After Collider listed their “top books in MilSF,” our reviewers had opinion. Caroline had her turn.
And now, one our our veterans have a turn. His list is … long. ~Declan Finn.
First, like the title says, this list is incomplete because my memory is flawed. Even better, there are more amazing books than any one person can read in a single lifetime. Because of that, I’m treating this as a living, breathing document rather than a rigid text from the Church of the Sci-Fi Pew Pews.
This is the third part in this list; you can read the first part here and the second part here. Feel free to jump into the comments with anything I’ve missed or whatever you think I should add to my impossibly long TBR list. Seriously, I promise to add it! If I can’t get to it in this lifetime, I’ll catch up in the next!
Moving on, it’s important to note that these books aren’t listed in any order of merit or worth. Their only sorting algorithm was the random order they popped into my brain during a late-night mind dump onto the page. If you want to rank them or assign your own value system, have at it! Just be sure to let us know in the comments!
Rather than making a list of book titles and links, I aim to write a quick synopsis of the book, linking to those Upstream has reviewed already and showing you where you can buy the various works.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in!
So begins the list…
1-800-Starship Series by J.N. Chaney
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! J.N. Chaney’s 1-800-Starship is the first book in a series of the same name. It lovingly blends retro 1980s pop-culture nostalgia with the fast-paced military space opera that I love. Before we go any further, let me show my bias. I loved J.N. Chaney’s Renegade Star Series and his Last Hunter Series that he co-wrote with Terry Mixon. I was already a fan of his work when I started this novel. I went in expecting to like this new book. It’s written like many of Chaney’s solo books, in the 1st person POV with a somewhat snarky character. If you don’t love that, this novel isn’t the book for you. However, this is my jam, and I wasn’t disappointed.
This story follows Mark Allen, an ordinary small-town guy who calls a hotline advertised in an old arcade comic book. Whatever he expected, it wasn’t to be whisked away by an alien “Recruiter.” This book, which starts series thrusts a regular a human from Earth into training as a “Nova Slinger.” He’s being trained to fight in an ancient interstellar conflict he barely understands. The series expertly balances fun portal-fantasy dynamics with high-stakes space warfare as Mark discovers a galaxy strangely steeped in Earth’s late-80s pop culture.
What sets the series apart for me was the fast-paced blend of small-unit squad tactics, fighter-style dogfighting, and asymmetric warfare against a hive-mind alien threat. The combat style focuses on rapid team coordination, pilot maneuvers, and boarding ops as raw recruits are quickly forced to learn squad integration while under enemy fire. This book balances the gritty mechanics of weapon loads and ship damage control with an upbeat, high-tempo retro adventure that you’ll love if you give it a chance.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, J.N. Chaney (Jeff Chaney), served four years on active duty in the United States Air Force before earning a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. He was able to combine his firsthand experience with military service and formal training in creative writing, to build a massive indie publishing imprint. That awesome nerdy outlet specialized in fast-paced military science fiction, space opera, and LitRPG. His background allows him to seamlessly blend military authenticity with accessible, high-concept fiction. He addresses larger ideas of what it means to be human in a world with alien life, machine integration and how the individual fits into the larger galactic cosmos. I’ve read many of his series and I think he continually delivers.
The Lost Fleet Series by John Hemry
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
First, I want to address an issue that might cause some confusion. These books were originally published by Jack Campbell, which is a pseudonym of John G. Hemry. Now the author is moving his books into his own name, so you’ll see versions with two different author names or with both of the names on them. Whichever you see, they’re good, be the name Jack or John be on the cover!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Jack Campbell’s The Lost Fleet series has six books in it, each one named after one of the ships in the fleet that the series centers around. The books in the series had names like Dauntless, Fearless, Courageous, Valiant, Relentless and Victorious. These books are widely regarded as a masterclass in hard naval military science fiction. Widely regarded by whom? In my purely subjected opinion, his books came recommended to me via my veteran support network that I formed through my local VA PTSD group. Take that for what it’s worth, and that includes with a lot of salt or whatever the saying is!
Now let’s talk about the book itself. Waking from a century of survival-pod cryo-sleep, legendary Alliance commander John “Black Jack” Geary finds his fleet trapped deep inside enemy Syndicate territory. The fleet’s officer corps was decimated, and their naval traditions degraded by decades of attrition. This was part of the story that made it hit so hard for me. It showed what happens to a nation at war for too long, long enough that it caused the nation to metastases itself and things began to decay. This book came out in 2006, but I found it years later on the same day I realized that the war had lasted long enough to enlist in its own right. Maybe it was nostalgia, but that made the effect of the story feel real in ways that are hard to quantify.
Because he’s the main character in this Master and Commander story through the voids of space, off course Geary becomes the new head mother freaker in charge. Taking command, Geary is forced to navigate a vast, battered armada home against the odds. He sails through hostile space, all while restoring discipline, honor, and actual military doctrine to his officers. Officers who’d institutionally forgotten their roots and their responsibility to the spacers/sailors under their command.
Another thing that makes The Lost Fleet stand out is its relentless commitment to realistic orbital mechanics, light-speed lag, and relativistic fleet tactics. I don’t have the brainiac knowledge that would tell me if the science were real. It felt real, which is what mattered to me. However, my more nerdy friends tell me that the naval combat was spot on. It was conducted at fractional speed-of-light velocities, where engagements are won or lost in seconds-long firing passes planned hours in advance to account for visual delay and sensor latency. This sounds like it would be boring, but Hemry kept it exciting and kept me engaged. In other books that lean too hard into the hard science, I skim those scenes. With these books, I read every word.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, John G. Hemry, is a U.S. Navy veteran. He’s a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was a line officer, who retired as a Lieutenant Commander. In his writing, he draws directly from his active-duty naval service. His experience in the surface warfare community allowed him to craft the series’ authentic shipboard culture. It allowed him to describe believable fleet tactics and create realistic chain-of-command dynamics amongst the crew in his books.
On Basilisk Station by David Weber
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! David Weber’s On Basilisk Station is the groundbreaking opening novel of the long-running Honor Harrington Saga, often celebrated as C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower transposed into deep space. Honestly, I didn’t see that because the Weber universe opens while the main character, Honor, is already an older woman established in her career. The similarities are that they are both naval officers, driven by duty and their responsibilities to their nation. I recognize that Weber has said that he was inspired by these works, among other things. But I didn’t personally see the parallel.
With that out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the book itself. The main character, Honor Harrington, is a member of the Royal Manticoran Navy. She was banished to the backwater Basilisk system as political punishment for embarrassing her superiors during a weapons test. Her experimental armament underperforms in fleet exercises, and she was the scapegoat for the bloated naval bureaucracy. As a result, she was assigned to the poorly regarded Basilisk Station. Truly, this is the metaphorically Siberian duty station where they count mess kits.
She’s a naval commander and sails with her crew aboard the aging light cruiser HMS Fearless. The lot of them are expected to quietly rot away as punishment. Instead of wallowing, Honor turns a demoralized posting into a high-stakes confrontation involving smuggling, indigenous unrest on the planet Medusa, and a covert Havenite plot that threatens the entire system. Instead of a quiet obsolescence, she shows the world what she’s made of.
What makes On Basilisk Station stand out is its meticulous and detailed space-naval combat rooted in Age-of-Sail tactics adapted to futuristic physics. They fight with broadside capital-ship tactics, missile telemetry, and energy-shield geometry. So, mix the old and the new… what comes out of is something amazing. Ships rely on impeller wedges that create nearly impenetrable “up/down” defenses, forcing engagements into broadside exchanges of missiles, lasers, and energy weapons. This fighting tactic is why the comparison to sailing ships of the line fought lands for so many readers.
What I liked was that there was no magic tech that solved all of the problems. There were light-speed delays, sensor limitations, and the need to close range for decisive weapons. One of those weapons was the experimental grav lance that I thought was creative and shaped the genre books that came after it. But more than that, in this novel, Weber masterfully scales the tension around the asymmetric space naval warfare. This will always speak to me, but this is likely a bias because this was my experience in the Global War on Terror.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, David Weber, is not a military veteran. According to my online sleuthing, some sights have said that he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy but was rejected for medical reasons. According to a talk that he gave at a NavyCon that was hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, he holds the record for the most failed attempts to enlist in South Carolina. Despite his lack of service, his background as a military history enthusiast and former wargame designer. All of this informs the tactical and institutional details that he writes about in his novels.
The Cyborg Option Series by Scott Moon
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed this series yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Scott Moon’s The Cyborg Option Series is an intense, action-heavy military science fiction saga. The first book in this series is where the series gets its name. It’s set against a desperate galactic struggle for survival, like all of the best military science fiction. And it’s about one of my favorite science fiction tropes… cyborgs. I mean, what’s cooler than the merger of man and machine?
This series follows elite ground forces, cyborg augmentees, and frontline commanders pushed to their absolute physical and mental limits. This happens as humanity faces overwhelming cybernetic and alien threats, an enemy that works in science fiction. One of the best enemies, really, in a world where transhumanism is looking more and more possible. Against these building blocks, Moon crafts a fast-paced narrative that blends the scale of classic space opera with the brutal realities of augmented infantry warfare.
What sets The Cyborg Option apart is its visceral focus on cybernetically enhanced ground combat, mechanical integration, and fireteam tactics where every side actually bleeds. Too often military science fiction combat is written as bloodless and deathless, by people who don’t bother to understand the realities of war. The combat style delivers kinetic, small-unit to company-level firefights where soldiers are forced to balance heavy power-armor capabilities, targeting HUD telemetry, and cybernetic reflexes against the extreme realities of war. They deal with the frenetic nature of war, ammo depletion, and armor degradation. I especially appreciate this, seeing the realities of combat logistics. Too often ammunition runs out, equipment wears out and bodies fight through exhaustion. And too often, authors ignore those realities. Moon does not. He caught those realities and made them part of the plot.
To wrap up the synopsis of this book, we’ll consider the author himself. Unlike many authors in the military science fiction subgenre, Scott Moon isn’t a military veteran. Instead, he’s a former law enforcement officer. He was a former detective, turned police lieutenant and SWAT officer. His real-world background in law enforcement and tactical training gave his work the same realism you’ll find from any former service member. I’ve noticed that he thinks about tactics differently than someone trained to fight counter insurgency in the GWOT (Global War on Terror). That is because his training emphasized saving lives and minimizing casualties. My training emphasized ending enemy lives, shooting until the threat is eliminated. To kill the enemy with extreme prejudice. I like Moon’s approach, his experience is so counter to mine that his works feels different because his writing informs his realistic handling of firearms, room-clearing mechanics, and squad-level stress under fire. The same, but different.
The Theogony Trilogy by Chris Kennedy
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed this series yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Chris Kennedy’s The Theogony Trilogy, which starts with the book Janissaries, is an inventive military science fiction series that bridges realistic modern naval aviation with ancient mythological sci-fi. This franchise is the best thing that came out of Chris Kennedy Publishing. While I enjoyed the Four Horseman Universe, I found this to be more my style. I loved the mix of realism, snark and military science fiction where the main characters are fighting for causes larger than themselves. I grew up in a generational military family, so the space mercenary trope never truly spoke to me. Those books were good, but these had everything I like about the genre.
The story follows Lieutenant Commander Shawn “Calvin” Hobbs after the events of the Occupied Seattle Duology. Those books were military thrillers, so they didn’t fit the genre, but they pivoted into this follow-on series. But while the duology doesn’t fit into the genre for this list, it does lead into this series and the books are amazing. I highly recommend them, if you love reading military action-adventure stories.
Back to this series! The main character is a former Navy fighter pilot who is recruited into a covert military program. He was sought out after discovering that the ancient Greek gods were actually powerful alien races. This is an old trope, but one that I love reading. It is why I love Stargate and why I loved this series. After finding that aliens were real, the next shoe dropped. They learned that humanity was caught right in the middle of the proxy war of these ‘Greek gods.’
What makes The Theogony Trilogy stand out is its seamless blend of carrier-based fighter pilot tactics, space-naval combat, and ancient alien mythology. The combat style delivers air-to-air dogfighting and carrier strike mechanics translated into orbital and void engagements. In this series, flight leadership, energy management, and missile loadouts dictate survival… just like in real world combat. I love that Chris Kennedy balances company-level boarding actions with grand fleet engagements, bringing realism to how military pilots adapt top-tier naval doctrine into deep-space combat.
To wrap up the synopsis of this book, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, Chris Kennedy, is a veteran of the US Navy. He served for twenty years as a naval officer and aviator. He spent his time in the Navy flying carrier-based missions and then serving as an instructor. Then he became an elementary school principal and finally he became a full-time author and publisher. His time in the cockpits made his writing in this series even better. His experience here makes me wish Chris would write a series written in the vein of the old X-Wing books I grew up reading. I think, if you read his books, you’re going to love this series too.
Blood, Sweat, and Steel Tales of Future Combat and Mechanized Warfare
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! This is a military science fiction anthology built entirely around the visceral, industrial, and heavy-metal realities of mechanized battlefield operations. There is an introductory essay from genre legend David Drake of Hammer’s Slammers fame and a bunch of awesome authors. This collection tackles Sun Tzu’s core axiom; while men fight for beliefs, the outcome of battle is overwhelmingly decided by who fields the superior machinery. And in that space, you see the fight of metal titans who keep going against all odds in an ever-changing world.
Now, unlike most of the list, this isn’t a novel or series but a collections of short stories. As such, there are many authors whose short stories have been included in this anthology; William Joseph Roberts, David Drake, Kevin Ikenberry, Liska McCabe, Morgan Chalfant, Casey Moores, J.F. Holmes, Sergio Palumbo, Rick Partlow and yours truly. Some of these authors were new to me, but some of them were authors whose books I already read. In fact, some of them already have books that made it onto my lists. Some of them are veterans, some are not, but all of them are skilled wordsmiths. I think you’re going to enjoy this collection, so give it a chance, you won’t regret it!
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Jason Cordova’s Wraithkin is the first book in The Kin Wars Saga. I am focusing on the first book, because I don’t remember reading the later books. Blame my TBI or being older than dirt, but it wouldn’t be fair to write about books that I don’t remember. This is a fast-paced, high-stakes military sci-fi space opera. The story follows Gabriel Espinoza, whose life is upended by a failed genetic compliance test, forcing him to join the mysterious, high-mortality Wraith Corps to protect the woman he loves. Thrust into the frontlines of a devastating galactic conflict against a brutal alien invasion, Gabriel must adapt to survive alongside the elite strike force.
The novel stands out for its high-tempo, squad-level infantry engagements, black-ops insertions, and hard-hitting orbital drop tactics. The combat style emphasizes rapid fireteam coordination, harsh environment survival, counter-insurgency ops, and the heavy physical toll of fighting through entrenched alien positions. Córdova balances kinetic firefights with the psychological pressure of recruits forced into a high-attrition unit where survival depends strictly on squad discipline and adaptability under fire.
This was an action-packed novel; it never really lagged for me. I read it from start to finish in one setting because I couldn’t put it down. I believed that the tactics worked for the novel, the action was believable, and the story flowed seamlessly from one plot point to another. Wraithkin was easy to follow, and I was never confused by what was going on. In a nutshell, go buy this book and give it a read! And I’ll be going back to finish this series, re-starting from the first book.
To wrap up the synopsis of this book, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, Jason Cordova, is US Navy veteran. His active-duty military service brings authentic operational discipline, an understanding of the chain-of-command, and genuine squad banter to his military science fiction writing. He’s also an accomplished sci-fi author, editor, and educator. He’s done extensive work co-founding and contributing to shared-world universes. He’s a 2015 John W. Campbell Award finalist. He understands the written word and his connections and live experience allow him to make his squad dynamics and tactical worldbuilding extremely believable.
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed this series yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Nick Cole’s Strange Company is a dark, atmospheric military science fiction novel heavily inspired by The Black Company and classic Vietnam-era combat narratives. The story is set in a decaying galactic empire on the brink of collapse. Right from the beginning, the stakes were clear and intense. The story follows a ragtag group of misfits, mercenaries, and warrant officers in a shadowy, high-mortality unit deployed to execute dirty, unsanctioned missions.
The novel stands out for its surreal blend of gritty, real-world operational realism and dark, atmospheric combat. This truly felt like a psychedelic acid trip through the combat zone, written in the iconic Cole style that brought us books like The Old Man and the Wasteland and CTRL ALT Revolt!. He has a unique writing voice when writing solo books, and it was never more evident than when he wrote this book. It was classic Cole and will have you hooked from the first chapter!
The combat style focuses on small-unit infantry tactics, close-quarters counterinsurgency, and fire-team survival. The soldiers rely on smoke, claymores, suppressive fire, and brutal improvisation in chaotic, fog-of-war firefights. And the entire time, you could envision yourself in the shit amongst the men of Strange Company, in their life-or-death struggle against the odds. In these books, Cole balances company-level ground assaults with an oppressive, psychological weight, capturing the exhaustion, fatalistic humor, and tight-knit brotherhood of men fighting a hopeless war for a galaxy that doesn’t care if they survive.
To wrap up the synopsis of this book, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, Nick Cole, is a former US Army soldier who went from enlistment to an officer’s commission. He was never that specific about what he did while in uniform, but he often credits his basic military experience with helping him in his writing. It helped to ground the operational culture, jargon, and mindset in his science fiction books. To bring gritty realism to the combat scenes in his military sci-fi works, Cole frequently collaborates with combat veterans who bring direct frontline experience to the writing and co-authoring process. But more than that, he works in his time spent working as an actor living in Southern California. This experience gives Nick a deep understanding of human nature that shows in everything he writes.
Spacers Series by Scott Bartlett
I have reviewed this series over at Upstream Reviews, which you can read by clicking here. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! What can I say, the more the merrier! Go ahead, click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Scott Bartlett’s Spacers series begins with a book of the same name. This is a fast-paced military sci-fi and space opera adventure. This falls squarely in the space fleet subgenre of the military science fiction genre, and it was expertly done by an author who shines in this literary space. This series pits a desperate group of human starship crews against overwhelming alien threats and corporate tyranny. The story follows hardened void-farers and fleet officers thrust into the frontlines of deep-space combat, where survival requires cunning, resourcefulness, and absolute trust in your crew.
What sets Spacers apart is its high-tempo blend of ship-to-ship naval tactics, boarding actions, and asymmetric space combat. The combat style emphasizes sub-light maneuvers, kinetic point-defense interception, energy shield management, and high-risk boarding breaches executed under zero-gravity conditions. Bartlett balances the desperation of the individual crew members with small-scale fleet engagements.
Since this is a space fleet novel, let’s talk about the void combat we experienced. When combat begins, Bartlett describes the 3D space battles with remarkable clarity. I could picture the scene like I was looking at the battle space like I was looking at a three-dimensional sand table mapping out the battlefield. Because of his skill at these descriptions, Scott made sure that the reader understood the geometry of the fight without getting lost in the math.
This book is for fans of military science fiction (Mil-SciFi) and space opera, especially those who enjoy fast-paced stories blending starship battles, tactical command decisions, interstellar politics, alien threats, and character-driven growth within a military framework. This is for readers who like action-heavy narratives with detailed space combat, fleet maneuvers, and high-stakes conflicts are going to love this book. Seeing humanity facing the returning of alien invaders in a colonized galaxy connected by wormholes and grit will hook you just like it did me.
Moving on, the pacing of this book was well done and kept me reading. There were plenty of lulls in the action, so you’re never stressed out or fatigued from the adrenaline rush. The slow parts were descriptive and evocative, painting a picture in my mind. However, the action scenes moved at a breakneck pace that kept me on the edge of my seat and happy that I picked up this book. I really think that anyone who likes Mil SciFi, space opera and science fiction in general will really enjoy this novel.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, Scott Bartlett, isn’t a military veteran but he writes it believably enough that you’d never know that. He’s a Canadian, one of my favorite Maples, and comes from a civilian writing background. He holds degrees in English and law, which is evident in his ability to write beautifully compelling stories that could almost be called works of art. When preparing for this post, I looked him up and didn’t realize his academic training. However, having read his books I am not surprised that he focused on law because it shows in many of the scenes and arguments expressed in his novels.
The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed them yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Eric Nylund’s Halo: The Fall of Reach is one of the best tie-in novels that I’ve ever read. It set the standard for every video game adaptation and expanded universe lore addition that followed it. Rather than relying on simple action tropes, Eric builds a deeply grounded, high-stakes military science fiction adventure. This world serves as a deep prequel to the original Halo videogame. This story details the origin of the SPARTAN-II program, the horrific reality of the Covenant war, and the tragic destruction of one humanity’s major military stronghold.
What makes The Fall of Reach stand out is its dual-tiered approach to illustrate the grand scale of the universe. He seamlessly balances kinetic, squad-level infantry engagements with hard-edged fleet naval tactics. Ground operations highlight the brutal physical realities of powered-armor warfare and small-unit tactics, treating Master Chief and his Spartans as elite, disciplined assets bound by strict military protocols. High up in orbit, Nylund brings an unusually perceptive operational realism to void combat, treating space battles with calculated physics, fleet maneuvers, MAC (Magnetic Accelerator Cannon) recharge cycles, and the cold, asymmetric math of UNSC ship casualties against superior Covenant energy weapons.
To wrap up the synopsis of this book, we’ll consider the author himself. Unlike many authors in the military science fiction subgenre, Eric Nylund isn’t a military veteran. However, he does hold degrees in chemistry and chemical physics that add to his depth of knowledge. He built his career as a professional technical writer and narrative designer. His scientific rigor allowed Eric to inject an extraordinary level of technical legitimacy into the UNSC’s military operations. This made the world feel more vivid and the story feels like it was grounded in reality. This realism created a trust between the author and the reader that allowed you to give him the rope to hang this amazingly brilliant military action upon.
The Human Legion Series by Tim C. Taylor
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed this series yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
Now, I’ll address the elephant in the room for this one and discuss my bias. This series is one of the first ones that I read when I got a Kindle. I’d thought that I’d never be able to read again after my head injury. Then I found the eBook and suddenly I could enlarge the print and compensate for my traumatic brain injury that I was gifted by Mesopotamia. I was so hooked I started a now defunct Wikipedia for the world and pestered Tim to close some of the open-ended questions in this world.
After a few months of pestering him, he finally told me to write the answer to these questions and we signed a contract. So, my first literary contract and series was signed with Tim. I wrote The Sleeping Legion Series to address those questions. I said that, to say that I obviously love these novels. Enough that I wrote four books, two novellas and a few short stories inside this universe.
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Tim C. Taylor’s The Human Legion series starts with the novel Marine Cadet and was good enough that I’ve read it a few times. It is an expansive military science fiction space opera centering on slave-soldiers who decide to rebel. Four centuries after Earth was sold to alien conquerors, human children are raised in brutal orbital academies as disposable conscripts for the alien White Ops legions. The story follows young Marine Cadet Marine Sergeant Arden Jarrev and his squad as they spark a desperate, galaxy-spanning revolt to break human servitude and reclaim their freedom.
Something about this rebellion by men trying to fight back against oppressive, distant overlords speaks to my American soul. I get it, that this world came from a British subject is ironic, but that doesn’t stop the story from going to amazing places and dragging you along for the ride. The adventure was one that speaks to me because it was the first book I was able to read after my head injury. But this series also speaks to the part of me fresh home from Mesopotamia. As Arden suffered, he helped me process my own suffering. All while he reminded me who I used to be.
What makes The Human Legion stand out is its progression from small-unit infantry tactics to full-scale combined-arms space warfare. The combat style in this series emphasizes squad-level boarding actions, urban breeching ops, and mechanized infantry drop landings. This action happens where low-tier, heavily worn gear must be pushed to its absolute limit against superior alien weaponry. This is what really sold the space marine angle for me, since the modern US Marine Corps is often forced to use outdated equipment when compared to the rest of the armed services. In this series, Taylor balances those logistics with the tight, fireteam-level room clearing. That is balanced with the grand operational scale of their slave army learning to run naval fleet maneuvers and coordinate multi-system uprisings on the fly.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the author himself. The author, Tim C. Taylor, isn’t a military veteran but he writes it believably enough that you’d never know that. He’s a former commercial software engineer and IT consultant whose technical background informs his detailed approach to military systems, logistics, and structured tactical plotting. It also allowed him to world build in a way that was believable and allowed you to picture yourself in the middle of the action of this story.
Backyard Starship by Terry Maggert & JN Chaney
While I’ve read these books, I haven’t reviewed this series yet, and neither has anyone over at Upstream Reviews. However, that shouldn’t stop you from reading these books and writing your own reviews! Click here to buy the book and join the cool kids!
With that out of the way, let me give you a quick synopsis! Terry Maggert and J.N. Chaney’s Backyard Starship is the first book in the sprawling Backyard Starship Universe. This is a hit space opera adventure that blends the classic portal-fantasy discovery trope with the high-stakes galactic law enforcement. This series fits squarely in the space marine category, though the action is part soldier, part law enforcement.
Upon inheriting his late grandfather’s secret barn-bound starship, Van Tudor discovers that his grandfather was a Peacemaker. That’s an elite, interstellar law enforcement agent, which gives us the vector for the action-oriented angle of the story. The main character, Van, inherits the badge, the ship, and an AI companion. This unexpected gift thrusts him into a dangerous galaxy filled with space pirates, alien cartels, and corporate conspiracies.
I’ll be honest, I almost didn’t include the series since it didn’t focus on a single or group of military characters, not in the traditional sense. However, it is classified in the space marine subgenre of the military science fiction genre over on Amazon. Given how good the books were, I decided to count it here. Why? Because the authors and the publisher called it as such. Also, because there was one more slot on this post! This is the third and final part of my incomplete list of amazing military science fiction and each post had 12 books on it. This finishes the list with a consistent number, which pleases the part of me that likes uniformity.
What sets Backyard Starship apart is its intimate, bounty-hunter-style engagement scale and small-vessel combat tactics. The combat style balances tight dog fighting in light starships with close-quarters firefights, personal energy shielding, and tactical breaching operations. Instead of massed fleet engagements, the narrative highlights asymmetric law enforcement tactics, target acquisition, urban tracking, and small-team coordination in hostile alien environments.
To wrap up the synopsis of this series, we’ll consider the authors themselves. We’ll take them one at a time, so this section is coherent. One of the co-authors, Terry Maggert, isn’t a veteran. However, he’s a seasoned author with a background in history and martial arts. Those life experiences give his action scenes the gravitas that are in the best action stories.
The other co-author also brought military service to the table. That author, J.N. Chaney (Jeff Chaney), served four years on active duty in the United States Air Force before earning a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. He was able to combine his firsthand experience with military service and formal training in creative writing, to build a massive indie publishing imprint. That awesome nerdy outlet specialized in fast-paced military science fiction, space opera, and LitRPG. His background allows him to seamlessly blend military authenticity with accessible, high-concept fiction. He addresses larger ideas of what it means to be human in a world with alien life, machine integration and how the individual fits into the larger galactic cosmos. I’ve read many of his series and I think he continually delivers.
Good analysis. I have read much of this Campbell series as well as many of Weber's Honor Harrington series. On Basilisk Station is a little slower than his following books. The second book, The Honor of the Queen, is my favorite and has more action.