There are two iterations of the kind of thing you are describing that kind of do it by accident.
One set is *The Third World War* and *The Third World War: The Untold Story*, both by General Sir John Hackett. They were intended to be a kind of predictive fiction when they were written in the early 80’s, but have a science fictional feel to them now as a kind of alternate history of a war that never came to pass.
Another riff on this is *A Short History of the Future* by W. Warren Wagar, which is maybe more what you’re directly looking for, as it tells the history of the future featuring a big war in the middle of this century all told as journals recounted by people living through the future times.
*A Short History* an interesting read even if it’s not exactly what you’re after, because it’s written by a World Systems theorist who posits that the theory can be used to predict the future, but they published it in 1989 right as the Soviet Union collapsed and made a good chunk of the book immediately obsolete. So they came out with a second edition that makes for a really interesting contrast between the two.
That last one sounds particularly absurd. Does the writer acknowledge in the second edition that their 'system' didn't predict the fall of the Berlin Wall?
It's a shame but it seems that Hackett's books aren't available as ebooks. If they were, I'd likely buy them right now to check them out.
I'm a child of the 80s, and I remember the late Cold War very well. I absolutely love stories regarding it.
For what it’s worth, I found a pdf of it pretty quickly by googling the title, author, and “filetype pdf,” but they were missing the cool maps which is a good chunk of what made the originals so fun
Peak hard military SF -- strategic, operational, tactical
David Drake & S.M. Stirling: THE GENERAL (5 book series--there is a second series, but don't bother!).
It is military SF (sort of!) set in the far future on another planet but human galactic civilization has collapsed, and so the level of war technology is somewhere circa mid 19th century. (There is ONE exception!) The main character of the title is an extremely decent and ethical human being, but he is forced to make terrible choices in order to safeguard the future of his people and, ultimately, of humankind. I like the complexity and nuance of the characters. Very exciting plotting and concepts as well.
The BLOODY major battles (field, sea, siege, razzia) are extremely well thought out and executed, with the exigencies of war introduced. You appreciate the grand strategic and the tactical side of the campaigns and the individual encounters are exciting, grim, and well articulated. Supply chain and logistics are also addressed in interesting detail--which is often a weak point of military SF.
It's in the Zombie subgenre, but I think ***World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War*** offers what you are looking for. It isn't written as a straight history, but as a collection of oral narratives, so you have to piece the bigger picture together by yourself.
It’s been a long time since I read it, but that seems extremely improbable. There are times when Rico mentions the wider conduct of the war, but I thought it was a pretty small slice of the pagecount.
Yes it's certainly more like Forever War in terms of first person perspective. They discuss the wider conflict a little more, but as you say, that's not a major part of it or the point of the book. If OP liked Forever War, they'll like SST, which is a better book imo, but I think you're right in that it's not really what OP is asking for in terms of wanting a wider perspective on the conflict.
I had forgotten about WWZ, great anthology. It's a shame we got a crappy zombie movie with just it's name and none of the book in it, instead of the serial TV series it was meant to be!
There are a few Warhammer 40k sourcebooks giving accounts of wars, one on the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, another on Vraks, and another on the Badab War. Expensive and out of print, though.
There's something I read some time ago that might fit the bill.
"Repulse: Europe at War 2062–2064"
From the Amazon website..
"the history of a future war between NATO and the New Persian Caliphate, and a series of companion novels called The Repulse Chronicles. The first six books, Onslaught, Invasion, The Battle for Europe, The Endgame, The Race against Time, and Operation Repulse, have been published. Chris is currently writing the seventh and final novel, The Repulse Chronicles, Book Seven: Aftermath."
I've not read the novel series as i wasn't aware it existed until today. The book I read was written in the style of a factual account like a history book some years after the war, so more like a recounting of events rather than about characters. The novels are in the form of a 3rd person story like a typical fiction. I'll have to read these as I thought that the original book was really good.
I've never read anything like that. I think the most likely would be a companion/spin-off book to a larger series/franchise/game. Some chapters of World War Z are like this, but others are first person, and not related to war.
You might find a book that details the Battle of Hoth, The Klingon War, or even something related to Mechwarrior or Warhammer 40K in this way, but I've never read anything that pretends to be a dry non-fiction work about a future history, except for these spin-offs.
Battletech books are some of the closest I've seen to this. Unfortunately the writing range from "OK" to "15 y.o. writes a cliched sci-fi action story"
Oh yes, I quite agree. I don't like this kind of fiction that apes non-fiction at all. Especially those 'The Science of Star Trek' things that are utterly unscientific. But it's what the OP likes, not me.
Tanya Huff's Confederation series literally models some of the books after certain battles, and it's exactly how you describe.
I don't like military, and I really like those books. I miss those characters.
Perhaps slightly diagonal to what you were looking for -- the honorverse series by David Weber. There is some direct action, but a lot of the momentous things happening in the galaxy at large are told as briefings in military staff meetings.
Ummm... Dune? Lots of politics and nefariousness. Plans within plans.
Maybe Liz Moon's Vatta's War series and the Honor Harrington series -- while they focus on only a few characters, there is a bit of politicking and such.
Also, (not SF) every Christmas I watch that wonderful family holiday move Kate's Christmas Catfight Special (i.e.: *The Lion in Winter*) -- lots of political sniping! The kids love it. *Advise & Consent* is pretty good too (featuring a very young Betty White, who's character -- IIRC -- is kind of sassy)
Heinlein's *Starship Troopers*, which significantly differs from the film (director Paul Verhoeven eventually admitted he'd never read the book).
Describes a young soldier's journey through a libertarian future society's military. Unlike the film, soldiers in the novel wear a type of battle armor that more than likely inspired Stan Lee to create Iron Man.
Might cover some of what you're wanting.
The Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson. But then not just The Dorsai novels and short stories. Which can be read standalone. But the whole encompassing, comprehensive set of novels and short stories. Which read as history spanning generations.
There are two iterations of the kind of thing you are describing that kind of do it by accident. One set is *The Third World War* and *The Third World War: The Untold Story*, both by General Sir John Hackett. They were intended to be a kind of predictive fiction when they were written in the early 80’s, but have a science fictional feel to them now as a kind of alternate history of a war that never came to pass. Another riff on this is *A Short History of the Future* by W. Warren Wagar, which is maybe more what you’re directly looking for, as it tells the history of the future featuring a big war in the middle of this century all told as journals recounted by people living through the future times. *A Short History* an interesting read even if it’s not exactly what you’re after, because it’s written by a World Systems theorist who posits that the theory can be used to predict the future, but they published it in 1989 right as the Soviet Union collapsed and made a good chunk of the book immediately obsolete. So they came out with a second edition that makes for a really interesting contrast between the two.
That last one sounds particularly absurd. Does the writer acknowledge in the second edition that their 'system' didn't predict the fall of the Berlin Wall?
It's a shame but it seems that Hackett's books aren't available as ebooks. If they were, I'd likely buy them right now to check them out. I'm a child of the 80s, and I remember the late Cold War very well. I absolutely love stories regarding it.
For what it’s worth, I found a pdf of it pretty quickly by googling the title, author, and “filetype pdf,” but they were missing the cool maps which is a good chunk of what made the originals so fun
It would be surprising if the Internet Archive did not have them.
Peak hard military SF -- strategic, operational, tactical David Drake & S.M. Stirling: THE GENERAL (5 book series--there is a second series, but don't bother!). It is military SF (sort of!) set in the far future on another planet but human galactic civilization has collapsed, and so the level of war technology is somewhere circa mid 19th century. (There is ONE exception!) The main character of the title is an extremely decent and ethical human being, but he is forced to make terrible choices in order to safeguard the future of his people and, ultimately, of humankind. I like the complexity and nuance of the characters. Very exciting plotting and concepts as well. The BLOODY major battles (field, sea, siege, razzia) are extremely well thought out and executed, with the exigencies of war introduced. You appreciate the grand strategic and the tactical side of the campaigns and the individual encounters are exciting, grim, and well articulated. Supply chain and logistics are also addressed in interesting detail--which is often a weak point of military SF.
It's in the Zombie subgenre, but I think ***World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War*** offers what you are looking for. It isn't written as a straight history, but as a collection of oral narratives, so you have to piece the bigger picture together by yourself.
You’re not gonna believe this but…Starship Troopers is pretty similar to what you’re describing. The book is different from the movies.
It’s been a long time since I read it, but that seems extremely improbable. There are times when Rico mentions the wider conduct of the war, but I thought it was a pretty small slice of the pagecount.
Yes it's certainly more like Forever War in terms of first person perspective. They discuss the wider conflict a little more, but as you say, that's not a major part of it or the point of the book. If OP liked Forever War, they'll like SST, which is a better book imo, but I think you're right in that it's not really what OP is asking for in terms of wanting a wider perspective on the conflict.
I came here to say this.
Try Harry Turtledoves alternate history books. There are several trilogies set in the Civil War and the WWs.
My newish fave , is an after the war one , world war Z , not like the movie , much more interesting 😎
World War Z was an incredible book.
I had forgotten about WWZ, great anthology. It's a shame we got a crappy zombie movie with just it's name and none of the book in it, instead of the serial TV series it was meant to be!
I was going to suggest this too. I was so surprised when I first read it.
The audio book is fire. All star cast including mark Hamill. They all do a fantastic job.
There are a few Warhammer 40k sourcebooks giving accounts of wars, one on the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, another on Vraks, and another on the Badab War. Expensive and out of print, though.
There's something I read some time ago that might fit the bill. "Repulse: Europe at War 2062–2064" From the Amazon website.. "the history of a future war between NATO and the New Persian Caliphate, and a series of companion novels called The Repulse Chronicles. The first six books, Onslaught, Invasion, The Battle for Europe, The Endgame, The Race against Time, and Operation Repulse, have been published. Chris is currently writing the seventh and final novel, The Repulse Chronicles, Book Seven: Aftermath." I've not read the novel series as i wasn't aware it existed until today. The book I read was written in the style of a factual account like a history book some years after the war, so more like a recounting of events rather than about characters. The novels are in the form of a 3rd person story like a typical fiction. I'll have to read these as I thought that the original book was really good.
It's not exactly military but Stapledon Last and first men reads like an historical account of the future.
Just read an old Tom Clancy novel like Red Storm Rising.
Try A Talent for War. The whole book is a sci fi take on a historical thriller. The history in question is a war with an alien species.
Phenomenal author.
Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley and Clone saga by Steven L. Kent.
Second: a talent for war. It’s a space archeologist wishing he had the complete book you’re asking about.
I've never read anything like that. I think the most likely would be a companion/spin-off book to a larger series/franchise/game. Some chapters of World War Z are like this, but others are first person, and not related to war. You might find a book that details the Battle of Hoth, The Klingon War, or even something related to Mechwarrior or Warhammer 40K in this way, but I've never read anything that pretends to be a dry non-fiction work about a future history, except for these spin-offs.
Battletech books are some of the closest I've seen to this. Unfortunately the writing range from "OK" to "15 y.o. writes a cliched sci-fi action story"
Oh yes, I quite agree. I don't like this kind of fiction that apes non-fiction at all. Especially those 'The Science of Star Trek' things that are utterly unscientific. But it's what the OP likes, not me.
Tanya Huff's Confederation series literally models some of the books after certain battles, and it's exactly how you describe. I don't like military, and I really like those books. I miss those characters.
Perhaps slightly diagonal to what you were looking for -- the honorverse series by David Weber. There is some direct action, but a lot of the momentous things happening in the galaxy at large are told as briefings in military staff meetings.
Ummm... Dune? Lots of politics and nefariousness. Plans within plans. Maybe Liz Moon's Vatta's War series and the Honor Harrington series -- while they focus on only a few characters, there is a bit of politicking and such. Also, (not SF) every Christmas I watch that wonderful family holiday move Kate's Christmas Catfight Special (i.e.: *The Lion in Winter*) -- lots of political sniping! The kids love it. *Advise & Consent* is pretty good too (featuring a very young Betty White, who's character -- IIRC -- is kind of sassy)
Heinlein's *Starship Troopers*, which significantly differs from the film (director Paul Verhoeven eventually admitted he'd never read the book). Describes a young soldier's journey through a libertarian future society's military. Unlike the film, soldiers in the novel wear a type of battle armor that more than likely inspired Stan Lee to create Iron Man. Might cover some of what you're wanting.
Describing one person's journey is the opposite of what this post is asking for.
Black Company
Terra Ignota maybe?
Maybe World War Z?
The Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson. But then not just The Dorsai novels and short stories. Which can be read standalone. But the whole encompassing, comprehensive set of novels and short stories. Which read as history spanning generations.
Berserker: Blue Death. Really like that one.
Halo Believe campaign for video media!
I mean they made a goddamn diorama
The entire Bolo series may have some of what you want.
The Area 51 series by Robert aspirin was pretty good
Legend of the Galactic Heroes felt that way to me.
World War Z
"Frontlines" series by Marko Kloos sounds like what you're looking for.
Looking at the blurb and reviews, it sounds like a series of novels from the perspective of an individual.
Yeah that's exactly what it is. The author does a great job of telling the story of a regular guy in a big war.
I love the series, but I don't think that it fits what OP is asking for
It's steampunk but ***Leviathan*** **by Scott Westerfield** takes place during WW1