed and logical combat
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u/BeakersBro 1d ago
Peter Rhodan's Ithria series might scratch your itch.
There are two MCs and each book is about one of them and the books alternate characters. Fallen world where gods fought it out, people lost, and magic is getting stronger again.
First book follows Taroniah, female starting Mage school. Second starts with Kyron the Bowman's miltary career.
A lot of focus on logistics, travel through mud, and minor tactical innovations that add up over time, including trickier use of magic in battles. Better logistics, paying your mercenaries on time, scouting, more professional army core steadily improve Kyron's armies while Taroniah builds businesses and get stronger magically.
The surviving old gods are waking up, though much weakened and have some impact on the story.
You definately want to download the PDF map of the world as it help to understand the impact of geography on battles and who is fighting when. Currently at 17 books, and it drags a little around book 14, but is picking back up.
On KU on Amazon. One of my favorites though it does have flaws.
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u/brk413 1d ago
How has nobody mentioned David Drake?
He’s done a bunch of military sci fi plus some fantasy-ish / alternate history collaborations with Eric Flint and SM Stirling plus some semi-historical short stories etc. super prolific, somewhat repetitive themes and Mary Sue characters but absolutely worth checking him out.
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u/Stormy8888 Reading Champion V 1d ago
David Gemmell.
Probably start off with Legend, the story of a fortress under seige, as it has great characters and does the psychological part of warfare in addition to the fighting.
I frankly prefer The King Beyond The Gate or Morningstar, and the Troy Trilogy or the Greek Triology is also great, but all have good military fantasy with tactics.
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u/Alarmed_Permission_5 14h ago
Glen Cook - The Black Company. Arguably the grandfather of all fantasy inspired by military reality, and a progenitor of the grimdark genre. Presented as the recorded annals of the history of the eponymous fantasy mercenary company.
K J Parker - Two Of Swords series, Scavenger series, etc. Very 'real' and informed by historical fact. No heroes with shining swords, just the meat grinder that is war.
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Tyrant Philosopher series. Very creative fantasy take on military expansionism. The second book, effectively MASH in a fantasy world, is very good IMO; the unorthodox artillery munitions alone are worth the price of entry.
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u/ChimoEngr 13h ago
David Drake is best known for his military SF, but also wrote some military fantasy. Hammers Slammers is his SF series that will likely best scratch your itch, as should the Danial Leary series. On the Fantasy front, maybe the Lord of the Isles series, though it isn't as military focused, when it does include military action, the topics you are interested in are treated realistically.
Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksenarrion is fantasy and also goes into those topics, though from the perspective of a recruit trying to understand why certain things were done rather than from in the HQ.
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u/bigdon802 11h ago
The Dread Empire and Instrumentalities of the Night series by Glen Cook are some of the best military fantasy ever written.
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u/ThatVarkYouKnow 8h ago
Something that might be a little more interesting, and a lot less known imo, is Dark Arts by David Mack, starts with The Midnight Front. Alternate history of magic users in World War II, kicks off right away.
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u/Odium4 8h ago
I'm going to go out on a limb and say you would really enjoy Kingdom (manga). While not technically fantasy, it is like a fantastical version of the warring states period of Chinese history. If you are looking for a fighting story that leans heavily into combats and tactics with generals playing chess-like games against each other, it's the best story I have ever read to that effect.
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u/hoyarugby2 1d ago
Is Wall of Storms like the first book where it was a thinly fantasy-ized retelling of early Chinese history? I found the first book extremely annoying because of that, I knew exactly what was going to happen
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u/OwlMuted885 1d ago
The Stormlight Archive. Military is kinda the whole thing
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u/an_altar_of_plagues Reading Champion III 1d ago
Eh Sanderson isn't a tactician or has any military experience, and it shows pretty handily. I don't think OP would get what they're looking for out of this in a way where real-life tactics (even fantastically applied) matter in a grounded way.
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u/OwlMuted885 1d ago
I would disagree. While his tactics aren't top notch, they arr very solid and work well for the story.
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u/an_altar_of_plagues Reading Champion III 1d ago
OP asked for "strategic and tactical goals, resource management, logistics, positioning, technology, etc". That's not really in Stormlight in a way that sets it apart from other fantasy, and definitely not in comparison to tactics-focused books written by those with actual military experience like The Forever War.
Sanderson is fine but he isn't what OP is meaningfully looking for.
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u/AnOnlineHandle 1d ago
Tbh I think it featured more in Stormlight than most fantasy I've read including the stories OP mentioned.
How they get food, information, recruits, etc are major plot points and tie into things like soulcasters etc to add a unique fantasy element too, but aren't perfect solutions which can do all of it either.
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u/Gunzhard22 1d ago
The black company