I am looking for a military SF book. Maybe something with the feel of Stargate SG1, but grittier. What I mean is the heroes don't always save the day and sometimes they do something for all the right/logical reasons and can still bite them (or their allies). I always felt like SG1 did that pretty well.
Characters with psychological and cultural depth is preferable to cardboard cutouts. Hard-ish SF is preferred, over anything Star Trek-like. Tactical and strategic goals of all involved need to make sense. No "we're at war, because of Space Nazis."
Series I've already read:
- Expeditionary Force… all of them. I love Skippy, but I'm looking for something with much less comedy. Come to think of it, the first ExForce book, before Skippy gets introduced, is a good reference too besides SG1.
- The Expanse. It was okay. In my view, the early books were better than the later books.
- A lot of Star Trek novels. I think the franchise has run out of steam. I'm over it.
- The Commonwealth Saga, which I liked. I especially liked Morning Light Mountain's alien-yet-believable motivations. I couldn't get into the Void Trilogy, the opening was just too weird and I dropped it.
- Kim's Mars Trilogy. It had its bright spots but it was also kind of a slog to get through.
by s-ro_mojosa
1 Comment
I just finished reading the red rising series and I really really enjoyed the world and world-building done there. Goals make sense generally and the action is fast and brutal. The first book is a bit slow and more YA, but its gets faster paced. Very gritty, and one of those series where no character is safe from death, and it can and does happen out of nowhere. Big decisions and events cause ripples in the story that have real consequences for the characters who made them.