Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization, usually during a war; occurring sometimes in outer space or on a different planet or planets. It exists in a range of media, including literature, comics, film, television and video games.
Strange and exotic weapons are a recurring feature in science fiction. In some cases, weapons first introduced in science fiction have been made a reality; other science-fiction weapons remain purely fictional, and are often beyond the realms of known physical possibility.
Fallen Angels (1991) is a science fiction novel by three American science fiction authors, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn, and published by Jim Baen. Winner of 1992 Prometheus Award, the novel was written as a tribute to the science fiction fandom and includes many of its well-known figures, legends, and practices. It champions modern technology and ridicules its critics, including, budget cutting politicians, fringe environmentalists, and the forces of ignorance.
The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal protagonist Honor Harrington. The books have made The New York Times Best Seller list.
James Patrick Baen was a U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983, he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction, and space opera genres. Baen also founded the video game publisher, Baen Software. In late 1999, he started an electronic publishing business called Webscriptions, which is considered to be the first profitable e-book vendor.
Lucifer's Hammer is a science fiction post-apocalypse-survival novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle that was first published in 1977. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978. Two issues of a planned six-part comic book adaptation were published by Innovation Comics in 1993.
The Bolo universe is a fictional universe based on a series of military science fiction books by author Keith Laumer. It primarily revolves around the eponymous "Bolo", a type of self-aware tank. They first appeared in the short story Combat Unit (1960), and have since been featured in science fiction novels and short story anthologies by him and others.
The Peace War is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge, about authoritarianism and technological progress. It was first published as a serial in Analog in 1984, and in book form shortly afterward. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1985. A sequel, Marooned in Realtime, was published in 1986. The two novels and "The Ungoverned", a related novella, are collected in Across Realtime.
The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Baen Books.
Marc Stiegler is an American science fiction author and software developer. He co-authored Valentina: Soul in Sapphire (1984) with Joseph H. Delaney. The novel features Valentina, a computer program that is one of science fiction's earliest examples of sentient software, in contrast to mainframe-based AIs such as HAL and Colossus. His notable works also include David's Sling (1988), a techno-thriller that explores the concept of e-democracy.
A kinetic bombardment or a kinetic orbital strike is the hypothetical act of attacking a planetary surface with an inert kinetic projectile from orbit, where the destructive power comes from the kinetic energy of the projectile impacting at very high speeds. The concept originated during the Cold War.
"A Colder War" is an alternate history novelette by Charles Stross written c. 1997 and originally published in 2000. The story fuses the Cold War and the Cthulhu Mythos.
Heroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others. The first 12 books in the series were published by Baen Books between 1986 and 1989, and stories from the series include one Hugo Award winner and Nebula nominee, as well as one other Nebula Award nominee. The series was resurrected in 2011 by Janet Morris with the thirteenth book and eighth anthology in the series, Lawyers in Hell, followed by eight more anthologies and four novels between 2012 and 2022.
The Cold War was reflected in culture through music, movies, books, television, and other media, as well as sports, social beliefs, and behavior. Major elements of the Cold War included the threat of communist expansion, a nuclear war, and – connected to both – espionage. Many works use the Cold War as a backdrop or directly take part in a fictional conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period 1953–62 saw Cold War themes becoming mainstream as a public preoccupation.
Sarah A. Hoyt is a Portuguese-born American science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction writer. She won the 2011 Prometheus Award for Best Libertarian SF Novel for her science fiction novel Darkship Thieves, and the 2018 Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel for Uncharted, which she co-authored with Kevin J. Anderson. She has written under the noms de plume Sarah D'Almeida, Elise Hyatt, Sarah Marques, Laurien Gardner, and Sarah Marques de Almeida Hoyt. She was the leader of the Sad Puppies campaign in the year that it ceased nominating candidates.
The RCN Series is a sequence of stand-alone science fiction novels by David Drake. They center around Daniel Leary, an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy (RCN), and Adele Mundy, a librarian and spy. Drake, as well as a number of reviewers, have described it as "an SF version of the Aubrey/Maturin series" by Patrick O'Brian. In contrast to the hardcore military science fiction bent of Drake's Hammer's Slammers series, these novels are more character-driven and feature political intrigue as well as battles.
The Excalibur Alternative is a science fiction novel by American writer David Weber, published by Baen Books in 2002. It is one of several novels based on the premise of David Drake's 1986 novel Ranks of Bronze. This novel is based on the short story "Sir George and the Dragon", which appeared in the 2001 anthology Foreign Legions.
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first novel, which he worked on with Steve White, sold in 1989 to Baen Books. Baen remains Weber's major publisher.
The Looking Glass, or Voyage of the Space Bubble, series is a military novel series created by author John Ringo and centering on the creation of trans-space portals known as "looking glasses" and the effect their discovery and the discovery of things via the portals have on life on Earth and off it. Ringo wrote the first book in the series alone, and has collaborated with physicist and author Travis S. Taylor beginning with the second book in the series. Book titles in the series are phrases taken from the poem Jabberwocky.
Biological warfare (BW)—also known as bacteriological warfare, or germ warfare—has had a presence in popular culture for over 100 years. Public interest in it became intense during the Cold War, especially the 1960s and '70s, and continues unabated. This article comprises a list of popular culture works referencing BW or bioterrorism, but not those pertaining to natural, or unintentional, epidemics.
