Posted on Nov 28, 2014
What is the best professional military fiction?
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Of the options offered? Warning: mentioning the movies without having read the books is a down-votable offense.
Offering an alternative professional military fiction is acceptable, but six answers to a survey is not supportable.
Offering an alternative professional military fiction is acceptable, but six answers to a survey is not supportable.
Posted in these groups: 
Professional Development
PME
Professional Development PME
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 45
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Loved Gates of Fire and Enders Game. Have to recommend The Last Centurion by John Ringo. Great piece of modern military fiction.
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Capt Richard I P.
SSG Ronald Limbaugh Lots of John Ringo recommendations here, you might like the other two above as well!
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SSG Ronald Limbaugh
Started reading them in Kuwait, 2011. Read every book by Ringo by the time I left in 2014. Have since read all of them at least 3 times, Centurion, at least 5... One of the few authors that I can read over again and again.
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LTC (Join to see)
I was really surprised that 0 out of 37 Enlisted members voted for Gates of Fire. I never thought of it as an Officer book. Do Enlisted SMs dislike it or just not read it?
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Capt Richard I P.
LTC (Join to see) That's a great question, maybe we should ask some of the enlisted members who have participated here.
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SSG Ronald Limbaugh
Loved it... have actually read it several times now. Not sure why more of the enlisted aren't commenting on it... awesome read.
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Heinlein said he was disappointed with the reception Starship Troopers received. Too bad he can't see this survey.
Walt
Walt
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Capt Richard I P.
Capt Walter Miller Doesn't it seem all the good authors are more popular after their death than during their life? Exception: LCpl Steven Pressfield
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Capt Richard I P.
Capt Walter Miller, Why do you think LCpl Steven Pressfield would disagree? I'd say he's had some great success!
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1LT William Clardy
Capt Richard I P., any long-time reader of science fiction would tell you that Robert Heinlein was considered the master of his craft for several decades before he died.
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the Sharpe Series by Bernard Cornwell.... But the I'm a but for that period oof history.... CS Forrester's. Hornblower saga is good too
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I just finished Ender's Game and really enjoyed it, Gates of Fire is on my reading list!
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MAJ Jeff Coulter
Loved both of them! I've read both twice. If you like Gates of Fire, be sure to check out Pressfield's other work. I loved The Afghan Campaign about a grunt in Alexander's army in Afghanistan. I read it while I was there so it was very relevant.
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Capt Richard I P.
MAJ Jeff Coulter good call, sir. I also read the Afghan Campaign, once before the first deployment, again during the second (Adviser Team) deployment. It is Beautiful and awful. And awfully accurate across millennia. You know, I'm pretty sure LCpl Steven Pressfield hasn't written a bad book.
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MAJ Chris Ballard
I read all of Pressfield's other works, but none of them hold a candle to Gates of Fire. I thought The Afghan Campaign came closest, though.
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They are all superb, but as far as lessons in professional development go Fields of Fire has my vote. I didn't pull a lot of lessons out of Ender's Game, I merely enjoyed it as a good read. Gates of Fire and Starship Troopers share similar themes of sharing the same hardships as your troops and sweat in training saves blood in combat. Fields of Fire dealt with handling different personalities in your unit and finding a way to lead them in a common goal.
Others of note:
Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer, Company Commander (though not fiction) by Charles McDonald, The Ten Thousand by Harold Coyle, and The March Upcountry by John Ringo.
Others of note:
Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer, Company Commander (though not fiction) by Charles McDonald, The Ten Thousand by Harold Coyle, and The March Upcountry by John Ringo.
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COL (Join to see)
Chris, concur with those as well. There are a lot of great books out there. Who influenced you to read those specific books?
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MAJ Jeff Coulter
Chris, I concur with Company Commander (great leadership lessons there) as well as The Ten Thousand. I like all of Coyle's books. That reminds me about Team Yankee! That one deserves it's own post.
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MAJ Chris Ballard
A lot of Ringo's books are fun brain candy, though he can get a little overzealous with the right-wing politics (about 10 clicks to the right of Rush Limbaugh) in some of his work post 9-11. "The Last Centurion" comes to mind.
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MAJ Chris Ballard
LTC Nicholas Montalto, for a lot of them, I don't recall (Damn TBI!). I know Once an Eagle was my first company commander, and my older brother had a copy of Company Commander. I was a fan of David Weber's Honor Harrington series, so it was probably my library that recommended Ringo's works.
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I like a variety of authors depending on the specific genre of millitary fiction:
For "realistic" military fiction, my favorites are Harold Coyle ("Team Yankee"), Tom Clancey and Larry Bond ("Red Pheonix")
For "sci-fi" military fiction, my current favorites are Eric Flint ("1632" series. While not necessarily "military fiction" there is a heavy military storylines in the stories), and John Ringo.
For "fantasy" military fiction, my favorites are Robert Jordan ("Wheel of Time") and Christopher Rowley ("Basil Broketail" series where he blends the structure and tactics of the Roman cohort legion backed by intelligent sword wielding dragons in the place of elephants.)
For "realistic" military fiction, my favorites are Harold Coyle ("Team Yankee"), Tom Clancey and Larry Bond ("Red Pheonix")
For "sci-fi" military fiction, my current favorites are Eric Flint ("1632" series. While not necessarily "military fiction" there is a heavy military storylines in the stories), and John Ringo.
For "fantasy" military fiction, my favorites are Robert Jordan ("Wheel of Time") and Christopher Rowley ("Basil Broketail" series where he blends the structure and tactics of the Roman cohort legion backed by intelligent sword wielding dragons in the place of elephants.)
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LTC Paul Labrador
If you haven't read 1632 though, it provides a good history lesson on the Thirty Years War. Also highlights (albeit in fantasy) some of the most famous generals of the century in Gustav Adolphus, Albrecth Wallenstein, Heinrich Pappenheim and Oliver Cromwell. I had an interesting discussion with my ILE history instructor when we studied Gustav Adolphus and how he essentially laid the foundations for modern national armies.
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MAJ Chris Ballard
LTC Paul Labrador, if you liked the Basil Broketail series you should also check out the Temerraire series by Nami Novik. It's essentially the same premise based in the Napoleonic Wars.
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MSG Brad Sand
LTC Paul Labrador
'Team Yankee' is a must read for an 19 Series soldier. I think another one that is in the same general grouping was Tom Clancy's 'Red Storm Rising'. I think it was one of Clancy's earlier books and was more military based than intelligence.
'Team Yankee' is a must read for an 19 Series soldier. I think another one that is in the same general grouping was Tom Clancy's 'Red Storm Rising'. I think it was one of Clancy's earlier books and was more military based than intelligence.
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