Military...

"Your friend is quite a mercenary" -Leia

It's a stock plot, but some authors really do wars well. Science fiction and fantasy are classic places to stage a battle to prove your point. One of the oldest and most respected sub-genres (and better-selling, too), these novels are sometimes even appropriate for war buffs who don't like SF&F.

War

• Andre Norton
  • The Elvenbane trilogy (Human-Elf halfbreed Shana was raised by Dragons to destroy the Elves who have enslaved humankind)
• C. J. Cherryh
  • Downbelow Station (Earth's Fleet is attacking stations, Cyteen agents are infiltrating the Alliance, and Downbelow Station is caught between refugees and two militaries that don't want it to survive.)
• David Brin
  • Startide Rising (The first dolphin-manned ship has discovered something the rest of the universe would kill them to possess.)
  • Uplift War (Humanity has angered some powerful races, one of which plans to take an outpost planet- if the humans and chimps can't learn guerilla warfare.)
• Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald
  • "Magewars" trilogy (Science fantasy about a future universe that uses magic and technology side by side in preparation for a second Magewar)
• Elizabeth Moon
  • Surrender None: The Legacy of Gird (An illiterate man loses everything, and chooses to fight his oppressors rather than die.)
• Harry Turtledove
  • "Worldwar Saga" (World War II has barely begun when hostile aliens appear. Can the Earth unite to fight them?)
• Jerome Beatty, Jr.
  • Mathew Looney in the Outback (Some Moonies want to destroy the Earth, but what will that do to the Moon? Children's book.)
• Joe Haldeman
  • The Forever War (The Vietnam War in space- lasting more than a thousand years.... Highly recommended.)
• Judith Tarr
  • The Golden Horn (Alf is a witness to the destruction of Constantinople by the Christian hordes.)
• Katherine Kurtz
  • "Gwynned" series (War breaks out almost continuously in this troubled country. Several main characters are military men.)
• Larry Niven
  • "Man-Kzin Wars" (Pacified humanity discovers the big cats- and rediscovers war. Have the cats met their match?)
• Lois McMaster Bujold
  • Shards of Honor and Barrayar (Captain Cordelia Naismith is trapped in two wars- one against her love, and one for everything he believes.)
  • The Spirit Ring (Fiametta is trapped in a war of greed trying to save her father's soul.)
• Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • Stormqueen! (Psi powers are used on both sides of a war for a castle stronghold.)
• Mercedes Lackey
  • Black Gryphon (A war between rival mages changes the entire world for millenia to come. Here is the original war.)
  • Freedom Flight (The people of one tiny planet and the fighters vacationing on their world must fight against an empire's expansion.)
• Robert Heinlein
  • Between Planets (The young boy Don carries a secret for the Venusian people, if he can avoid the Earth troops long enough.)
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (The people of the Moon are finally ready for independance from Earth- but they'll have to fight for it.)
• Robin McKinley
  • The Outlaws of Sherwood (Robin Hood and his merry band don't lead such a merry life when the Sherrif begins fighting in ernest.)
  • The Blue Sword (Harry is fated to be the next carrier of the blue sword- but can she defend her newfound country against the hordes from the North?)
• Sharon L. Reddy
  • Heroes Need a Captain (A few good men and the woman they love fight for an end to slavery.)

Military

• Alexandre Dumas
  • Three Muskateers (Three friends and a young lad set out to save France from the evil Count Richelieu)
  • The Man in the Iron Mask (Aramus has a plan, but Louise XIV has gotten wind of it and political intrigue breaks out all over France- and between the old Muskateers)
• Anne McCaffrey
  • Sassinak (Sass was enslaved as a child. She vowed to escape, to pass Fleet officer training, and to punish the people who hurt her.)
  • Generation Warriors (Sass and her multiple-great-grandmother Lunzie are out to end piracy, even if it means fighting their own people.)
• C. J. Cherryh
  • Hellburner (A crackerjack pilot with psych problems is drafted into Earth Fleet- but he knows something that could get him killed.)
• David Feintuch
  • Midshipman's Hope (A series of improbably accidents leaves Midshipman Seafort in charge of a mutinous crew in hostile space where the enemy is unknown.)
• Jerome Beatty, Jr.
  • Mathew Looney's Voyage to the Earth (A children's book about a cabin boy who dreams of being in the military and is chosen to join an expeditionary force.)
• Lois McMaster Bujold
  • "Vorkosigan series" (Miles is a mercenary captain, mostly by accident- and his family is even more confusing.)
• Mercedes Lackey
  • "Oath" series (A swordswoman and a mage team up to fight evil. It's not really as campy as it sounds.)
  • By the Sword (Kethry's descendent Kerowyn has discovered that she's not a lady- and that she wants to fight. A mercenary company is the only place for her.)
• Orson Scott Card
  • Ender's Shadow (Bean is only 4 when he is brought to the battle school, but he is still smarter than Ender, the school's resident genius.)
• Peter David
  • "New Frontiers" (Star Trek- a new ship, new crew, new mission, and new sector of space.)
• Robert Heinlein
  • Starship Troopers (Juan signs up for the military, but he gets his last choice- infantry. When Earth is invaded, he is sent to battle- and forever changed.)

Aftermath

• C. J. Cherryh
  • Finity's End (What happens when the war is almost over? Who cleans up the mess, and what if some of the messes don't want to be "cleaned up"?)
• Katherine Kurtz
  • "Gwynned" (This tiny country always seems to be either in a major war or recovering from one, including civil wars.)
• Mercedes Lackey
  • Magic's Promise (After fighting on the border, Vanyel returns to Haven to discover love and sorrow.)
• Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Four Ways to Forgiveness (Four novellas about learning to live after a war has supposedly freed a race of people from slavery.)

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Last Updated: November 7, 1999

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