5 ms·

Just a thought. If you enjoyed these books, you might like _Old Man's War_.

by cturner 11y ago

angersock 11y ago
I didn't really care for Old Man's War. It's a fun read, but it's popcorn. It was a bit too juvenile nanotech wankfest for me. Nominally it looks at subjects like long life, implanted AIs, etc., but it doesn't really do anything with them other than go "squeeeee look at the tooyyyyyys". EDIT: If you want to just bask in the sheer glory of superior firepower and gallows humor, and maybe even occasionally see something with a little bit more to say about politics and men who fight, I'd suggest the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake. Future tank company modeled loosely off of the Foreign Legion just after WW2, the most mercenary of mercenaries, probably the coolest and most reasonable command-and-control for ground forces I've ever seen in a scifi book not set in the near future, and so forth.
- aetherson 11y ago
  The greatest crime of Old Man's War is that it has a wonderful hook: we don't want 18 year olds, we want our recruits to be canny and wise and experienced, so we recruit 70 year olds and rejuvenate them... And then it does basically nothing with that. The 70 year old soldiers distinguish themselves in no way from the 30ish protagonists of every other scifi story.
  - angersock 11y ago
    Exactly! If your entire setup is "But we want to use old folks!", then you should really delve into old prejudices, being unable to change worldviews, reflections on what it means to move to what is effectively a Valhalla of endless figthing and fornication divorced from your previous life, etc. None of that stuff shows up though. By contrast, look at the entire handling of, say, Mandella and the changing standards towards homosexuality portrayed in The Forever War, and the dissonance of the veterans with younger troops about the purpose of the mission and the validity of the government and its past actions.
- mrec 11y ago
  I'd second the Hammer's Slammers rec. Don't be put off by the lurid pictures of ZOMG TANKS!!! on the covers of some editions; it's a lot more nuanced than the name and artwork imply. I'd also recommend his Redliners, which deals in large part with the need to re-establish empathy between soldiers and the civilians they fight for. Some elements of the plot get a bit silly, but Drake was exorcising some serious personal ghosts in that one, and his conviction really shines through.
  - davidw 11y ago
    Jerry Pournelle has some fun military sci-fi too. I don't care at all for the guy's politics, but some of the stories are good. Actually, I mostly read for entertainment, so I tend to favor stories that are first and foremost entertaining and interesting stories, rather than things trying to Send A Message.
    - marktangotango 11y ago
      If we're pulling old authors out of a hat, check out H. Beam Pipers stuff, in particular 'Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen' and 'Space Vikings'. Edit; my reference to Pournelle was in error, apologies!
    - angersock 11y ago
      If you can stand anime, find an old series called "Legend of the Galactic Heroes". It's long, it's decently hard sci-fi in places, and it's got wonderful reflections on war and politics. It very much feels like old Pournelle/Heinlen stuff, with a healthy amount of cynicism about the politicians causing the various conflicts. On the surface, it's just Space America versus Space Prussia, but there's so much more going on.

Just a thought. If you enjoyed these books, you might like _Old Man's War_.

by cturner 11y ago

Just a thought. If you enjoyed these books, you might like _Old Man's War_.

I didn't really care for Old Man's War. It's a fun read, but it's popcorn. It was a bit too juvenile nanotech wankfest for me. Nominally it looks at subjects like long life, implanted AIs, etc., but it doesn't really do anything with them other than go "squeeeee look at the tooyyyyyys". EDIT: If you want to just bask in the sheer glory of superior firepower and gallows humor, and maybe even occasionally see something with a little bit more to say about politics and men who fight, I'd suggest the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake. Future tank company modeled loosely off of the Foreign Legion just after WW2, the most mercenary of mercenaries, probably the coolest and most reasonable command-and-control for ground forces I've ever seen in a scifi book not set in the near future, and so forth.

aetherson 11y ago
The greatest crime of Old Man's War is that it has a wonderful hook: we don't want 18 year olds, we want our recruits to be canny and wise and experienced, so we recruit 70 year olds and rejuvenate them... And then it does basically nothing with that. The 70 year old soldiers distinguish themselves in no way from the 30ish protagonists of every other scifi story.
- angersock 11y ago
  Exactly! If your entire setup is "But we want to use old folks!", then you should really delve into old prejudices, being unable to change worldviews, reflections on what it means to move to what is effectively a Valhalla of endless figthing and fornication divorced from your previous life, etc. None of that stuff shows up though. By contrast, look at the entire handling of, say, Mandella and the changing standards towards homosexuality portrayed in The Forever War, and the dissonance of the veterans with younger troops about the purpose of the mission and the validity of the government and its past actions.
mrec 11y ago
I'd second the Hammer's Slammers rec. Don't be put off by the lurid pictures of ZOMG TANKS!!! on the covers of some editions; it's a lot more nuanced than the name and artwork imply. I'd also recommend his Redliners, which deals in large part with the need to re-establish empathy between soldiers and the civilians they fight for. Some elements of the plot get a bit silly, but Drake was exorcising some serious personal ghosts in that one, and his conviction really shines through.
- davidw 11y ago
  Jerry Pournelle has some fun military sci-fi too. I don't care at all for the guy's politics, but some of the stories are good. Actually, I mostly read for entertainment, so I tend to favor stories that are first and foremost entertaining and interesting stories, rather than things trying to Send A Message.
  - marktangotango 11y ago
    If we're pulling old authors out of a hat, check out H. Beam Pipers stuff, in particular 'Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen' and 'Space Vikings'. Edit; my reference to Pournelle was in error, apologies!
  - angersock 11y ago
    If you can stand anime, find an old series called "Legend of the Galactic Heroes". It's long, it's decently hard sci-fi in places, and it's got wonderful reflections on war and politics. It very much feels like old Pournelle/Heinlen stuff, with a healthy amount of cynicism about the politicians causing the various conflicts. On the surface, it's just Space America versus Space Prussia, but there's so much more going on.