Personally I've lately been a big fan of real military history - or at least military history told through the voice of an autobiography.

Rommel's Infantry Attacks has daring, action, and humor to rival much fiction I've read.

That said - only one of the books on your list I've read (and loved) is Starship Troopers (although I've seen some of the movie/tv versions of Sharpe's Rifles and Hornblower - what do the faithful think of those, out of curiosity? They seemed reasonably well done, especially compared to the tripe that was the Starship Troopers movie). Might have to pick some of them up next time I'm in a fiction phase. Currently working through Patton's memoirs.


Great list, know most well, since I blame Rico for my life choices, I like the Slammers for a reality, and Bolos for machines with souls, but then I read all the Beserker novels, too, long before the Borg showed up. About which books are last - I didn't care enough, until the book ends I am inside it and it inside me. Thanks for the trigger pull, great Monday.


Shai Dorsai!

Cletus Grahame (and his offspring) and John Christian Falkenberg were right up there with Johnny Rico in corrupting me as I grew up.

It's been years (like 30 or so) since I read any Hornblower, and you've increased my "to read" list with several of the books/series you've listed (Bastard!).

So skipping questions on which I don't have enough info on to form a valid opinon.

4. As it stands now, I go with Dame Harrington although Daniel and Adele are a close second.

5. Ioan Griffud and Jamie Bamber. I just like the actors and the chemistry better.

7. Sharpes Honour.

9. Slammers. The BOLO's may have the edge in firepower and toughness, but never bet against Alois' boys and girls for pure killing. And I'd rather face a BOLO naked with a spork then face Jochim in full powered battle armor. The BOLO might have mercy.

(I'm also personally biased having met David Drake in person, a totally enjoyable experience if not a little intellectually intimidating, and we have an alma mater in common)

10. Yes.

My dream team:

Heavy armor: BOLO's

Light Armor/Scouts: Hammers Slammers

Light Infantry: 42nd CoDo Regt (Falkenber's Mercenary Legion)

Heavy Infantry: Mobile Infantry (Johnny and Mike)

Spec Ops: The Dorsai and the Keldera


Tough stuff there.

Most important ever, Johnny Rico. And he only got one book.

Wearing powered armor, not as well known, but Fedman Kassad vs. the Shrike in Hyperion is epic.

Slammers vs. Bolos? Ugh. How do you pick between that level of awesome? Today, I've got to go Bolo.

Bob Swagger is cool, but Earl Swagger is the man. I read the Bob books first, but Pale Horse puts Earl over the top for me.

I'm afriad that I'm an illiterate, and never read Sharpe or Hornblower. I'll have to remedy that.

And thanks for the tip of the hat. Owen Z. Pitt is just an accountant with a remarkable gift for violence.


Visiting my library I found, Gaunt's Ghosts, by David Abnett -


WWII Naval fiction begins and ends with Douglas Reeman. His naval novels of the Napoleonic era featuring Richard Bolitho are fine, as well (he used the pen name Alexander Kent for those).

Forester wrote a fine WWII novel about convoy escort work during the Battle of the Atlantic: The Good Shepherd. I never much liked Hornblower, and it is hard to overlook that he (possibly) pushed his captain down an open hatch as a lieutenant; too morally ambiguous.

The Aubrey/Maturin novels are fine, if uneven. I dare any man to read Reverse of the Medal's pillory scene without choking up.


1-3: Reading is on the to-do list. However, the list is expanding away from that point.

4: RCN is closer to the spirit, but Harrington rates higher on the addict-o-meter.

5: Crowe. Recognition & the 'lesser of 2 weevils'.

6: From descriptions elsewere, Flashman is a bit more 'out there'.

8: Bolan, if for nothing else, shear volume

9: Bolo. Knights in shining Flintsteel.

10: Rico. It's a journey to solve 'If'. Also it has time on it's side.


Casca!


The Destroyer series is about a secret government agent and his North Korean guru.

Everyone knows that; what's this about WW2 naval adventure?


A correction: it's "Rodger" Young: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Rod...er_Wilton_Young

What, no Edmund Blackstone? A fine list otherwise, especially for folks like me who've devoured one series (Flashman) without knowing a complementary one (Sharpe?) existed. Treasures galore! Thank you!


Casca was a fun series...

Stoney man was another...

my all time fav was the Ashes series by Johnstone... though ive read damn near every thing he wrote...


May I suggest 'His Majesty's Dragon' by Naomi Novik?

It's kinda like a weird cross between Horatio Hornblower and Eragon... but it's not too bad.

--Toasty


1 - 3: Haven't read either, but did see a coulpe of the Hornblower tv movies.

4. Admiral Lady Dame Honor Harrington.

5. Griffud & Bamber.

6. Richard Sharpe. He's kicking French ass, what's not to love ;p

7. Sharpe's Honour

8. Craig Lowell. He took Phil Sherdian to heart.

9. Hammers Slammers.

10. Juan Rico


The Slammers vs. A member of the Dinochrome Brigade?

You want to put 150 ton hover tanks equipped with Railguns against a 13,000 ton killing machine that shoots nuclear fireballs and can take direct hits from Atomic bombs?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!

FOR THE HONOR OF THE REGIMENT!


HTRN, he did specify "Bolo (pre-sentience)". You're thinking of later models.

The early ones were big and tough, but still primarily human crewed, not nearly the fire power or protection. Would be a more even match on the old "many agile" vs "Big and not as agile" model.

We're not talking LNE here.


PS. It think Chris was talking about something like the Mk II that as in the short story "Troll" IIRC


1. Aubrey - His exploits are closer to the real-life officer both characters are based on: Lord Cochrane.

2 & 3. BatM and HitWI - I prefer to read series in chronological order. Yes, BatM may have seemed phoned-in, but then O'Brian was dying when he wrote that one.

4. Tie between Weber's Honorverse and Drake's RCN - Harrington is the Hornblower homage, while Drake admits the RCN series is his homage to Aubrey/Maturin. Vorkosigan doesn't fit, and I haven't read the Seafort series yet.

5. Tie

6. Sharpe - I couldn't even finish the first Flashman novel, but I loved all the mainline Sharpe novels (up through Waterloo).

7. Sharpe's Honour, and the prequels don't exist AFAIAC.

8. John Clark - Bolan got way too repetitive, and I haven't read any of the Bob Lee/Earl Swagger novels.

9 & 10. No opinion


on #4 I'll go with Drakes RCN series

It has been too long since I've read Hornblower and I've never been sure if I read all of the Aubrey series.

Gregory Peck is the only actor I can remember playing Hornblower.
Liked Russel Crowe as Aubrey.

Check out Dewey Lambdin's series on Ramsey. Same time period as Hornblower and Aubrey. Of course Ramsey's nickname is "Ramcat" for several reasons.


The Bolos didn't start getting autonomous until the Mk XX, and even then it was extremely limited.

A MK XX Bolo weighs 13,000 tons, carries a pair of 30cm Hellbores.

The Slammers couldn't even scratch the paint of it's Durachrome hull.

Admittedly, I chose the last "nonautomonus" Bolo, and even then I fudged it a bit..


I wasnt considering pitting the units head on; just which were cooler, and/or better stories/writing.


The one's I've read enough to be able to voice an opinion on, and without reading any of the other responses.

4. Honor Harrington, by default of being the only one I've read much of.

6. Sharpe. Flashman's an asshole.

9. Slammers, though they'd be stomped if they tried to waltz with a Bolo.

10. Felix


Sharpe's the man. Cornwell also has both Civil War and Revolutionary trilogies(not to mention a ton of other"historical" fiction)
Flashman's supposed to be an asshole, an entertaining asshole at that. If you can find Fraser's memoir about his time with the Black Watch in Burma, it'll give you a better appreciation;"Quartered Safe Out Here"
Only scifi/fantasy seies that ever hooked me were the Horse Clan books.
Can't believe no one mentioned Sven Hassel's Legion of the Damned WWII books. definite inspiration for Casca.


They all pale in comparison to Remo Williams.


1-3: Shoot. Haven't read these even as a Navy man.

4: I'll say the Seafort series. It's gritty and pull no punches. It reminded me of my time in the NAVY, and while I never ran into any giant space fish (ooh, that sounds credible), it doesn't really whitewash anything either. The others seem far too "fun," although they are no less enjoyable, nor less worthy of reading for it.

5: *blank stare* *loses 2d6 GAP (Geek Authority Points)*

6: Sharpe... only because I've read the first (?) four books. Maybe they were the first four...

7: Honour. It's also the last one I read.

8: Mac Bolan. Just 'cause.

9: Egads almost a toughie. Dinochrome all the way. We get no real (so far as I am aware) of the state of the Hammerverse past the Hammer era, and thus I am sad. So, Dinochrome, mostly because they end up revered as ancestors by the machines that replace humanity. In addition to all the other speculative junk that happens. Muey bueno!

10: Rico. Gotta go with the original although Scalzi does do an awesome follow-up.


Well, I of all people should have an opinion here...

1. Both, they're both classics. But I confess I prefer Aubrey, because the author does SUCH a good job with the history bits, including the technical details. For me that's important because otherwise I have a real problem with suspension of disbelief, much like physicists do when they watch most sci-fi. Ask me how I feel about Eric Flint's 1632 series sometime

2. Couldn't say, haven't read them all.

3. Couldn't say, it's been way too long

4. I'll go with Honor Harrington, because it's the only series I'm familiar with and they're VERY good

5. Expecting a choice between those two doesn't even make sense. Gruffud, Crowe and Bettany were all PERFECTLY cast for their roles... well, technically, Crowe needed to be a bigger guy, but they shot him in such a way that it worked. And Crowe and Bettany's chemistry was also perfect. I remember nothing about Jamie Bamber as Hornblower's sidekick.

6. Dunno

7. ??? Never read any

8. John Clark. I've only read one of the books with Swagger, and Harmon has... issues. Idk who any of the others even are.

9. Battlemechs

10. Mike O'Neal. I've mentioned my increasing-painful desire for my own suit of power armour, right? And the ones from the Legacy of the Alldenata is definitely the best. Gotta get the annie-plant powered version though, and stock up on anti-matter powered ammo.


I'll answer the ones I can.

1) Aubrey
2) the last one I've gotten to so far
4) RCN
5) Crowe and Bettany
9) Slammers (kind of a pointless question, IMO in Laumer stories non-sentient Bolo's were just brand-name furniture)
10) Felix. Or maybe Hansen.


Respect to all mah Bolan fans.

And, my crush on Honor Harrington is undying.

Oh, and the Slammers, FO SHO!


There was a set of two Civil War novels by Harold Coyle called "Look Away" and "Until the End" about two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War.

Also why no Elizabeth Moon? The Serranos and Vattas are interesting.

Oubaas.


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