Recommendations for hard military sci-fi novels and series

[Castaras]

I'm looking for some recommendations for sci-fi novels and series based on the following criteria, after my boyfriend decided that the main character of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber was too unbearable to deal with to read the rest of the series.

- Decent science/military tech. Less "nervous system trans-mobobulator that flargles element-736.5 mixed with the tears of children" and more "A double barrelled rail gun powered by lithium" descriptions of technology.
- A character that has flaws. His main issue with Honor Harrington was that she was (in his opinion) 100% perfect and won all the time, and had no personality other than being perfect.
- Military with a flair for fantastic looking uniforms. Pretty much This picture (http://www.teleread.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/MoH_6.jpg) from an earlier Honor Harrington book sums up what he's looking for in a book.

... And reading back on this, pretty much he's wanting the Honor Harrington books without Honor Harrington or the Manticore empire.

Any ideas on what to look into? I'm a fan of soft sci-fi so have no idea where to look. :smalltongue:

Spelling Honour so many times without a u hurt me deep inside.

[HamHam]

While I would not call them military science fiction per se, I would definitely recommend some of Peter F. Hamiliton's series. The Reality Dysfunction and its two sequels has lots of great space combat, complex characters, etc. Not sure about the uniforms though. On the other hand, the war in Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained is both smaller scale yet more epic. It is probably the only series I have read that tries to show what a war with science fiction technology like wormholes and planet busters would really be like.

The obvious suggestion would be the Warhammer 40k books. Probably the Gaunt's Ghosts stuff, or maybe the Cain books. They certainly fulfill the requirement for fantastic uniforms. (http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/4/40/Commisar_Ciaphas_Cain.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120418180442)

Finally, if giant robots work, I've always like the Battletech novels. Warrior:En Garde would be a good place to start.

[BWR]

You can try the StarFIST (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarFist_series) series by Dan Cragg and Dave Sherman. Ex-military folks. It's a bit mil-wanky (and even more 'Murrican MARINES!!!!oneone!111) and not terribly deep, but they are decent enough time wasters, enough that I bother picking up new books in the series every now and then. There's a spin-off STARFIST Force Recon which is more of the same.

Elizabeth Moon has written the Familias Regnant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familias_Regnant_universe) series. I've only read one book but didn't like it. However, I really like her "Deed of Paksenarrion", so maybe I just picked up a bad book in an otherwise decent series.

David Weber, despite being responsible for Honor Harrington, did at least one decent book - "Path of the Fury". He later expanded the book to twice its original size in "In Fury Born". While some of the new stuff was interesting, the changes to the original were not too good. Either of them should be ok.

Steve White has the Disinherited trilogy. I've only read the first two books, but enjoyed them. White and Weber wrote a series called Starfire. I haven't read it but it might work better than Harrington.

More modern is John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" series. I've only read the first. It's diverting, and there should be enough hardware porn and tactics to satisfy most people.

If you want less hardware-babble and more psychological, John Steakly's "Armor" is very good. There's also Heinlein's "Starship Troopers", which is a classic. Joe Haldemann's "The Forever War" is basically the social and psychological Vietnam stories in space.

[Ronnoc]

Might verge a little into the perfect protagonist category but I'd recommend the confederacy of valor by tanya huff. It's got solid tactics and fairly grounded tech

[Aotrs Commander]

Jack Cambell's Lost Fleet books I think would cover the hard end of the request; though the near-total lack of physical descriptions of the characters (and thus their uniforms) might violate the other criterion.

Though I confess to be mystified as to what flashy uniforms have got to do with sci-fi hardness (and to some extent, wonder whether the tendancy would not be for the twain to tend to be pulling more in opposite directions), but each to their own...

[DrK]

All on kindle but he might try ...
Christopher Nuttal - Ark Royal trilogy
Jay Allan - Crimson World's octology
Patrik Tilley - Amtrak wars

[The Glyphstone]

Mil-Sci-fi is pretty much Baen's specialty, so a big chunk of their author stable should fit the requirements.

David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series is extremely well-regarded, fairly hard-tech and has an extremely authentic military feel based off Drake's own service in Vietnam.

John Ringo writes very good stuff, if you're tolerant/supportive of an extremely (American) conservative political philosophy that frequently leaks into his fiction. I'm particularly fond of the Troy Rising trilogy myself, with its pseudo-roots as a Schlock Mercenary prequel, but the Prince Roger series isn't bad either.

Lois McMaster Bujold's has the Vorkosigan Saga, an epic sci-fi series with mildly hard tech. It's all over the place from military to spy thriller to mystery to political thriller to one outright romantic comedy, all following the same dwarfish and somewhat manic protagonist (except for the first two, which are about his mother). And the Barrayarans do tend to love their grandiose military uniforms, so there is that.

And half-jokingly, he might want to try Weber's standalone novel 'Out of the Dark'. It's pretty much universally detested by serious Weber fans, so if he hates David Weber, maybe he'll love it.:smallbiggrin:

[Dragonus45]

And half-jokingly, he might want to try Weber's standalone novel 'Out of the Dark'. It's pretty much universally detested by serious Weber fans, so if he hates David Weber, maybe he'll love it.:smallbiggrin:

Well everything I was going to recommend is in the thread already so I'll just second the Prince Roger stories, they are very good. Also I'm a diehard Weber fan and I LOVED Out of the Dark.

[The Glyphstone]

Well everything I was going to recommend is in the thread already so I'll just second the Prince Roger stories, they are very good. Also I'm a diehard Weber fan and I LOVED Out of the Dark.

Heretic!:smallbiggrin:

[Douglas]

- A character that has flaws. His main issue with Honor Harrington was that she was (in his opinion) 100% perfect and won all the time, and had no personality other than being perfect.
Hey, I know for a fact that she loses at least once! Granted, that loss turned into the setup for the biggest jailbreak in history a book or two later, but it did happen.


... And reading back on this, pretty much he's wanting the Honor Harrington books without Honor Harrington or the Manticore empire.
Honor Harrington is the first thing that came to mind, even before I read you mentioning it.

David Weber does a lot of this sort of thing, but his protagonists all tend to be very Honor-like in how purely heroic and usually right they are. You could try his Starfire series (aka The Stars at War, 1 and 2), where the characters take a back seat to the war stories they serve as the vehicle for telling.

I'll second Glyphstone's recommendation of Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga. The protagonist pulls off some truly amazing things, but also screws up in big ways on occasion; I hope your boyfriend doesn't mind that the screwups are usually recovered from (and then some) by the end of the book, though. The nature of the stories is also incredibly varied yet consistently high quality. It's one of my top favorite scifi series.

[Zaydos]

What about Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. Written by a naval engineer with an eye towards military tech which set the gold standard for military sci-fi. Might be too flawless of a protag, but I still can't think of a military uniform cooler than their suits... though those might fall more into "powered armor" and less "uniform".

[gomipile]

It might help to know what the last book in the Honor Harrington series he read was.

[The Glyphstone]

It might help to know what the last book in the Honor Harrington series he read was.

Doubtful. If someone's taken a disliking to Honor because she is, quote, "100% perfect and won all the time, and had no personality other than being perfect.", then they're just not going to enjoy the series no matter how far they go. She changes and evolves, but the person she is at the start is always there. Better to just get a fresh start with a different series.

[LibraryOgre]

Well, I've got a soft spot for Schlock Mercenary (http://www.schlockmercenary.com/), a hard sci-fi webcomic with almost 15 years of archives. There's a good amount of technology, but he tends to work within his own framework of what's possible.

[Rodin]

Doubtful. If someone's taken a disliking to Honor because she is, quote, "100% perfect and won all the time, and had no personality other than being perfect.", then they're just not going to enjoy the series no matter how far they go. She changes and evolves, but the person she is at the start is always there. Better to just get a fresh start with a different series.

Plus, I always found that she got worse in that regard as the series wore on. I tend to prefer the earlier books in the series because she's more fallible in them.

After a certain point, that entire series just got utterly ridiculous. Even as an unabashed fan I think the last really good one was Ashes of Victory.

[Castaras]

It might help to know what the last book in the Honor Harrington series he read was.

At All Costs, although the past half dozen books he's spent his time ranting to me about Honor is awful and Tourville is better. :smalltongue:


This huge list of books is fantastic, thanks so much everyone. :smallbiggrin:

[Dragonus45]

Doubtful. If someone's taken a disliking to Honor because she is, quote, "100% perfect and won all the time, and had no personality other than being perfect.", then they're just not going to enjoy the series no matter how far they go. She changes and evolves, but the person she is at the start is always there. Better to just get a fresh start with a different series.

If thats his biggest issue though reading the Spinoff series might work then. I actually enjoy them more than the recent main series books, other than the stuff about beardy mc manly super spy man and his TOTALLY EGALITARIAN perfect spy sidekick who is a TOTALLY EGALITARIAN GUY, who is also very egalitarian if they forgot to mention that.

[The Glyphstone]

Plus, I always found that she got worse in that regard as the series wore on. I tend to prefer the earlier books in the series because she's more fallible in them.

After a certain point, that entire series just got utterly ridiculous. Even as an unabashed fan I think the last really good one was Ashes of Victory.

See, and I'm the opposite. Weber's storytelling plan is pretty predictable through most of the books - Honor leads a ship out on a mission, gets pitted against an overwhelming enemy. She wins, but loses most of her ship and crew. Guilt trip ensues from being a command-rank survivor and being responsible for all the dead who followed her. Therapists and/or Nimitz make her get over it. GOTO 1. She never really got more or less fallible (the stakes just get higher), but Weber learned to show that healing process in the books rather than hiding it between novels about the same rate as he had her learn to start coping with the guilt better. Though I'd agree that Ashes of Victory is one of the high points, I think it sort of plateaus after that rather than plummets. The spinoff series with the Saganami cadets and the Amazing Adventures of Zilwicki and Cachat take over as his 'best writing'.


At All Costs, although the past half dozen books he's spent his time ranting to me about Honor is awful and Tourville is better. :smalltongue:


This huge list of books is fantastic, thanks so much everyone. :smallbiggrin:

You know, it occurs to me that he probably picked a very good point to stop reading if he dislikes Honor. At All Costs is the end of her fleet command assignments, but the next book is where
She starts actually manifesting empathic abilities on her own.
But he's absolutely right that Tourville is a badass. And I'm getting sucked into the trap I really wanted to avoid, defending one of my favorite authors, warts and all, instead of obeying the OP and offering suggestions for alternatives. Bad Glyphstone! No cookie!

[Dragonus45]

The spinoff series with the Saganami cadets and the Amazing Adventures of Zilwicki and Cachat take over as his 'best writing'.

.

I can agree with that for the most part, but I find Zilwicki and Cachat to be just annoying as characters.

[The Glyphstone]

I can agree with that for the most part, but I find Zilwicki and Cachat to be just annoying as characters.

Bah, Zilwichi and Cachat are fantastic. It doesn't hurt that they are co-written by Eric Flint, who is my second favorite Baen author, but I like the interplay between them. Even if Cachat can be a bit over-powered a lot of the time (Eric Flint has more or less candidly admitted that Victor is himself if he was a super-badass space spy), they're still fun pulpy reads, and even the 'Did I Mention I'm A Man Of The People Today' bits are pretty obviously the two friends tweaking each other's noses for fun after a bit.

[Dragonus45]

Bah, Zilwichi and Cachat are fantastic. It doesn't hurt that they are co-written by Eric Flint, who is my second favorite Baen author, but I like the interplay between them. Even if Cachat can be a bit over-powered a lot of the time (Eric Flint has more or less candidly admitted that Victor is himself if he was a super-badass space spy), they're still fun pulpy reads, and even the 'Did I Mention I'm A Man Of The People Today' bits are pretty obviously the two friends tweaking each other's noses for fun after a bit.

Eh, I mean I like Flint as an author but something about those two just irks me.

[The Glyphstone]

Eh, I mean I like Flint as an author but something about those two just irks me.

YMMV then, I guess. Either way, they might or might not be something Castaras's BF will want to touch. I'd advise against trying it, because they're quite similar in heroic traits to Honor as well, possibly worse in that she at least angsts a lot over the costs of her victories, while the Super Spy Duo just keeps merrily trucking along and causing mayhem.

I'm thinking Ringo's Prince Roger books are a place to start more and more. Roger ends the series as a stone-cold semi-sociopathic badass, but he starts it as the most useless overbearing twit you can imagine. No one has ever accused John Ringo of subtlety, but the protagonist has a definite character arc over the series.

[Dragonus45]

YMMV then, I guess. Either way, they might or might not be something Castaras's BF will want to touch. I'd advise against trying it, because they're quite similar in heroic traits to Honor as well, possibly worse in that she at least angsts a lot over the costs of her victories, while the Super Spy Duo just keeps merrily trucking along and causing mayhem.

I would say the lack of angst over their war shenanigens is one of their better qualitues.

Michelle Henke and the ensign crew however are super awesome and her BF may want to check them as well for some Honor Harrington escapades without Honor herself.



I'm thinking Ringo's Prince Roger books are a place to start more and more. Roger ends the series as a stone-cold semi-sociopathic badass, but he starts it as the most useless overbearing twit you can imagine. No one has ever accused John Ringo of subtlety, but the protagonist has a definite character arc over the series.

I liked that bit of development myself, it showed him being forced into the leader his people may just have needed at the time, but also showed how as the man he became he could very well become a greater monster than any of his enemies.

[The Glyphstone]

I would say the lack of angst over their war shenanigens is one of their better qualitues.

Michelle Henke and the ensign crew however are super awesome and her BF may want to check them as well for some Honor Harrington escapades with Honor herself.

It's something I like about them, but for a person who already thinks Honor has no personality or flaws, I suspect the duo would trigger very similar feelings. So as great as I think they are, they're not high on the list of recommendations out of what has been presented here. Prince Roger, Hammer's Slammers, and the Vorkosigan Saga would be 1, 2, and 3 based on the qualifiers listed (2,3,1 based on how much I personally enjoyed them).



I liked that bit of development myself, it showed him being forced into the leader his people may just have needed at the time, but also showed how as the man he became he could very well become a greater monster than any of his enemies.

No argument. I think there's an actual quote in one of the later books along the lines of 'Roger's a ruler who will be known to historians as 'The Great' or 'The Terrible', nothing in between.'

[Cyrion]

A second vote for Haldeman's Forever War.

You might also want to take a look at some of Roger MacBride Allen's books, particularly The Ring of Charon or The Farside Cannon.

[hamishspence]

You might also want to take a look at some of Roger MacBride Allen's books, particularly The Ring of Charon or The Farside Cannon.

I've only read his Star Wars books (the Corellia trilogy) - but I liked those.

[Rakaydos]

Helfort's War, by Graham Sharp Paul. Good guys are utopian genetic cyborgs, bad guys are corrupt space-scientoligists. but the tactics and tech are interesting.

[Foeofthelance]

I'm thinking Ringo's Prince Roger books are a place to start more and more. Roger ends the series as a stone-cold semi-sociopathic badass, but he starts it as the most useless overbearing twit you can imagine. No one has ever accused John Ringo of subtlety, but the protagonist has a definite character arc over the series.

And there's finally another one in the pipeline!

Going to second Prince Roger, as well as the Lost Fleet books by Jack Campbell. I recently started reading them myself, and they've been solidly plotted.