Favorite fictional Military War Story Books

Lethe

Captain
I've toyed with the idea of writing "future history" novel a few times, covering the period from mid-2020s to 2100. A short war between China and the United States around 2030 in which China is victorious would certainly be part of it, but by no means the focus of the novel. The insurrection within and eventual dissolution of the United States that the war precipitates would receive greater focus, as would the Chinese occupation of Australia (the narrator would be Australian) -- although neither of those events could be described as the focus of the story either.
 

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Just picked up "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman at my local library (always wanted to read it but never got the chance to). Highly recommended to sci-fi/military fiction fans.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
The book I will describe is not a war story but a story about a fictional Royal Navy carrier entitled "HMS Levithan" by John Winton. I read it in 1972 while deployed aboard USS John F Kennedy in the Mediterranean. The main character of the book was the XO..I forget his name. His job was to get the slack crew into shape. In the end he never gets full credit for all he did aboard the giant ship and is unceremoniously shipped off to Washington DC as some sort of military liaison. A great read.
 

Lethe

Captain
Just picked up "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman at my local library (always wanted to read it but never got the chance to). Highly recommended to sci-fi/military fiction fans.

The sequel is skippable, but do check out his later novel Forever Free. The protagonist is very similar, and I think it's a very timely novel (in this era of drone warfare) in terms of looking at how modern technology is magnifying the gap between those who have it and those who don't.
 

Lethe

Captain
The sequel is skippable, but do check out his later novel Forever Free. The protagonist is very similar, and I think it's a very timely novel (in this era of drone warfare) in terms of looking at how modern technology is magnifying the gap between those who have it and those who don't.

Oops, just realised that I got the novels mixed up -- the one I am recommending is actually Forever Peace (1997).

Forever Free (1999) is the direct sequel to The Forever War. It is an enjoyable read, but an inconsequential one.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Right now, I just finished the second of three novels written by Linda Nagata called The Red.

The Red: First light
In a Cloud based world Sometime in the Future Lt. James Shelly, Is the Squad leader of an US ARMY LCS or Linked Combat Squad. They sport Combat Exoskeleton rigs Dubbed "Dead Sisters" with state of the art body armor, sophisticated sensors, Smart Rifles and Command and control interfaces that plug directly into his Brain via a Skull cap and overlay That moderates pain, Controls PTSD. Emotion, Sleep, heightens instinct and means that his Very thoughts can be shared across his unit.
This Jaded, Left leaning New Yorker is hardly what most would consider a Textbook officer yet he is competent and a survivor.
Well Deployed into the Sahal he becomes aware of that something else is happening to him. He seems to be developing a uncanny instinct for anticipating trouble. He seems to know what the enemy is going to do before they do it. this sixth sense earns him the nickname "King David". But when a major unexpected event The Destruction of his Forward operating base by Jet fighters, leaves him a double amputee. He discovers that all is not as it seemed when he becomes aware that his operations were recorded from a first person perspective... His perspective and used in the creation of a Reality based TV program.More over indications are that his Premonitions may not have been instinct but rather the product of "The Red" An Identified Entity that has been manipulating him via his Implants.
Now at home the Army has given him an opportunity to Trial an advanced set of Prosthetics that may allow him to continue in the army. As he continues to learn about "The Red" And it's Global implications that are set to rock the US to it's very Core when the Largest Domestic terror attack in history Leads James and his Squad to conduct an operation that violates US Law in Operation First Light in the pursuit of Justice.

The Red: the Trials

Having suffered personal loss and followed through on Operation First Light. The United States is recovering from The Damage done in A series of Domestic Terror attacks. James Shelly and his Squad now face the consequences of their actions as the one time heroes turned vigilantis now face the Courts Martial of the century, well seeking to continue to learn the secrets of the "The Red" and facing the wrath of a "Dragon" bent on Silencing him and his squad permanently with no fear of the law. The threat of follow up attacks continues and may lead his squad to rig up once more in the hopes of preventing an Attack on a foreign power with the same weapons that rocked the US.

__________________________________
Nagata did a lot of tech research and it shows although there are gaps in her military research. Her character of Shelly is not exactly the Army type and she uses the old troupe of " It was the Army or Prison." But that went out with the Draft and the "Crime" He committed was if anything the kind of act that a Activist lawyer like the character's Uncle could get dismissed after headlining MSNBC due to the political hot potato.
A heavy anti "Military industrial Complex" theme is laced in the story line but there is some humanity mixed in.
 

derf1600

New Member
Registered Member
Clancy's Red Storm Rising has long been my own favorite military action novel. A close second would be Robb White's Flight Deck, a novel of the events surrounding the battle of Midway and the battle for Guadalcanal.
 
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