The Six Greatest Military Adventures Ever Written (Part 1)

Okay, I know that’s one heck of a pompous title. For starters I probably haven’t read all the military fiction ever written. Probably. Then again, maybe I have. I’ve been voraciously digesting this stuff as long as people have been writing it. Nevertheless, re-reading these latest blog posts, my five readers (I’ve picked up a couple more) might think that I’m all about hairy wolves, long-fanged vampires, and other stuff that rips humans asunder in the middle of the night. Although that stuff fascinates me, military adventure is my favorite genre. So, in no particular order, I present the top six military adventure novels of all time.

The Expendables, Leonard B. Scott. The book that sparked my Lock ‘n Load: Forgotten Heroes game, The Expendables is a tremendously human piece of historical fiction about the battle of Ia Dang. Scott’s characters are believable and the battles as real as an M16’s cold, metal barrel. Did I really write that?

Sword Point, Harold Coyle. Coyle’s second novel, and superior to Team Yankee. A former army officer, Coyle has never had a problem painting exciting battle scenes; the challenge for Coyle is creating exciting characters to match. In Sword Point, he does so. Sorta.

Rolling Hot, David Drake. Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers are one of the best know military units in science fiction, and Drake is one of the most lucid story tellers alive. Yep, the story is science fiction, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a classic military adventure. Drake’s portrayal of soldiers fighting their way across a continent rings truer than much that I have read by more famous military adventure novelists. If you read one science fiction military adventure in your life, this should be the one.

Next blog, part 2.

See you tomorrow.