Book suggestions?

[Kabluey]

So I'm starting up a new Star Hero campaign, sort of Firefly and Traveller-esque, and was wanting to read some books for inspiration and feel. I have some books on my list to read (currently in the midst of the Honor Harrington series), but figured I'd see if anyone had any good suggestions I hadn't heard of already. Basically I'm looking for books with a specific feel. Not necessarily military sci-fi like Harrington, but certainly something where starships play an important role. I generally don't read spinoff books, (i.e., books based on TV series or movies, like Star Trek, Star Wars, B5), but if people know of specific books of this type that are good, feel free to mention them.

Thanks.

[Captain Obvious]

David Drake's Lt. Leary books have been good so far...

[Nyrath]

By Andre Norton:
Sargassos of Space
Plague Ship
Voodoo Planet
Postmarked The Stars

By John Maddox Roberts
Space Angel
Spacer: Window of the Mind

By Glen Cook
Passage At Arms

By Robert Heinlein
Space Cadet

By William Tedford
Silent Galaxy

By Joan Vinge
The Outcasts of Heaven's Belt (collected in The Heaven Chronicles)

By Jack Williamson
The Legion of Space (collected in Three From The Legion)

By Larry Niven
World of Ptavvs
Protector
Tales of Known Space
The Mote in God's Eye (with Jerry Pournelle)

Many of these are out of print, but can be found at
http://www.bookfinder.com

[bigdamnhero]

I second most of Nyrath's suggestions. (The one's I've read so far.)

I hesitate to recommend Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series. Like everything Donaldson writes, it's beyond dark -- rape, torture, general nastiness. But it also has a very interesting and original vision of space travel and combat. First book is called "The Real Story."

I'm not a big fan of Saberhagen's Berzerker Wars, but I know a lot of people who swear by it.

And though it's mostly about the ground pounders, definitely give Heinlein's Starship Troopers a read if you haven't already.


bigdamnhero
“I use the word “man� in its broadest possible sense. For as we all know, God made man in his own image. It’d be a sad lookout for Christians throughout the globe if God looked anything like you.�

[Spence]

The Mageworld series by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald. There are seven books so far:

The Price of the Stars
Stapilot's Grave
By Honor Betray'd
The Gathering Flame
The Long Hunt
The Stars Asunder
A Working Of Stars


Written like it had a roleplaying game in mind.

[Nyrath]

Sargassos of Space, Plague Ship, Voodoo Planet, Postmarked The Stars, Space Angel and Spacer: Window of the Mind are all "free trader" novels, about the adventures of a tramp interstellar freighter.

Passage At Arms is life aboard a military starship during a war. It is sort of like "Das Boat" in outer space.

Space Cadet shows what a young man goes through to be trained as a member of the interplanetary patrol.

Silent Galaxy is sort of odd, but has lots of Larry Niven like spacecraft.

The Outcasts of Heaven's Belt is about a Belter civilization in an asteroid belt around a far star. It seems there's been a civil war...

The Legion of Space is a swashbuckling space opera about the heroic members of the Legion of Space.

World of Ptavvs
Protector and
Tales of Known Space are the books that inspired TRAVELLER.


The Mote in God's Eye is the best "First Contact" novel ever written. Aliens, interstellar battles, titanic battleships, what's not to like?

Since you are interested in a Firefly like campaign, one might find some inspiration in James Blish's Cities In Flight novels A Life For The Stars and Earthman Come Home (collected in the omnibus edition "Cities in Flight"). They are also tramp freighter novels, except the freighter is Manhatten Island, uprooted and turned into a starship by gravity generators. The other two novels in the series do not work with your campaign.

Thinking about it, Andre Norton's The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars apply as well. The main character is the son of an interstellar gem trader, but he travels with free traders.

[AlHazred]

Hmmm... Military sci-fi or Firefly-like...

I recommend Poul Anderson's Technic League stories, if you can find them (I believe many of them are out of print). Some concern the character Ensign Flandry of Terra, who grows throughout the series from a fairly wide-eyed heroic Navy pilot to a cynical, devious spy. My preferences are for Nicholas van Rijn and David Falkayn, who are super-competent space merchants. One of my favorites is The Trouble Twisters, a Falkayn book.

[ross_winn]

Nothing compares to H. Beam Piper for that style of SF (in my humble opinion).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

[Nyrath]

Nothing compares to H. Beam Piper for that style of SF (in my humble opinion).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

Absolutely. SPACE VIKING is a must-read for military/rome-falling-to-the-barbarians science fiction. Also not to be missed is THE COSMIC COMPUTER (aka JUNKYARD PLANET).

[Vanguard00]

Prior to Firefly, the only sci-fi author I'd read who I thought captured the whole "Wild West In Space" feel was Mike Resnick. Books like "Santiago", "Widowmaker", "Oracle", and "Outpost" are rich with characters of all types, and the sci-fi tech is only a background to it. I pretty much buy anything by Resnick without even looking at the summary because chances are it's gonna be a darn good tale.

I'd also recommend Simon Greene's "Deathstalker" series for good sci-fi adventure romp.

Joel Rosenberg's "Emile and the Flying Dutchman" is good fun in the tradition of Han Solo-type adventure.

For military sci-fi, I have yet to come across better than David Drake and John Ringo (writing together or separately). Jerry Pournelle ranks up there, as well.

Harry Harrison's "Stainless Steel Rat" books could lend some flavor, as could Keith Laumer's "Retief" books.

I know there's more but I'm blankin' on author names right now....

[Vanguard00]

David Weber's "Voyage of the Star Wolf" is one I was thinkin' of (couldn't get past his Honor Harrington books)

There's a series of books--of which I can remember neither the author nor any titles--that followed the exploits of an ensign as he rose through the ranks of the 'space navy' to become an admiral. There were at least half-a-dozen books, and after a while they became somewhat formulaic. However, they dealt with life aboard a starship (a variety of 'em, actually) and 'space navy' combat, and might provide good flavor.

Unfortunately, unless someone knows of which I speak, you might have to wait for the titles. I might have one or two books in the series, but if I do they're in storage.

[Nyrath]

David Weber's "Voyage of the Star Wolf" is one I was thinkin' of (couldn't get past his Honor Harrington books)

There's a series of books--of which I can remember neither the author nor any titles--that followed the exploits of an ensign as he rose through the ranks of the 'space navy' to become an admiral. There were at least half-a-dozen books, and after a while they became somewhat formulaic. However, they dealt with life aboard a starship (a variety of 'em, actually) and 'space navy' combat, and might provide good flavor.

For the STAR WOLF, I think you are thinking about David Gerrolds. There are about three books in the series, depending how you define the series.

I'm not sure, but your other series sounds like THE HELMSMAN series by Bill Baldwin.
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Bill%20Baldwin
Great fun, and written very visually. You can almost see the scenes in your mind's eye, Star Wars like. The novels are a thinly disguised re-telling of the end of World War I and the start of World War II, with the Battle of Britain, the Dunkirk Miracle, and everything.

[Vanguard00]

For the STAR WOLF, I think you are thinking about David Gerrolds. There are about three books in the series, depending how you define the series.

Yeah, Gerrold, not Weber. Thanks.

I'm not sure, but your other series sounds like THE HELMSMAN series by Bill Baldwin.
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Bill%20Baldwin
Great fun, and written very visually. You can almost see the scenes in your mind's eye, Star Wars like. The novels are a thinly disguised re-telling of the end of World War I and the start of World War II, with the Battle of Britain, the Dunkirk Miracle, and everything.

It wasn't The Helmsman series, but it's similar. The Helmsman series was better, I think. Crap. I'm gonna have to do some digging for those books now...

[Vanguard00]

The Nicholas Seafort series! Ha!

David Feintuch wrote 'em, and they have names like "Midshipman's Hope", "Challenger's Hope", etc.

whew!

Like I said, not as good as Helmsman, IIRC, but not bad.

Okay, time to go rest my brain. Too many friggin' 'Davids' writin' books these days...

[Curufea]

Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series

You can start with Miles' parents in Cordelia's Honour. But the first Miles book is Warrior's Apprentice.

All wonderfully melodramatic - war, intrigue, romance, politics.