u/EmphasisDependent

Hello r/Military, I searched dozens of book lists for Space Marine/Super Soldier/Military Science Fiction novels into one large megalist and then found the top military science fiction books focused on the soldier. I excluded lists specifically about space naval warfare or space opera which often have fleet battles and only included lists trying to focus on the individual or squad.

Ranks 1-10

Title                    Author                 Lists
1. Old Man's War         John Scalzi            26
2. Starship Troopers     Robert Heinlein        25
3. The Forever War       Joe Haldeman           25
4. On Basilisk Station   David Weber            16
5. Terms of Enlistment   Marko Kloos            16
6. Ender's Game          Orson Scott Card       15
7. Dauntless             Jack Campbell          14
8. Armor                 John Steakley          13
9. Valor's Choice        Tanya Huff              9
10. All You Need Is Kill  Hiroshi Sakurazaka     8

I've read 6 out of those 10. I was surprised to see Old Man's War eek out the perennial favorite, Starship Troopers, but Scalzi has written 7 books in that series so maybe it makes sense.

Ranks 11-20 (2 more w/ ties)

Title                      Author                   Lists
11. A Hymn Before Battle   John Ringo               8
12. Hammer's Slammers      David Drake              7
13. Trading in Danger      Elizabeth Moon           7
14. Dune                   Frank Herbert            6
15. Dorsai!                Gordon R. Dickson        5
16. March Upcountry        David Weber & John Ringo 5
17. Gaunt's Ghosts         Dan Abnett               4
18. In Fury Born           David Weber              4
19. Ninefox Gambit         Yoon Ha Lee              4
20. Red Rising             Pierce Brown             4
21. The War of the Worlds  H. G. Wells              4
22. The Warrior's Apprentice Lois McMaster Bujold   4

I'm 1/10 of that set!

And Top Authors with books and list count:

Authors              Books Lists
John Scalzi          3     26
Robert A. Heinlein   3     26
Joe Haldeman         3     25
David Weber         15     18
Jack Campbell       12     17
Marko Kloos          2     17
Orson Scott Card     1     15
John Steakley        1     13
Tanya Huff           7     11
Elizabeth Moon       7     10

How many have you read, and are there any more recommendations? I've never read Terms of Enlistment but based on this analysis, I'd need to. More detailed analysis is here in this article including a link to my upcoming military sci-fi.

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u/EmphasisDependent — 17 days ago