military sci-fi reccomendations?

[Cojafoji]

So I'm finishing up the last of the Honor Harrington (http://honorverse.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page) book series, and was wondering if any of you guys could suggest something similarly awesome? Nothing gets you through the day like day dreams about space battles.

[Kornman00]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers

[Cortexian]

Have you read any of the Star Wars extended universe books? I found the entire New Jedi Order/Yuuzhan Vong series pretty decent when I was in need of something to read.

That Honor Harrington stuff sounds pretty good as well, I'll have to give the first book a read. But I'm going to have problems reading a series where one of the main characters is named Honor, especially after reading this very very NSFW comic (http://oglaf.com/honor/1/).

[Ganon]

Have you read any of the Star Wars extended universe books? I found the entire New Jedi Order/Yuuzhan Vong series pretty decent when I was in need of something to read.

Those books are so horribly written

[Cortexian]

Those books are so horribly written
Until you do better, you can't really criticize a series that millions of people have read and enjoyed...

[Futzy]

Hyperion series (The two sequels to the main series, Endymion, should be required reading)
Mote in Gods Eye
Anything by Larry Niven.
Earth Blood.

[Ganon]

Until you do better, you can't really criticize a series that millions of people have read and enjoyed...

Those books are horribly written

[Futzy]

Those books are horribly written
They really are.

[n00b1n8R]

A lot of the Warhammer 40K books are pretty good; Gaunt's Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain, Eisenhorn trilogy, Ravenor series, a lot of the heresy erra novels, etc.
This setting is totally stupid awesome. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Warhammer40000)

[Bodzilla]

Until you do better, you can't really criticize a series that millions of people have read and enjoyed...
yes i dam well can.

Halo books.
Halo reach is without a shadow of a doubt the worst written book i've ever read in my life.
Pacing, immersion and depth make no appearance at all in any of the halo books i've read.

Fanboys ruin everything.

[Futzy]

yes i dam well can.

Halo books.
Halo reach is without a shadow of a doubt the worst written book i've ever read in my life.
Pacing, immersion and depth make no appearance at all in any of the halo books i've read.

Fanboys ruin everything.
You're not going to find any good scifi written after 2000 (aside from the last ringworld book, which had a 10 year lapse between the books).
Basically, today's writers don't give a shit about rhetoric and immersion. Look for scifi books from the 70's-90's. They're usual space/military related.

[Bodzilla]

Fantasy books are still win though.

check out something by ian irvine. he's win.

[paladin]

No offense, but the Halo book weren't that good. If it wasn't a for a teenaged fanboy obsession, I probably wouldn't have read the books. Read Enders Game and that series. Orson Scott Card is an amazing author.

[Dwood]

I really liked Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space series. The entire series really made me think. Granted it goes under the moniker "Space Opera" but it's probably the best written and immersive set of Sci-Fi books i've read since the Ender series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Revelation_Space

[t3h m00kz]

Who needs books when you got games?

oh fuck I'm one of those illiterate dumbass kids aren't I

[Warsaw]

I thought Orphanage was pretty good. It's completely inspired by Starship Troopers (not the movie), but it's got its own flare to it. There are other books in the same series, but I haven'y read any of them.

[FRain]

No offense, but the Halo book weren't that good. If it wasn't a for a teenaged fanboy obsession, I probably wouldn't have read the books. Read Enders Game and that series. Orson Scott Card is an amazing author.
Currently in the middle of reading this for a school project. Amazing book.

[paladin]

Enders Game is probably one of my favorite fiction novels. Nothing I've read, in any genre, has the depth of story or is as unique.

[Cojafoji]

You're not the first person who's recommended the Hyperion series Mr. Big. I think I'll check those out next. As for enders game, I read the original short story, and I find that like most sci-fi short to novel adaptations ruin the original flavour of the story (flowers for algernon anyone?). Also, freelancer, I have read a couple of them, and to be honest, they just don't do it for me. Also, DWood, I'll definitely also be checking out the revelation series.

Oh and freelancer, definitely check out the series. There's nothing quite like a mind's eye image of a squadron of 7 megaton 2km long super dreadnoughts' forming a line of battle, firing a missile broad side of bomb pumped laser warheads, before closing the remaining distance and finishing an enemy with close range energy weapons. *fap fap fap fap*

[Futzy]

You're not the first person who's recommended the Hyperion series Mr. Big. I think I'll check those out next.
You won't be disappointed. The author is amazingly deep and doesn't leave loose ends. If you're religious you might be offended by the sequel series though.

[Dwood]

Also, DWood, I'll definitely also be checking out the revelation series.

Oh and freelancer, definitely check out the series. There's nothing quite like a mind's eye image of a squadron of 7 megaton 2km long super dreadnoughts' forming a line of battle, firing a missile broad side of bomb pumped laser warheads, before closing the remaining distance and finishing an enemy with close range energy weapons. *fap fap fap fap*

If you start reading it, send me a message. ;)

[Warsaw]

You're not the first person who's recommended the Hyperion series Mr. Big. I think I'll check those out next. As for enders game, I read the original short story, and I find that like most sci-fi short to novel adaptations ruin the original flavour of the story (flowers for algernon anyone?). Also, freelancer, I have read a couple of them, and to be honest, they just don't do it for me. Also, DWood, I'll definitely also be checking out the revelation series.

Oh and freelancer, definitely check out the series. There's nothing quite like a mind's eye image of a squadron of 7 megaton 2km long super dreadnoughts' forming a line of battle, firing a missile broad side of bomb pumped laser warheads, before closing the remaining distance and finishing an enemy with close range energy weapons. *fap fap fap fap*

Make those lasers into explosive shells, and it'll be sexier. There's just something more appealing about "bang bang boom!" than "pew pew pew".

[Cojafoji]

Make those lasers into explosive shells, and it'll be sexier. There's just something more appealing about "bang bang boom!" than "pew pew pew".
In this universe (our supposed future), ships move through space by using artificially created gravity wells called "impeller bands". Nothing can get through them except for focused energy weapons. Nothing says hello like a gamma ray laser with a meter wide focusing lense. *fap fap fap fap fap*

[Dwood]

Explosives in space don't work so hot because there's no air for the combustion..

[Warsaw]

The air for combustion is contained usually inside the powder or explosive compound (thermite is one such compound), and they work great when combined with a penetrator head and delayed explosive charges. Round enters ship, burrows five to twenty metres in, then explodes. Don't tell me that's not effective or cool. However, Coja, I do agree that high-frequency lasers are the way to go for ultimate armour-defeating weaponry...it's just that they generate tons and tons of heat for diminishing returns on effectiveness and as I said in another thread, waste heat is a very serious thing in space and it's hard to get rid of. And if they have impeller bands *coughshieldscough*, so be it. I personally dislike shields in my sci-fi.




<------------ Has read tons of material on space combat over the past four years.

[Cojafoji]

this is what the impeller bands look like: A-1tiLHZi8I

they're not really shields, but they can interdict incoming fire with enough warning. just look at those sexy ass bomb pumped laser warheads going off...

*fap fap fap fap*

[Warsaw]

Laser-pumped explosive warheads* Can't pump a laser, but lasers can pump explosives.

Looked like shields to me, they just don't cover the entire ship.

[Cojafoji]

See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Excalibur

add 1000 years of R&D.

[Warsaw]

OH! That one. Forgot about that. It can go both ways, mind you. Basically it's a laser spammer; not exactly an efficient use of energy. Personally, I'd use some traditional lasers to soften a target's armour by severing some key points, then hit them with a nuke or a barrage of penetrator shells. Battle would be over fast enough that you don't have to worry about heat buildup.

[Newbkilla]

Lmao, I was taught that that was called "star wars", but meh.