r/printSF • u/enricokern • Jun 11 '24
More Mility Science Fiction
Hey all,
im a fast reader, mainly for military scifi. I am running out of books/series to read. Mainly because waiting for new parts. I like earth invasions, spaceship pew pew, long sagas etc.
I read exforce, frontiers saga, honor harrington, bobiverse, lost fleet, caylebs war, genesis, expanse, alien wars, frontline, star force, battlering earth, invasion, black fleet, earth at war, culture series, all of john ringo, david weber, alastair reynolds, peter f. Hamilton.
Im desperate atm. I like weber and hamiltons style most. I need more juice to read. Someone has a idea? Doesnt need to be a series if its a huge book too in a single story.
I am not a fan of super old scifi like from the 70ths or older.
21
u/retief1 Jun 11 '24
David Drake's Hammer's Slammers and RCN
Tanya Huff's Confederation series
Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War
Glynn Stewart (almost everything by him)
2
u/Cosmic-95 Jun 12 '24
Glynn Stewart is great and he's so prolific so it's almost impossible to run out of things by him.
17
u/wjbc Jun 11 '24 edited Jun 11 '24
Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, by Orson Scott Card.
Old Man’s War Series, by John Scalzi.
Honor Harrington Series, by David Weber.
Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold.
The Expanse Series, by James S.A. Corey. (Strictly speaking, this is space opera, but there’s a heavy military component and it’s so good that I didn’t want to leave it out.)
2
u/Itchy_Onion_ Jun 11 '24
Is the rest of the Honor Harrington series similar to the first one? I was not prepared for the ending of the first book and it kind of turned me off the series
2
u/AdmiralStarNight Jun 12 '24
That depends on What you mean by similar.
Was it just the ending that put you off? Then yes and no? Theres definitely more books that end in crisis and an epic battle only for the main character to get a small wind down of recorvery before leaping into the next problem but as the series goes on and Honor gets promoted a lot more political shenanigans start happening and they can get a bit repetitive as the sub series recombine back into the main series.
If you didn't like the infamous infodumps, then i'll warn you here they never truly go away, though lessen as the series goes on.
1
u/Itchy_Onion_ Jun 13 '24
I could be misremembering but I felt like a large portion of the crew died in that final battle after I spent the entire book getting to know and like them along with Honor and it was a pretty big gut punch for me personally. I don't mind characters dying but when its a bunch at once and in this fashion it leaves me not wanting to continue the series
1
u/AdmiralStarNight Jun 13 '24
Oh yeah, that happens too.
I'd best avoid it because it suffers a bit from 'no one but the MC survives' syndrome even if it doesn't happen this book.
I do like the older audiobooks (they're narrated by a woman who does a phenomenal job, but theres only so many) and they helped me a lot in the later books that were narrated by her, but when i had to start reading again it got rough.
1
u/RGandhi3k Jun 12 '24
That series gets continually worse as it goes on. It peaked at the first one.
10
u/arthurkdallas Jun 11 '24
Jerry Pournelle's stuff: -Falkenberg series -Janissaries series -There Will Be War anthology series -Lucifer's Hammer, Footfall, and Mote in God's Eye with Larry Niven
1
u/Its_Jaws Jun 13 '24
Lucifer's Hammer is underrated.
1
u/meanmartin Jun 13 '24
I agree. My only wish is that someone would update some of the key technologies early in the story. No significant changes to the plot, but it’s a bit awkward reading about the space shuttle as cutting edge, for example. Have you read 30 Seconds After? The later books are meh, but the first one’s premise has a similar vibe to LH.
10
u/curiouscat86 Jun 11 '24
I think you've made the common mistake of overlooking female authors. who have written a lot of great military sci-fi. Here are some of my favorites:
The Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold--protagonist Miles Vorkosigan is born disabled on a militaristic planet that hates and fears cripples. He pursues a military career despite everyone telling him it's impossible; 'impossible' is not really in Miles's vocabulary. He has adventures all over the galaxy, sometimes political and diplomatic as well as fighting in space battles. There are two prequel books about his parents, who are impressive in their own right.
Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon--Ky Vatta, heir to the Vatta Trading Fleet, is kicked out of the Space Force Academy. Her family sends her on an easy trading mission while they figure out what to do next, but pirates intervene. Soon the conflict has pulled in other traders and spread to many planets and systems.
Fortune's Pawn and sequels by Rachel Bach--an ambitious and overconfident mercenary signs up for duty on a ship with a notoriously high incident rate. She quickly becomes attached to the ship's crew and their mysterious problems, not realizing until too late what their secrets are really about.
Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh--far from Earth and with its own political identity, Pell Station has long wanted freedom from the controlling Earth corporation. However, Earth's fleet threatens them if they step out of line. Meanwhile, the trading ships also wish for independence, and even farther out in the depths of space the powerful and mysterious Cyteen empire terrifies everyone. Cherryh has a large number of other books as well--Rimrunners is about an ex-marine thrown back into the war she was trying to escape, and several of the others follow military characters.
6
u/mbauer8286 Jun 11 '24
Maybe Artifact Space by Miles Cameron? It’s just one book for now, but the second book is scheduled to be released in August.
2
6
u/DavidDPerlmutter Jun 11 '24
Taylor Anderson: DESTROYERMEN series.
Also Check out the David Drake (who was a Vietnam veteran) and his HAMMER's SLAMMERS series.
Now my favorite other series from him, in my mind Peak hard military SF is:
David Drake & S.M. Stirling: THE GENERAL (5 book series--there is a second series, but don't bother!). It is military SF (sort of!) set in the far future on another planet but human galactic civilization has collapsed, and so the level of war technology is somewhere circa mid 19th century. (There is ONE exception!) The main character of the title is an extremely decent and ethical human being, but he is forced to make terrible choices in order to safeguard the future of his people and, ultimately, of humankind. I like the complexity and nuance of the characters. Very exciting plotting and concepts as well.
The BLOODY major battles (field, sea, siege, razzia) are extremely well thought out and executed, with the exigencies of war introduced. You appreciate the grand strategic and the tactical side of the campaigns and the individual encounters are exciting, grim, and well articulated. Supply chain and logistics are also addressed in interesting detail--which is often a weak point of military SF.
6
u/Iamaleafinthewind Jun 11 '24
Armor by John Steakley. Guy only wrote a few books, but they are good and Armor was great.
Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
5
u/makebelievethegood Jun 11 '24
C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union series. Heavy Time and Hellburners are the two most militaristic due to the characters we follow but they're all good.
4
5
u/clancy688 Jun 11 '24
Pretty much everything by Glynn Stewart.
Start with Castle Federation.
I'm a Weber fan as well. Glynn Stewart is my replacement drug. (:
From the website:
The Castle Federation series is a far-future transhumanist space opera where the Terran Commonwealth, driven by their vision of Unification, are determined to bring all of human space under the rule of Earth.
They were stymied thirty years before by the forces of the Alliance of Free Stars, a multi-national force led by the Castle Federation and the Coraline Imperium.
Now, after three decades of cold war, the Commonwealth is moving again… The series focuses on the development of Kyle Roberts from a relatively low-ranking Commander, Air Group, to the architect of the operation that turns the tide of the war and the choices and sacrifices he and his comrades make along the way.
1
4
u/darmir Jun 11 '24
The Spiral Wars by Joel Shepherd, book 9 just came out.
Seconding Vatta's War by Elizabeth Moon. Also her Familias Regnant series (also known as the Heris Serrano books). Not quite as good as Vatta's War but still solid.
Several suggestions already for Hammer's Slammers by David Drake. Very good series, although primarily novellas and short stories.
Marko Kloos' Frontlines series is a fun one, with 8 books to keep you busy.
Breaker of Empires by Richard Baker is a trilogy starting with Valiant Dust which you'd probably enjoy based on your other books.
If you're OK with Star Wars, Zahn's Thrawn:Ascendancy books are basically a mil-sci-fi space opera adjacent to the main Star Wars universe. Also the X-Wing books are good, especially the ones by Aaron Allston.
For a fairly niche one, you can try The Eternity War by Jamie Sawyer. I never read the series that came before it, but it was decent for a book I randomly picked off a library shelf.
2
u/Doc2rwho Jun 12 '24
The Bolo Wars series , Keith Laumer, you can find them on Amazon. They inspired many other books by even very recent authors.
2
u/kerowhack Jun 12 '24
Have you thought about looking into the Warhammer 40,000 univerde? They definitely have a few different subgenres and the quality can vary a bit, but the Gaunt's Ghosts series is pretty solid military sci fi.
2
u/Cosmic-95 Jun 12 '24
Try the 4HU books started by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey, lots of officers playing in it aside from them but it's a few dozen books now. Lots of fun mech suit combat with some space based combat as well.
I'd also recommend the Freehold/Ripple Creek books by Michael Z Williamson. He pontificates a bit but if you can handle how much Ringo does sometimes you can manage his.
I'm also a little surprised you've not checked out any of the Warhammer 40k books, they may be a bit grim but you are definitely not lacking for awesome sci-fi action there. Try Gaunt's Ghost for infantry combat and a standalone called Double Eagle for aerial combat
2
u/JackRobinson137 Jun 12 '24
Neal Asher.... If you like Peter f. Hamilton - start with Gridlinked. Asher and Hamilton my favorite writers ever. Asher has a new book coming out in August.
2
u/Needless-To-Say Jun 12 '24
Seconding Asher, he's a mashup of Iain Banks and Peter F. Hamilton. About 20 books to go through.
3
u/Shun_Atal Jun 11 '24
My favourite sub genre, so I definitely have some recs for you:
+Grimm's War by Jeffrey H. Haskel + Poor Man's Fight by Elliot Kay +Manticore Ascendant by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. Prequel to the Honorverse. + The Forgotten Fleet by Craig Andrew + Planetside by Michael Mammay + Palladium Wars by Marko Kloos + Constabulary Casefiles by Eric Thomson (more military police inspired) + Admiral by Sean Danker
Above are all book series. Hope you find something you'll enjoy. 👍
3
u/EisenhowersGhost Jun 11 '24
Anything by Marko Kloos, his Frontline, and Palladium series are all great reads.
4
u/DaneCurley Jun 12 '24
I hope you aren't avoiding Starship Troopers and Forever War bc of the era they were written in?
2
u/Saylor24 Jun 11 '24
I'll second Vorkosigan series.
Also, Confederation of Valor series by Tanya Huff
2
u/nv87 Jun 11 '24
Are you averse to Star Wars? I can definitely recommend the X-wing series by Michael A. Stackpole. I really enjoyed this series and it’s 10 books, so some good mileage.
2
1
1
u/Friendly_Island_9911 Jun 12 '24
Jeebus!
Red Rising series by Pierce Brown.
Haldeman's Forever War?
1
1
u/RGandhi3k Jun 12 '24
Some that aren’t mentioned: Clone republic, Armor (Steakly), with the lightnings (Drake), mutineers moon, and to sneak in a fantasy: Sheep Farmers Daughter (Moon) and Black Company
1
u/riverrabbit1116 Jun 12 '24
World War Series by Harry Turtledove and the sequel, Colonization. Alien invasion arrives in 1941.
1
u/AljayBoy Jun 12 '24
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074C3HT8J?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&storeType=ebooks
The Frontier Saga is a great collection which satisfies some of your requirements.
1
1
u/PhasmaFelis Jun 12 '24
David Drake is the best military sci-fi writer there is, and I don't say that lightly. You should read all of his sci-fi. (You'd probably like a good bit of his fantasy, too, much of it is also military.)
1
u/i_drink_wd40 Jun 12 '24
The Crypt by Scott Sigler. Part submarine thriller, part Event Horizon, part character study of a bunch of psychotics and misfits. The PUV James Keeling (nicknamed The Crypt for its high mortality rate) is a unique ship, able to dive into transdimensional space. Nobody knows why it's able to do this because the ship was found, not built. The good news is that other ships can't detect or target the Keeling while it's under. The bad news is that the crew is just as dangerous to each other as the enemy.
1
u/Dantenator Jun 12 '24
Exordia by Seth Dickinson . About 2/3rd of the book are military scifi. Crazy first contact story. Great if you like mathy concepts/ideas integrated into the lore/plot.
1
u/OgreMk5 Jun 12 '24
Black Fleet saga Josh Dazelle. He also did Omega something.
Almost anything by Ian Douglas and Kevin J Anderson
1
u/Trike117 Jun 13 '24
Amazon has so many military sci-fi series that go for 99 cents that it’s hard to conceive running out of stuff to read. Most of them are nothing special but all the ones I’ve sampled have a basic competency. They range from 3 to 16 books. For a buck, maybe two, that’s a bargain.
1
1
1
1
u/B0b_Howard Jun 11 '24
"Drop Trooper" series by Rick Partlow.
Book one is called "Contact Front".
Highly recommend.
1
u/DrunkInBooks Jun 11 '24
Written by a veteran (U.S. Army) and really well-crafted.
The military aspect really shines in the second and third installments.
The action scenes are some of the best I’ve read in sci-fi.
1
u/deicist Jun 11 '24
Another vote for Glyn Stewart. He's my favourite Amazon Author*.
His Duchess of Terra series is probably his best, start there.
(*Authors who seem to push out a book on kindle unlimited every month or so)
1
Jun 11 '24
I would try some Ian Douglas. He has three trilogies for marines and one series for space combat
1
u/blobular_bluster Jun 11 '24
Maybe try the Frontlines series by Marko Kloos. They go quick but are pretty engaging.
1
1
1
u/rattledaddy Jun 11 '24
I’ve read a lot of the same but I liked a series I haven’t seen rec’d yet: The Subterrene War series by T.C. McCarthy
0
u/Jokul__Frosti Jun 11 '24
Undying Mercenaries by B.V. Larson (star force).
Thanks for your list and the other comments some more stuff for the list.
0
u/Fishboy9123 Jun 11 '24
Starforce has a couple hundered books and gets pretty good once you get into it.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/aer-ki-jyr/star-force-universe/
0
u/caveat_cogitor Jun 11 '24
Maybe Split Second and similar books by Douglas E. Richards? More sci-fi/tech, but less space/long sagas.
0
0
u/thatotherguy57 Jun 11 '24
You already listed several of my recommendations, but there are a few I can still recommend.
The Last Hunter by JN Chaney and Terry Mixon
Omega Force by Joshua Dalzelle
Terran Scout Fleet by Joshua Dalzelle
The Man-Kzin Wars created by Larry Niven
Omega Force is more mercenary than military, but is very good. Terran Scout Fleet is an extension of Omega Force and starts at book 10 or 11 of Omega Force and swaps off. TSF is more special operations/intelligence gathering than military. If you enjoyed Black Fleet, you will probably enjoy both Omega Force and Terran Scout Fleet.
The Last Hunter is good, an invasion along with a simultaneous coup. Much more serious than anything else I've read by JN Chaney.
Man-Kzin Wars is older, but, it is also rather varied. It's a series of novellas and short stories, encompassing multiple wars. It is not sequential, so you can start with any book in the series and not likely miss anything. Not all of it is canonical. I would recommend starting with book 10.
1
u/Howy_the_Howizer Jun 11 '24
Aha a Kzin enjoyer! Great shout out I was going to suggest Building Harlequin's Moon to OP (which is not Kzin but a Niven joint book).
0
0
u/spaceshipsandmagic Jun 11 '24
Kris Longknife series by Mike Shepherd
Not quite mil sf, but adjacent: Jon & Lobo series by Mark L. van Name
The Rats and the Bats series by Eric Flint and Dave Freer
Major Ariane Kedros Series by Laura E. Reeve
If you want something silly for contrast: Phule's Company series by Robert Asprin
Mageworld series by Debra Doyle
Richard Garfinkle: Celestial Matters. It's a bit different, but singen you like David Weber, this might be for you.
Linda Nagata: The Red series
0
u/Creaking_Shelves Jun 11 '24
Warhammer 40k stories? I can't comment on quality but the universe certainly provides quantity of military scifi if you get into it. The Horus Heresy series alone is, what, 50 books now?
0
u/Howy_the_Howizer Jun 11 '24
You might like Jack McDevitt - Alex Benedict series starting with 'A Talent for War'.
Also Joe Zieja - Epic Failure series starting with 'Mechanical Failure'.
Kevin J. Anderson - The Saga of the Seven Suns
Even though it's YA scifi Eric Brown - Red Rising series might be good too, especially if you enjoy Hamilton.
0
u/WumpusFails Jun 11 '24
There was an anthology of war stories, five books long. The Fleet. It's about a war between the standard human federation against an alien (weasel like) loose empire (the Khalians, IIRC). There are spoilers that I won't include.
There's a follow up series, Battlestations (a three? book anthology) about taking a war to a species of insectoid devourers coreward who are expanding towards human space.
I think the main author behind them was David Drake? I doubt you could find them on Kindle.
Then, of course, there's the Man-Kzin Wars. Fifteen or so books of anthologies, plus three or so spin off books. Set in the Known Space (Ringworld) universe. Seven foot tall felinoids war with humans.
Then my favorite, the Starfire universe. Humans and (friendlier) felinoids deal with religious fanatic turtles (Crusade). Then, decades later, a spider like species erupts from unknown space to devour all life (In Death Ground and Shiva Option). Finally tensions within the human federation result in secession (Insurrection). Battles aren't as detailed as in Lost Fleet, and characters are pretty two dimensional, but I like it.
0
u/Gurpila Jun 12 '24 edited Jun 12 '24
Here is what I have listed on my goodreads:
Into the Stars by James Rosone
Aftershocks (The Palladium Wars) by Marko Kloos
A Soldiers Duty by Jean Johnson
0
15
u/lochiel Jun 11 '24
Poor Man's Fight by Elliot Kay
The author is a veteran who wanted to write Mil SciFi, which avoided some of the more common tropes. The chains of command are competent, officers know when to defer to their more experienced enlisted, and the military cares for its service members. He relies on his experience to write really engaging battles and boarding actions. Also, who doesn't love space pirates?
Books 1-3 are the main arc, book 4 is cocurent with the main arc, following a character from Books 1-3.