Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein
When one thinks of military science fiction, Robert Heinlein's classic novel Starship Troopers is often the first to come to mind. It paved the way for a lot of military science fiction, but it did that by going beyond the battlefield - this story extends military culture from the lives of the soldiers, to the root causes of the story's conflict. Heinlein even explores how the culture became militant in the first place.
We follow Juan Rico, a member of the Mobile Infantry, a powered-armour infantry unit that is deployed in the war against an insect based species known as the Bugs, watching him emerge from training to engage in battlefield combat. The story alternates between Rico's military life and flashbacks to his life beforehand and the training that he underwent, all the while serving to explore several political theories of civic responsibility and military ethics.
Cobra Trilogy, Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is known far more for his Star Wars novels, but he has written extensively in the science fiction realm, especially in military SF. Some of his best books have included the Conqueror's Trilogy and Blackcollar, but what springs to mind first is his Cobra series. These books follow a group of soldiers known as Cobras, who have been augmented to pack a greater punch on the battlefield. Rather than exploring the battlefield abilities of these soldiers, Zahn looks to their lives after the war and how they adapt, as the modifications that they receive are permanent.
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game is another of the prominent works of military SF. It follows Andrew 'Ender' Wiggen as humanity is fighting a far off and seemingly unstoppable insectoid race. Andrew and other children are selected for an orbital school that is designed to turn them into the leaders who will lead Earth to victory. Unlike other books, which focus on combat, Ender's Game largely focuses on the command and strategy level of warfare, as Ender proves to be a brilliant subject, and eventually takes command of Earth's forces as they travel closer to the enemy's home planet.
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman's 1974 novel The Forever War explores both combat and culture. Earth is engaged in an interstellar war, and the story's hero, William Mandella, is recruited to fight far from home. After a period of training, they travel to the battlefield at faster-than-light-speeds. But this subjects the soldiers to relativity: They arrive to find themselves outgunned on the battlefield, and return to find a very different Earth than when they left. Where Starship Troopers is considered to be fairly pro-military, The Forever War was written in the aftermath of Vietnam (Haldeman was a veteran) and is largely seen as an anti-war novel.
Old Man's War, John Scalzi
Published in 2005, John Scalzi's novel Old Man's War was nominated for a Hugo Award and Scalzi followed up with two sequels. The story follows John Perry, a seventy-five-year-old who enlists in the Colonial Defence Forces, and begins a military career that leaves him an experienced soldier and leader. But over the course of the carnage, he is left to wonder whether the bloodshed is really worth it. The book has been compared to both The Forever War and Starship Troopers.
Broken Angels, Richard K. Morgan
Broken Angels is the second book in the trio of Takeshi Kovacs novels penned by UK author Richard K. Morgan. Unlike the first book of the three, which had more of a detective-noir feel, we are now thrust into the military background of Morgan's starring character, Takeshi Kovacs. Kovacs is serving with a mercenary unit when he is contracted to help protect an expedition that has uncovered a Martian artifact located in the middle of a war zone. Morgan applies his own twists to the genre. Unlike other military science fiction books, Morgan doesn't look at the themes of warfare, but instead at mercenary and corporate military units, as well as the individual conduct of the soldiers.
Armour, John Steakley
Armour has been compared to Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. The title refers to the powered armour that the soldiers in the story use (to fight insectoid aliens), but also refers to the psychological effects of war. The story's hero, Felix, is put into battle again and again, surviving against incredible odds, but finds that these battles take an incredible toll.
Wess'Har Wars, Karen Traviss
Karen Traviss's Wess'Har series spans six books (City of Pearl, Crossing the Line, The World Before, Matriarch, Ally and Judge) and begins in the near future, before jumping ahead several hundred years. Traviss' protagonist, Shan Franklin, is a police officer who is sent to the world Cavanagh's Star, to recover a colony that had been sent there. There, accompanied by a unit of Royal Marines, they meet several new alien races, and become embroiled in a massive conflict that humanity is dragged into as well.
This series works well because of Traviss' restraint. While these books feature combat, they are mainly political and ethical in nature, dealing with genocide and the limits of warfare. Particularly interesting is that Traviss' books don't necessarily take the side of humanity; she explores a number of other races and their motivations for going to war.
Vatta's War Cycle, Elizabeth Moon
Vatta's War is a series of five books by Elizabeth Moon that follow Kylara Vatta after she is drummed out of a military academy and thrust into the family business of transporting goods. But there is combat: she fights battles with pirates and mercenaries, while working to defend her family and livelihood. Over the course of the series, threats mount and Ky is forced to take command of a task force to defend against a massive pirate armada.
Probability Moon, Nancy Kress
Probability Moon is the first book a trilogy where Earth is (surprise!) fighting against an alien race that has them outmatched. This book deals with the discovery of an alien artifact that can help turn the tide of the war in humanity's favour. What is interesting about these books is that they follow a select number of characters outside of the military who have to interact with a society that is increasingly under the control of military forces. Kress also deals with military tactics that conform to physics, which is a nice change in general.
X-Wing Series, Michael A. Stackpole / Aaron Allston
I wasn't going to approach any elements of the Star Wars franchise, but I couldn't really justify leaving off Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston's 9 book X-Wing series, which deals largely with space battles. This series stands out, because it gives us a strong sense of military culture, jargon and environment as we get to know the Rogue and Wraith Squadrons.
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