Science fiction, military book series in reading order

by David Weber

by David Sherman

by Ian Douglas

David Weber

90 books• 23 series

David Mark Weber, born October 24, 1952, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. The Honor Harrington books are his best-known work, and his first novel, written with Steve White, sold to Baen Books in 1989; Baen has remained his principal publisher. Weber's catalogue holds 90 titles from Insurrection (1990) to Challenges (2025), spanning the Honorverse, Safehold, War God, Dahak and Gordian Division series. Space warfare, women soldiers and imaginary wars and battles run through the recorded subjects.

Jack Campbell

44 books• 13 series

Jack Campbell is the pen name of John G. Hemry, born April 14, 1956, a retired United States Navy officer who writes military science fiction. Under the Campbell name, Hemry has written 21 volumes of The Lost Fleet and the steampunk and fantasy Pillars of Reality series. Beyond the Frontier continues The Lost Fleet as a spin-off. As Hemry, the Stark's War and Paul Sinclair series appeared, along with short stories in Analog. The 44 catalogued books run from Dauntless (2006) to Squad Kill (2026).

Orson Scott Card

114 books• 29 series

Orson Scott Card, born August 24, 1951, is an American writer known chiefly for science fiction. Card is the only person, as of 2024, to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in consecutive years, for Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). Card coproduced the 2013 film of Ender's Game. The Tales of Alvin Maker won the Locus Fantasy Award. The catalogue counts 114 books from A Planet Called Treason / Treason (1978) to Ender's Tribe (2026), with Homecoming Saga, Mither Mages, Worthing and Women of Genesis among the other series.

Greg Bear

52 books• 12 series

American science fiction writer Greg Bear was born on August 20, 1951 and died on November 19, 2022. Conflict, consciousness and accelerated evolution run through the work. Two novels, The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars, established Bear's reputation, and Moving Mars won a Nebula Award. Series include Eon, Queen of Angels, Songs of Earth and Power, Darwin's Radio and Halo: The Forerunner Saga. The 52 catalogued books begin with Psychlone (1979) and close with The Unfinished Land.

Dayton Ward

42 books• 18 series

Dayton Ward is an American science fiction author, born in 1967, known mainly for Star Trek novels and short stories. Ward's fiction began in the Strange New Worlds anthology, with a story in each of its first three volumes, which under the anthology's rules ended Ward's eligibility; later writers who matched the feat were said to have earned a Wardy. The catalogue holds 42 books published between 2001 and 2026, from Interphase, Part 1 (2001) to To Defy Fate (2026). Starships, interplanetary voyages and space warfare are the recurring subjects. Kevin Dilmore is credited alongside Ward on 12 titles, and the Last World War and 24 series sit beside the Star Trek work.

David Sherman (1944–2022) was an American novelist whose work focused on military themes at the small-unit tactical level, drawing on service in the United States Marines. The catalogue holds 39 books from Knives in the Night (1987) to The Last Campaigns (2021). Series include Starfist, Starfist: Force Recon, Night Fighter Saga, Demontech and 18th Race. Subjects include Marines, the Vietnam War and military science fiction.

Joel Shepherd is an Australian science fiction author born in Adelaide in 1974. Shepherd studied film and television arts at Curtin University in Perth. The Crossover manuscript was shortlisted for the George Turner Prize in 1999, and Crossover (2001) became the first of his 20 books. Cassandra Kresnov is his recurring character, with androids and women soldiers among the subjects, and Shepherd also writes the Spiral Wars and A Trial of Blood and Steel series.

John Ringo, born March 22, 1963, is an American author of science fiction and military fiction, with several New York Times best sellers. The work ranges from straight science fiction to military and political thrillers, and more than seven million copies are in print in seven languages. The catalogue starts with A Hymn Before Battle (2000), followed by Gust Front, March Upcountry and March to the Sea in 2001, and reaches Beyond the Rift (2026). Series include Posleen War, Black Tide Rising, Council Wars, Looking Glass, Troy Rising, Von Neumann's War and Special Circumstances. Subjects include space warfare, human-alien encounters, Navy SEALs and survival.

Timothy Zahn

98 books• 26 series

Timothy Zahn, born September 1, 1951, is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who grew up in Lombard, Illinois. The Star Wars books, above all the Thrawn trilogy, are the core of Zahn's reputation, and those novels are credited with reviving interest in the franchise. Original series include Cobra, Blackcollar, Dragonback, Quadrail, Conquerors Saga, Icarus and Sibyl's War. The catalogue lists 99 books by Zahn, starting with The Blackcollar (1983); Trap Line appeared in 2025 and A Call to Deception is due in 2027.

William C. Dietz

66 books• 18 series

William Corey Dietz, January 30, 1945 to March 15, 2026, was an American science fiction writer working principally in military science fiction and video game novelizations. Sixty-six titles are catalogued, from Galactic Bounty / War World (1986) to Red Dawn (2025). Series include Sam McCade, Drifter, Winds of War, Mutant Files, America Rising and Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Legion of the Damned stands as the recurring character entry. Subjects name space opera, space warfare, human-alien encounters and imaginary wars. David Drake shares credit on one title.

Joe Haldeman

48 books• 10 series

Joe Haldeman is an American science fiction writer whose 48 catalogued books begin with War Year (1972). The Forever War (1974) is his best known novel, drawn from his service as a combat soldier in Vietnam, and the Forever War name extends across later books, comics and graphic novel adaptations. The Hemingway Hoax (1991) and Forever Peace (1997) took Hugo and Nebula awards alongside it. Worlds, Marsbound and Attar The Merman are his other series. Human-alien encounters, space colonies, hard science fiction and war supply the subject matter. Haldeman received the SFWA Grand Master award, entered the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012, and taught writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1983 to 2014.

Dan Abnett

224 books• 95 series

Dan Abnett, born 12 October 1965, is an English novelist and comic book writer. Abnett has written for Marvel Comics and its UK imprint Marvel UK since the 1990s, for 2000 AD and for DC Comics, often in partnership with Andy Lanning. Abnett's Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels and graphic novels for Games Workshop's Black Library number several dozen and have sold more than two million copies. Abnett's first original novels came from Angry Robot in 2009. The catalogue lists 224 books from Uther, the Half Dead King (1993) to Legends of the Waaagh! (2026), across series such as Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Guardians of the Galaxy and Aquaman graphic novels.

David Annandale, born 1967, is a Canadian speculative fiction writer who teaches at the University of Manitoba. Annandale earned a BA (1990) and an MA (1992) at Manitoba and a PhD at the University of Alberta. Fiction for various Warhammer 40,000 series is the work Annandale is predominantly known for. Contributions to The Skiffy and Fanty Show podcast, as "The Kaiju Whisperer", led to Hugo nominations for Best Fancast in 2014 and 2021. The catalogue lists 93 books credited to Annandale from Crown Fire (2003) to The Banners of the Night (2026), some shared with writers such as Guy Haley and Joshua Reynolds, and series include Yarrick, Castellan Crowe and Book of the Null.

Karen Traviss is a science fiction author from Wiltshire, England, and the creator of the Wess'har Wars series. Tie-in work covers Star Wars, including Republic Commando, plus Gears of War, Halo, G.I. Joe and the Galaxy's Edge: Nomad series with Nick Cole and Jason Anspach. The writing spans novels, short stories, comics and video games. The catalogue lists 36 books, from City of Pearl (2004) to Here We Stand (2023).