Pulpy military SF with awesome space battles

June 13, 2022 1:07 PM

So a friend requested a recommendation for some books with awesome space battles. He came to me because I'm a big SF fan, but I'm not so into military SF. And I feel the ones I like would be a bit too, high brow? sophisticated? Too much stuff going on thats not shooting starships? I think Enders Game, Honor Harrington, Starship Troopers, Forever War fall into that category. He is not an avid reader but fondly remembers one Star Wars Novel, I don't remember which and he is also a huge Trekkie.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon to Media & Arts (33 answers total)

Response by poster: I think the plot of the Star Wars novel was about the commander of the last remnants of the imperial fleet and his comeback or something.
And I tried Dauntless, but the SF part of the book was really boring with the most unimaginative aliens ever and a very lackluster setting.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 1:09 PM on June 13, 2022

How does your friend feel about reactionary politics? Military SF can be lousy with it.
posted by zamboni at 1:20 PM on June 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

I think the plot of the Star Wars novel was about the commander of the last remnants of the imperial fleet and his comeback or something.

This is likely one of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn books.
posted by zamboni at 1:28 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If he's up for more Star Wars, the X-Wing series might work.
posted by darchildre at 1:39 PM on June 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: How does your friend feel about reactionary politics? Military SF can be lousy with it.

I think he can handle it.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 1:48 PM on June 13, 2022

Old Man's War?
posted by lewedswiver at 1:50 PM on June 13, 2022 [10 favorites]

The Legends of Dune prequel trilogy has plenty of battle action, telling the story of the war between humans and the thinking machines. And I think they could fairly be described as "pulpy." (Brian Herbert isn't the writer his old man was.)
posted by dono at 1:50 PM on June 13, 2022

I just noped out of one of Mike Shepherd’s long series in the grounds that the book was almost entirely space battle, so he might be worth a try. The one I objected to was Kris Longknife - Admiral, which is number 16. I have read some of the early ones but don’t remember what proportion of them is battle. They are not terribly well-written and rather juvenile, but it depends what he’s after.
posted by paduasoy at 2:17 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series has some outstanding space combat sequences, though they’re not the central focus of the narrative.
posted by killdevil at 2:22 PM on June 13, 2022

Best answer: I am enjoying Evan Currie's "Into the Black" Odyssey One. It's heavier on the science side than many space operas. Also the bad guys are basically bad to the bone, no redeeming values, so you don't have to feel bad about hating them.

I previously enjoyed John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" which lewedswiver recommended above.
posted by forthright at 2:26 PM on June 13, 2022

Best answer: Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks has loads. My favourite bit is where they destroy the Orbital with CAM dusting
posted by el_presidente at 2:56 PM on June 13, 2022 [4 favorites]

With the caveat that I haven't read them, but would the Expanse by James S.A. Corey fit the bill? My partner is all about smart space operas (possibly a useful search term for your friend) and he devoured the series.
posted by Paper rabies at 3:09 PM on June 13, 2022 [9 favorites]

Best answer: I don't know if they're too high-brow, but Scalzi's Old Man's War series and Reynolds' Revenger series are both good and involve a lot of battles with starships. (On preview, I see that I'm seconding Old Man's War.)
posted by eotvos at 3:10 PM on June 13, 2022

How old is your friend?

By space battles, are you talking Newtonian physics or more pew! pew! ?

I don't recommend it, it's really hokey, but I read through the first couple of series of The Lost Fleet.

For a much better/ realistic take on Newtonian space physics, I'd highly recommend the Moties dualogy/ trilogy/ whatever. Especially the second one, 'The Gripping Hand.' It's also a rip roaring piece of progressive (at the time) science fiction. But yeah, too much talky, not enough explodey.
posted by porpoise at 3:29 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen series, especially Second Stage Lensmen.
posted by Rash at 3:31 PM on June 13, 2022

Best answer: The Embers of War series by Gareth L Powell might work well here.

I also enjoyed the battles in Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries Of Empire series, though it's fairly complex involving mathematical/calendrical philosophies and so on, so possibly not pulpy enough.
posted by knapah at 3:32 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

For some reason, I'm compelled to drop Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant here. I haven't read it since I was prepubescent and can't recount the exact number of space battles but do recall that it was action-ey.
posted by porpoise at 3:32 PM on June 13, 2022

Best answer: Just posted about Shards of Earth in fanfare. Alien threats, both big and small, page turning action, humans (and others) trying to somehow survive against unimaginable odds. Loved it.

Bujold's Vorkosigan series is deservedly well respected and I can't not recommend it; but while the early books (starting with Shards of Honor) are definitely military there might not be enough "on screen" battling for your friend.

Not quite as well written, but still suitably page turning and with lots of fighting are Elizabeth Moon's Marque and Reprisal series or Kate Elliott's Unconquerable Sun.
posted by mark k at 3:37 PM on June 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

I thought the Honor Harrington books (which you mention) had a good amount of space battles, and that they were well-written with plausible mechanics and good tension.
posted by foodmapper at 3:38 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Most Honor Harrington novels have space combat, except for a few where she was in exile, but usually she was in command of something, and she's so hypercompetent, she's even good in duels.

A couple other writers to watch for:

Christopher Nuttal and the Ark Royal series

Glynn Stewart and his "Starship's Mage" series

Evan Currie has his ArchAngel Rising series which is a bit more space combat.

CH Gideon, Rick Partlow, M.R. Forbes, Daniel Arenson
posted by kschang at 6:22 PM on June 13, 2022

Best answer: Marko Kloos wrote some good shoot-em-up-in-space books that I found myself really enjoying.

The aliens are faceless so there's no troublesome morality to slow down the action! :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:24 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Banks' Excession has some of my favorite space battles in all of SF, especially since they're written from the POV of the ships themselves.
posted by signal at 7:44 PM on June 13, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: The Starfire books by David Weber and Steve White. Wall to wall space battles based on a great tactical board game system. Very satisfying when you want that sort of thing.
posted by BeeDo at 8:25 PM on June 13, 2022

Another vote for Marko Kloos. Military Sci Fi. Reminded me of my favorite Heinlein.
It's a lot of fun, well written, and the female characters are actually human and interesting (unlike Heinlein!) . I read the series that starts withTerms of Enlistment
posted by Zumbador at 9:03 PM on June 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I like Alistair Reynolds's Revelation Space series. It's solidly a space opera, so has maybe one or two 'space battles' per book. But each book definitely has some hard sci-fi, usually somewhat scrappy, fights that scratch the space battle itch for me.
posted by crossswords at 10:01 PM on June 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

Strong second for Marko Kloos - lots of big exploding stuff in space, but the background politics are refreshingly non-reactionary (this is not the first impression, as the POV character has to overcome their own prejudices as part of the first novel), great characterisation and cool tech.

I’ve not read it yet, but Jeremy Szal’s series that starts with Stormblood looks suitably explod-ey too.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:27 AM on June 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

Elizabeth Moon also wrote a series of books -- with some space battles -- that cover a woman's efforts to restore her family's interstellar shipping empire to greatness after they are taken down.

(Honestly, it's better than I make it sound.)
posted by wenestvedt at 4:32 AM on June 14, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Dread Empire's Fall series (I've read the first three books) are heavily space battle focused with some increasing ground-based combat in the later books (not done as well but still quite good) by Walter Jon Williams.

The Risen Empire and it's sequel have a lot of space battles (it was meant to be one book FYI) by Scott Westerfeld.
posted by skynxnex at 5:18 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

Anne McCaffrey has some books that may fit the brief. With the disclaimer that they can be a bit dated.
(I'm guessing you've already gone through pulpy Star Trek books. of which there are a lot)
posted by BekahVee at 5:27 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Merrimack series by R. M. Meluch have some great space battles, and also swords! And... Romans? It's weird, but pulpy fun.
posted by suelac at 10:35 AM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed most of the Night's Dawn trilogy (Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, Naked God) by Peter F. Hamilton. There's quite a lot of space combat with quite imaginative variations on the theme.
The ending is just the worst deus ex machina, but the rest is very much pulpy space opera.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:28 PM on June 14, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Expanse series is a great pulpy thriller with a good amount of space battle. The Night's Dawn Trilogy has some space battle but it is not the focus of the series, which is 4500+ pages total!
posted by schyler523 at 1:31 PM on June 15, 2022 [2 favorites]

Somehow forgot to mention Elliott Kay's Rich Man's War series, which involves space pirates, student debt and some really aggressive corporate strategy. A ton of fun, old style space battles without old style politics. (Elliot Kay has the advantage of being a MeFite too!)
posted by mark k at 9:24 PM on June 18, 2022 [1 favorite]