Sunday, May 1, 2016

Five top SF books about war and military culture

Sean Danker is currently serving in the military on a base in North Dakota. His new book, Admiral, is the first book in a new military SF series. At Tor.com Danker tagged five of his favorite SF books about war and military culture, including:
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Bujold’s take on martial culture can come off as overly romantic, even rose-tinted—but at the end of the day, her handling of conflict is grounded and uncompromising. In the early Vorkosigan books, she brings a level of attention to her characters as individuals that sets her work apart from the bulk of military SF. Her willingness to confront mental health as an important aspect of a soldier’s life is encouraging, because the psychological consequences of violence are so often slept on by writers who take the Hollywood approach to war.
Read about the other books on the list.

Cordelia's Honor (an omnibus of Shards of Honor and  Barrayar) is among Joel Cunningham's seven best sci-fi books featuring strong women and Thea James's eight best women in military science fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue