Posts

The Top 10 Military Sci-Fi Books and Series of All Time!

Way back in 2019, we hosted a poll in our Facebook Group and here on the blog to determine the Top 10 Military Sci-Fi Books and Series of All Time. In the intervening years, The Discover Sci-Fi community has grown by leaps and bounds, add to which there have been hundreds more military sci-fi books released. As such, we figured it was a great time to revisit and see if the titles that came out on top five years ago are still the fan favorites of today.

So over the last two weeks we once again polled our audience and received thousands of votes between the main poll here on the blog, and our supplementary poll over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group.

Today, we are pleased to unveil the top 10 military sci-fi books and series as decided by your votes, ordered from 10 to 1. You may (or may not) be surprised to see there were indeed some changes, with half of the titles from the original list being replaced. 

Scroll on to check it out and please feel free to comment at the bottom of this post (or in our Facebook group) to let us know if you agree (or not!)


10. Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson

Donal Graeme set out to re-shape the galaxy, but first he must tear it apart. Donal Graeme, Dorsai of the Dorsai, was the final link in a long genetic train, the ultimate soldier, whose breadth of vision made him a master of space war and strategy - and something even greater. He was the focus of centuries of evolution, the culmination of planned development, and through him a new force made itself felt. Dorsai were renowned throughout the galaxy as the finest soldiers ever born, trained from birth to fight and win, no matter what the odds. With Donal at their head they embarked upon the final, impossible venture: they set out to unify the splintered worlds of Mankind.

Read Dorsai! here on Amazon. 


9. Hammer's Slammers by David Drake

With a veteran's eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of tank combat in his Hammer's Slammers fiction. The Slammers are neither cartoon heroes nor propaganda villains; rather they are competent professionals engaged in a deadly business. The inevitable conflicts between policy, necessity, and human nature make Drake's Slammers fiction instantly identifiable and utterly compelling. This is the first of a three volume set presenting for the first time the entire genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform trade paperback set, with new introductions by major SF figures and new afterwords by David Drake. Each volume will also include a Slammers story not collected in previous Slammer's books.

Grab Hammer's Slammers here on Amazon.


8. The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century—and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief....

Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance Fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend....

Get your copy of The Lost Fleet: Dauntless here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


7. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

The united 'Second Empire of Man' spans vast distances, due to the Alderson Drive which has enabled humans to travel easily between the stars. After an alien probe is discovered, the Navy dispatches two ships to determine whether the aliens pose a threat… Called by Robert A. Heinlein: "Possibly the greatest science fiction novel ever written," this magnificent exploration of first contact and a truly alien society is a "must read" for science fiction fans.

Read The Mote in God's Eye here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


6. Dune by Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides—who would become known as Muad'Dib—and of a great family's ambition to bring to fruition mankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

 Grab Dune here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


5. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman  

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards: A futuristic masterpiece, “perhaps the most important war novel written since Vietnam” (Junot Díaz).
 
In this novel, a landmark of science fiction that began as an MFA thesis for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and went on to become an award-winning classic—inspiring a play, a graphic novel, and most recently an in-development film—man has taken to the stars, and soldiers fighting the wars of the future return to Earth forever alienated from their home.
 
Conscripted into service for the United Nations Exploratory Force, a highly trained unit built for revenge, physics student William Mandella fights for his planet light years away against the alien force known as the Taurans. “Mandella’s attempt to survive and remain human in the face of an absurd, almost endless war is harrowing, hilarious, heartbreaking, and true,” says Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Junot Díaz—and because of the relative passage of time when one travels at incredibly high speed, the Earth Mandella returns to after his two-year experience has progressed decades and is foreign to him in disturbing ways.
 
Based in part on the author’s experiences in Vietnam, The Forever War is regarded as one of the greatest military science fiction novels ever written, capturing the alienation that servicemen and women experience even now upon returning home from battle. It shines a light not only on the culture of the 1970s in which it was written, but also on our potential future. “To say that The Forever War is the best science fiction war novel ever written is to damn it with faint praise. It is . . . as fine and woundingly genuine a war story as any I’ve read”

Get your copy of The Forever War here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Like what you're reading?

If you're enjoying this list of the top 10 military sci-fi books and series, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You'll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It's free to sign up and you'll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.


4. Old Man's War by John Scalzi 

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place.

So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What's known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger.

Grab Old Man's War here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


3. Ender's Game bu Orson Scott Card

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Dive into Ender's Game here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Version 1.0.0

2. Honor Harrington Series by David Weber

Having made him look a fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up To Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

Get your copy of book 1 in the Honor Harrington series, On Basilisk Station, here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


1. Starship Trooper by Robert A. Heinlein

In Robert A. Heinlein’s controversial Hugo Award-winning bestseller, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe—and into battle against mankind’s most alarming enemy...

Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids.

Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job...

Get your copy of Starship Troopers
here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.



Now... Let's hear your opinions! Do you agree with the ranking here, or do you feel as though your most-loved military sci-fi book or series is missing or didn't place as high as you think it deserved to? Feel free to let us know in the comments here, or join us in our Discover Sci-Fi Facebook Group to chime in on this matter and on all else sci-fi related! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

2021 Military Sci-Fi Novels That Will Blast You Away!

If there's anything we know about the Discover Sci-Fi community, it's that y'all absolutely love your military sci-fi. So we did a scan of some of the new military sci-fi books launching or recently launched in 2021 for you to add to your TBR list. Enjoy!


Green World by B.V. Larson 

Release Date: May 28th, 2021

Rebels build a secret base on Green World. Their plan is to attack Earth and retake all the planets the Humans have conquered.

Hegemony starships gather to strike the Rebels first, but where is their base? As the fleets search, Earth warships trespass into Skay space igniting a fresh border conflict between rival Galactics.

When James McGill stumbles onto the rebel camp, they’re forced to step up their plans. The world goes up in flames. Friends are permed and cities are destroyed as everything spins out of control.

Read Green World here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Jack Four by Neal L. Asher

Release Date: June 10, 2021

Created to die–determined to live . . .

Jack Four–one of twenty human clones–has been created to be sold. His purchasers are the alien prador and they only want him for their experimentation program. But there is something different about Jack. No clone should possess the knowledge that’s been loaded into his mind. And no normal citizen of humanity’s Polity worlds would have this information.

The prador’s king has been mutated by the Spatterjay virus into a creature even more monstrous than the prador themselves. And his children, the King’s Guard, have undergone similar changes. They were infected by the virus during the last humans-versus-prador war, now lapsed into an uneasy truce. But the prador are always looking for new weapons – and their experimentation program might give them the edge they seek.

Suzeal trades human slaves out of the Stratogaster Space Station, re-engineering them to serve the prador. She thinks the rewards are worth the risks, but all that is about to change. The Station was once a zoo, containing monsters from across known space. All the monsters now dwell on the planet below, but they aren’t as contained as they seem. And a vengeful clone may be the worst danger of all.

Read Jack Four here on Amazon.


Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands Book 1) by Jack Campbell

Release Date: June 15th, 2021

Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving. And that his duty was to see that justice was served even though some factions feared that revealing the truth would cause the Alliance to crumble.

But after narrowly surviving two assassination attempts when he brings evidence of the misdeeds to the capital star system, Geary realizes that some have decided the easiest way to make the Alliance's problems go away is to get rid of him. He finds himself ordered to undertake a perilous new mission outside of the reaches of human-occupied space while the Senate clashes over the evidence.

Geary's warships must escort a diplomatic and scientific mission across the dangerous, disintegrating remnants of the Syndicate Worlds empire. But even if he can make it to Midway Star System, the gateway to alien-controlled space, Geary will face former Syndicate officials who have rebelled and regard the Alliance with deep suspicion. And that will be the easy part. . . 

Get your copy of Boundless here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Impulse by Ken Lozito

Release Date: August 3rd, 2021

Over the years, Connor has pieced together evidence of a mysterious group of aliens who roamed the multiverse and have been to New Earth.

Setting off to make new discoveries about them is straightforward enough, but this is New Earth, and Connor Gates has a knack for finding trouble.

For over twenty years, Connor and Diaz have been friends. They’ve survived two wars and have seen the best and the worst of each other. When a terrorist attack takes the life of Diaz’s son, their friendship will be pushed to the breaking point.

To find who is responsible, Diaz is willing to cross as many lines as it takes. Connor will do everything he can to protect his friend, even from himself. It’ll take everything he’s got to find who is responsible while preserving a peaceful coexistence with New Earth’s inhabitants.

Sometimes protecting your friends is a lot tougher than fighting your enemies.

Read Impulse here on Amazon.


Citadel by Marko Kloos

Release Date:August 10th, 2021

The war should have been over. But it’s not for a group of nationalists grabbing for control.

It’s been two weeks since a missile with a nuclear warhead tore through the planetary defenses in the most blistering large-scale attack ever committed in the history of the Gaia system. Commander Dunstan Park of the Rhodian navy has been handpicked to command an experimental cruiser that could dictate the course of the escalating conflict. All he has to do is keep the ship from falling into the wrong hands.

On Gretia, the powder keg is beyond control. A terrorist attack against civilians draws Idina Chaudhary into a costly battle. It also forces a cautious Aden Jansen back into the fray. Now dedicated to a just cause, he’s still keeping his past hidden. The risk of exposing his former alliance could twist not only his fate but also that of his sister, Solveig, heir to the family empire.

With no time to waste, Dunstan hits the ground running. But as insurgents threaten the unstable peace, what’s ahead for both sides could change the destiny of the Gaia system forever.

Grab Citadel here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Like what you're reading?

If you're enjoying this Spring Reading list, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You'll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It's free to sign up and you'll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.


Leviathan by Nick Webb

Release Date: September 11th, 2021

Earth has fallen to the Findiri, and the resistance to their rule led by Admiral Shelby Proctor is scattered across the galaxy.

Controlled by the Quiassi who calls himself Abraham Haws--Captain Granger's old friend and XO--the Findiri unleash a storm of destruction as they hunt down Granger, their creator, and seek to end the resistance to their rule.

But a single surviving Swarm ship has returned from their universe, threatening all sentient life in the galaxy and making the defeat of the Findiri all the more urgent, for if the surviving Swarm gets their way, the very existence of the universe is at stake.

All races and worlds gather--human, Dolmasi, Skiohra, Valarisi, Eru, and Itharan, to confront the Findiri, and make one last stand against their mortal enemy: the Swarm, which seeks the end of all life, across all universes and existence.

Get your copy of Leviathan here on Amazon.


Release Point (Drop Troopers Book 8) by Rick Partlow

Release Date: September 14th, 2021

It's the final showdown between Cam and a rogue Tahni general... And it might be the end of everything.

Cam and Vicky are chasing down Zan-Thint to his last fortress, a lifeless world deep in Tahni space. If they can't take him down before he activates an ancient alien weapon, a swarm of biomechanical killing machines will wipe out all life in the Commonwealth.

But devastating his enemies is only half of Zan-Thint's plan. He doesn't do anything without an escape route.

And this one will take him--and Cam Alvarez--clear out of the galaxy.

Dive into Release Point here on Amazon.


The Omega Protocol (Cade Korbin Chronicles Book 4) by Jasper T. Scott

Release Date: September 23rd, 2021

CHAOS IS COMING…
After defeating Nadine Zabelle and tricking her into paying him a handsome sum, Cade Korbin finally has more credits than he knows how to spend. In addition, he has the alien entity known as Alpha and the power of the swarm on his side. Finally, things are going his way.

Cade decides to leverage his good fortune to start his own guild: the Templar, dedicated to hunting the galaxy’s crime lords and all of the corrupt authorities that shelter them.

But meanwhile, tensions are simmering along the border between the Alliance and the Coalition. A cease fire was declared, but both sides are bitterly licking their wounds.

Cade learns of a dangerous operation, code-named “The Omega Protocol”, which entails using the Priors’ Gateway to travel to the future and bring back a weapon that could win the war.

Having used the Gateway before, Cade knows that time travel is like a snake eating its own tail, and Alpha has already warned him that there is another entity like him lurking in the future, one whose only goal is to cause chaos and destruction.

In order to stop The Omega Protocol, Cade must cut a deal with the very enemies he sought to eradicate. Together, they must destroy the Gateway before it can be used to usher in a dark age the likes of which the galaxy hasn’t seen since the Priors mysteriously disappeared.

Get your copy of The Omega Protocol here on Amazon.


The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Release Date: October 19th, 2021

One planet.

Three sapient species living peacefully together.

And one deadly virus that could wipe out every world in the Starways Congress, killing billions.

Is the only answer another great Xenocide?

Start reading The Last Shadow here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Halo: Divine Wind by Troy Denning

Release Date: October 19th, 2021

An original novel set in the Halo universe—based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!

October 2559. With the galaxy in the suffocating grip of a renegade artificial intelligence, another perilous threat has quietly emerged in the shadows: the Keepers of the One Freedom, a fanatical and merciless Covenant splinter group, has made its way beyond the borders of the galaxy to an ancient Forerunner installation known as the Ark. Led by an infamous Brute named Castor, the Keepers intend to achieve what the Covenant, in all its might, failed to: activate Halo and take the last steps on the path of the Great Journey into transcendence.

But unknown to Castor and his new, unexpected ally on the Ark, there are traitors to the cause in their midst—namely the Ferrets, composed of Office of Naval Intelligence operative Veta Lopis and her young team of Spartan-IIIs, who have been infiltrating the Keepers to lay the groundwork for Castor’s assassination. But with ONI’s field operations now splintered and cut off by the Guardian threat, Veta’s original mission has suddenly and dramatically escalated in scope. There’s simply no choice or fallback plan—either the Ferrets somehow stop the Keepers or the galaxy faces an extinction-level event….

Grab In the Halo: Divine Wind here on Amazon.



Which of these military sci-fi releases will make their way into your (e)bookshelf? Which ones are you most excited for? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

Military Sci-Fi That Nails the Military!

“The noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war’s desolation.” — Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

If you're a military sci-fi fan who especially loves those books that aim to give a realistic sense of military life and action, you're going to want to add these books to your queue. Or—for those well-worn favorites—tee them up for a re-read!

A few of the writers with books featured this week have even served in the military themselves, and as such are combining their writing chops with first-hand experience; all of the authors featured are incredible story tellers, and so you are sure to find something here that will have you utterly enthralled! 

  


Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

In Robert A. Heinlein’s controversial Hugo Award-winning bestseller, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe—and into battle against mankind’s most alarming enemy...

Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids.

Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job...

Read Starship Troopers here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

In this novel, a landmark of science fiction that began as an MFA thesis for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and went on to become an award-winning classic—inspiring a play, a graphic novel, and most recently an in-development film—man has taken to the stars, and soldiers fighting the wars of the future return to Earth forever alienated from their home.

Conscripted into service for the United Nations Exploratory Force, a highly trained unit built for revenge, physics student William Mandella fights for his planet light years away against the alien force known as the Taurans. “Mandella’s attempt to survive and remain human in the face of an absurd, almost endless war is harrowing, hilarious, heartbreaking, and true,” says Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Junot Díaz—and because of the relative passage of time when one travels at incredibly high speed, the Earth Mandella returns to after his two-year experience has progressed decades and is foreign to him in disturbing ways.

Based in part on the author’s experiences in Vietnam, The Forever War is regarded as one of the greatest military science fiction novels ever written, capturing the alienation that servicemen and women experience even now upon returning home from battle. It shines a light not only on the culture of the 1970s in which it was written, but also on our potential future. “To say that The Forever War is the best science fiction war novel ever written is to damn it with faint praise. It is . . . as fine and woundingly genuine a war story as any I’ve read” (William Gibson).

Pick up The Forever War here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Trading in Danger (Vatta's War Book 1) by Elizabeth Moon

Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father’s only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it’s no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can’t hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It’s adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family’s misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down.

Expelled from the Academy in disgrace–and returning home to her humiliated family, a storm of high-profile media coverage, and the gaping void of her own future–Ky is ready to face the inevitable onslaught of anger, disappointment, even pity. But soon after opportunity’s door slams shut, Ky finds herself with a ticket to ride– and a shot at redemption–as captain of a Vatta Transport ship.

It’s a simple assignment: escorting one of the Vatta fleet’s oldest ships on its final voyage . . . to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky’s style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to baby-sit the fledgling captain on her maiden milk run, they can’t stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture–in the name of turning a profit for Vatta Transport, of course.

By snapping up a lucrative delivery contract defaulted on by a rival company, and using part of the proceeds to upgrade her condemned vehicle, Ky aims to prove she’s got more going for her than just her family’s famous name. But business will soon have to take a backseat to bravery, when Ky’s change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it’s her military training and born-soldier’s instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny. .

Get your copy of Trading in Danger  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


City of Pearl by Karen Traviss

Three separate alien societies have claimson Cavanagh's Star. But the new arrivals -- the gethes from Earth -- now threaten thetenuous balance of a coveted world.

Environmental Hazard Enforcement officer Shan Frankland agreed to lead a mission to Cavanagh's Star, knowing that 150 years would elapse before she could finally return home. But her landing, with a small group of scientists and Marines, has not gone unnoticed by Aras, the planet's designated guardian. An eternally evolving world himself, this sad, powerful being has already obliterated millions of alien interlopers and their great cities to protect the fragile native population. Now Shan and her party -- plus the small colony of fundamentalist humans who preceded them -- could face a similar annihilation . . . or a fate far worse. Because Aras possesses a secret of the blood that would be disastrous if it fell into human hands -- if the gethes survive the impending war their coming has inadvertently hastened.

Read City of Pearl here on Amazon


Old Man's War by John Scalzi

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place.

So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What's known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger.

Grab Old Man's War here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Like what you're reading?

If you're enjoying this list of military sci-fi reads that nail the military, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You'll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It's free to sign up and you'll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.


The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld

The undead Emperor has ruled his mighty interstellar empire of eighty human worlds for sixteen hundred years. Because he can grant a form of eternal life, creating an elite known as the Risen, his power has been absolute. He and his sister, the Child Empress, who is eternally a little girl, are worshiped as living gods. No one can touch them.

Not until the Rix, machine-augmented humans who worship very different gods: AI compound minds of planetary extent. The Rix are cool, relentless fanatics, and their only goal is to propagate such AIs throughout the galaxy. They seek to end, by any means necessary, the Emperor's prolonged tyranny of one and supplant it with an eternal cybernetic dynasty of their own. They begin by taking the Child Empress hostage. Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx is tasked with her rescue.

Separated by light-years, bound by an unlikely love, Zai and pacifist senator Nara Oxham must each in their own way, face the challenge of the Rix, and they each will hold the fate of the empire in their hands. The Risen Empire is the first great space opera of the twenty-first century.

Get your copy of The Risen Empire  here on Amazon


Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements: You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world . . . or you can join the service.

With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price . . . and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.

The debut novel from Marko Kloos, Terms of Enlistment is an addition to the great military sci-fi tradition of Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, and John Scalzi.

Dive into Terms of Enlistment here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Marines (Crimson Worlds Book 1) by Jay Allan

Erik Cain joined the Marines to get off death row. The deal was simple; enlist to fight in space and he would be pardoned for all his crimes.

In the 23rd Century, assault troops go to war wearing AI-assisted, nuclear-powered armor, but it is still warriors and blood that win battles. From one brutal campaign to the next, Erik and his comrades fight an increasingly desperate war over the resource rich colony worlds that have become vital to the economies of Earth's exhausted and despotic Superpowers.

Erik rises through the ranks and becomes a deadly warrior, and he finally finds a home, first with the Marines who fight at his side and later among the colonists - men and women who have dared to leave everything behind to build a new society on the frontier, one where the freedoms and rights lost long ago on Earth are preserved.

But causes can be fleeting and loyalties complex. Amidst the blood and death and sacrifice, Erik begins to wonder. Is he fighting the right war? And who is the real enemy?

Get your copy of Marines here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Star Shroud by Ken Lozito

They’ve been watching us for hundreds of years.
Now they need our help.
Earth is not safe.

Zack is good at finding things, but when he discovers a global conspiracy, life as he knows it is over. Sometimes the truth doesn’t set you free. It traps you instead.

Kept secret for 60 years, the discovery of an alien signal forces an unlikely team to investigate a mysterious structure discovered in the furthest reaches of the solar system. Join the crew of the Athena, Earth’s most advanced spaceship on the ultimate journey beyond our wildest imagining.

Strap yourself in. The Star Shroud is the first book in this action-packed space opera series. Readers describe them as “a cross between David Weber and John Ringo.” If you like space opera adventure stories with clever heroes, impossible situations, and chilling discoveries, then you’re in for a fun nonstop thrill ride. Read it now!

Start reading Star Shroud  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Warship (Black Fleet Trilogy Book 1) by Joshua Dalzelle

2015 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction

From Joshua Dalzelle, author of the bestselling "Omega Force” series, comes an all new vision of humanity's future.

In the 25th century humans have conquered space. The advent of faster-than-light travel has opened up hundreds of habitable planets for colonization, and humans have exploited the virtually limitless space and resources for hundreds of years with impunity.

So complacent have they become with the overabundance that armed conflict is a thing of the past, and their machines of war are obsolete and decrepit. What would happen if they were suddenly threatened by a terrifying new enemy? Would humanity fold and surrender, or would they return to their evolutionary roots and meet force with force? One ship—and one captain—will soon be faced with this very choice. Against incredible odds, Jackson Wolfe is determined to save humanity–and in the process, might end up saving himself.

Grab Warship here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.


Have you read any of these incredible military sci-fi reads? Which ones will make their way into your (e)bookshelf or into your ears? Have one you feel really nails it that didn't appear on our list? Give it a shout out in the comments here, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

The top 10 best military sci-fi books/series of all time.

Did you know that there is an official Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group?

Fuelled by the opinions of thousands of sci-fi fans like yourself, each week we spark a new debate where you guys battle it out over which books rank at the top of best ever lists.

Ordered from 10 to 1 below based on your votes in the group and on this blog, this week we've got your top 10 selections for the best military sci-fi book/series of all time.

Click on the links to pick up each of these top picks to add to your collection, and then add your comments at the bottom of this post (or in our Facebook group) to let us know if you agree (or not!).

Want to see who didn't make the cut? Click here to view the original poll that inspired this list.

*The results were decided by you based on votes tallied up between our Facebook group and on our blog.

10. Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Rounding out the top 10 list is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Hell Divers series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. In Hell Divers, Smith unleashes post-apocalyptic science-fiction with the pacing of a thriller. He achieves his world-building succinctly, and moves from thrills to chills without the story becoming a mere catalogue of violence, along with tender moments that round out the characters. Hell Divers offers genre fans everything they could ask for, from fresh takes on the post-apocalypse to social commentary reminiscent of Snowpiercer, and plenty of action. The book's swift, tight plotting will also appeal to thriller fans, with a cliffhanger ending that leaves readers suspended mid-air for the rest of a promised trilogy.


9. The Ember War Series by Richard Fox

At number 9, The Ember War by Richard Fox is a 9 book series that can be described as “Battlestar Galactica meets Mass Effect.” It is a story of first contact with galactic empires, some with our best interests at heart, others that see us as an infestation to be wiped out. Epic space battles, heroes and villains you'll never forget and just the right amount of humor to make you bust out laughing while you're reading in public.


8. Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor

Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor is the story of Robert “Bob” Johansson, who, after becoming financially independent by selling his software company, decides to spend some of his money by contracting to have his head cryogenically frozen by CryoEterna Inc. upon his death. The idea is that his head would be preserved until later, when technology permitted a body to be grown and his thawed head attached to it – thus resuming life. The next day he is unexpectedly killed in an automobile accident, and his contract is activated. He wakes up 117 years later and finds that he has been harvested from his frozen disembodied head and installed in a computer matrix as an artificial intelligence. The world has significantly changed.


7. The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell

Coming in at number 7, is The Lost Fleet by “Jack Campbell,” which is the pseudonym for John G. Hemry, a retired Naval officer (and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis). As Jack Campbell, he writes The Lost Fleet series of military science fiction novels.

From book 1… Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance Fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndic.

Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend..


6. Old Man's War by John Scalzi

In your #6 pick, Scalzi's blending of wry humor and futuristic warfare recalls Joe Haldeman's classic, The Forever War (1974), and strikes the right fan–pleasing chords to probably garner major sf award nominations.

In Old Man's War…with his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry's service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including fast-clotting “smartblood” and a brain-implanted personal computer. All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds.


5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel. This futuristic tale involves aliens, political discourse on the Internet, sophisticated computer games, and an orbiting battle station. Yet the reason it rings true for so many is that it is first and foremost a tale of humanity; a tale of a boy struggling to grow up into someone he can respect while living in an environment stripped of choices. Ender's Game is a must-read book for science fiction lovers, and a key conversion read for their friends who “don't read science fiction.”

*Ender's Game placed at #6 on our list of best sci-fi film adaptations.

*Andrew “Ender” Wiggin placed at #7 on our list of most epic sci-fi characters.


4. Dune by Frank Herbert

At #4 is fan-favorite Dune by Frank Herbert – a book that's shown up in almost all of the top 10 lists we publish. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

*Dune came in at #3 on our list of best sci-fi film adaptations.

*The book's protaganist Paul Atreides came in at #3 on our list of most epic sci-fi characters.

*The Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen both placed on our list of most epic villains of all time.


3. Galaxy's Edge Series by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole

Galaxy's Edge is a co-written project by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole. Each book in the Galaxy's Edge series is an essential piece of an interconnected whole. Fight alongside Lieutenant Chhun and Victory Company through the deserts of Kublar in Legionnaire. Join the roguish Captain Keel and notorious bounty hunter Tyrus Rechs as they chase the same target in Galactic Outlaws. Continue to Kill Team to see how all these characters find their place on the galactic stage together, along with Legion Commander Keller, Dark Ops, and the mysterious secret agent X… then brace for a civil war initiated by the enigmatic Goth Sullus in Attack of Shadows.And that's only the beginning.


2. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

At number 2 comes the cult classic Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. This controversial Hugo Award-winning bestseller, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe—and into battle against mankind’s most alarming enemy…

“A classic…If you want a great military adventure, this one is for you.”—All SciFi

*Starship Troopers also placed in our top 10 list of best sci-fi books of all time. Click here to check out the full list.


1. The ExForce Series by Craig Alanson

Craig Alanson is a New York Times best-selling author of the (currently) 7 book Expeditionary Force (ExForce) series. His first audiobook Columbus Day, ExForce book 1, was one of five finalists for Audiobook Of The Year 2018.

And his fans came out in droves in support of his massively successful military sci-fi series, rocketing it to the very top of this exciting debate!

From book 1… We were fighting on the wrong side, of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar, wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria, to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn't even be fighting the Ruhar, they aren't our enemy, our allies are.

I'd better start at the beginning….


Well, what do you think of that list? Do you agree, or do you feel as though your most-loved military sci-fi book/series is missing/didn't place as you think it deserved? Feel free to join us here in our Facebook group to chime in on the debate, and then check out our most recent poll while you're there. Don't have Facebook? Feel free to add to the comments below.

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon & Wikipedia.