MIllitary SF recommendation

[Grack21]

Edit: Haha ok that was probably libel. I still think Drake sucks though. :P

[Woofdog2]

Holy shit! Glen Cook writes Military Fantasy?

Dread Empire series probably qualifies also i the sense of having large-scale battles in some books, though it is a different perspective than Black Company, which is most definitely military fantasy (is it the original military fantasy?)

[Arlingzen Bill]

Walter Hunt's Darkwing series is similar to The Lost Fleet series. I've enjoyed several of Ian Douglas' series as well. The former are space navy, while the latter is space marine.

[Rob B]

Walter Hunt's Darkwing series is similar to The Lost Fleet series.

Hunt's books were fun, I remember reading them and liking them when they published. Mr. Hunt hasn't done much since then, as far as I know.

[Arlingzen Bill]

Hunt's books were fun, I remember reading them and liking them when they published. Mr. Hunt hasn't done much since then, as far as I know.

He also published a Templar novel a few years ago.

When I talked with him in October, he mentioned that he has a couple of projects in the works. He is contracted to work in the 1632 universe.

EDIT: month.

[Rob B]

Now that you mention it, I *do* recall seeing somewhere that he was doing more of a historical novel. Glad to see he's continuing to write. I'd like to see more of the Dark Wing universe, though.

[peterbound]

Dread Empire series probably qualifies also i the sense of having large-scale battles in some books, though it is a different perspective than Black Company, which is most definitely military fantasy (is it the original military fantasy?)

I'm kidding fella. Everyone in the interwebs know's about the Black Company (and their sequels: the Malazan book of the Fallen). I'm just giving you shit. I actually had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Mr. Cook about three months ago. He was a really cool guy... little geeky, but cool guy. His son is in the Military (army officer) and we talked about that for a while. I also asked him about the atrocious covers (the one you have on your avatar i believe is the special french edition) on his earlier books. He told me a story that it was his friends artwork, and that his original publisher hated them (Tom Dorghty?). But when a book retailer came into the publisher's office they saw it on his desk and proclaimed 'I could sell a shit load of books with that cover', it got put on there. I laughed and said, 'well you can always tell an early BC book'

He also fucking slammed on Grack's second fav author (KJA, or He who shall not be named) during a world building forum. See KJA is big into 'mapping out the plot', claiming that that is where is fun is at (fucking rip off artist living off of a dead men's dreams.. fuck KJA). Cook dressed him down, and ended his rant with: 'I love to find out where the characters grow and go, you must be bored to death when you write your books KJA.'

Ha.

[Grack21]

Hey now, calling me a KJA fan is going a bit too far.

Speaking of, you got your Tasselhoff costume ready for DragonlanceCon?

[nickg]

Hey now, calling me a KJA fan is going a bit too far.

Speaking of, you got your Tasselhoff costume ready for DragonlanceCon?

I will be there. I chose Fewmaster Toede though.....

[Woofdog2]

I'm kidding fella. Everyone in the interwebs know's about the Black Company (and their sequels: the Malazan book of the Fallen). I'm just giving you shit. I actually had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Mr. Cook about three months ago. He was a really cool guy... little geeky, but cool guy. His son is in the Military (army officer) and we talked about that for a while. I also asked him about the atrocious covers (the one you have on your avatar i believe is the special french edition) on his earlier books. He told me a story that it was his friends artwork, and that his original publisher hated them (Tom Dorghty?). But when a book retailer came into the publisher's office they saw it on his desk and proclaimed 'I could sell a shit load of books with that cover', it got put on there. I laughed and said, 'well you can always tell an early BC book'

He also fucking slammed on Grack's second fav author (KJA, or He who shall not be named) during a world building forum. See KJA is big into 'mapping out the plot', claiming that that is where is fun is at (fucking rip off artist living off of a dead men's dreams.. fuck KJA). Cook dressed him down, and ended his rant with: 'I love to find out where the characters grow and go, you must be bored to death when you write your books KJA.'

Ha.

I remember reading the story about the original cover art and the buyer seeing it. He mentioned that one benefit of those covers by his friend was that, while simplistic, they actually did have something to do with the story - no vaseline job (he described needing vaseline when your publisher got an artist for the cover). He also mentioned in that interview the didier covers were 'genius.' I really like the TBC one for sure, but all of them vary from neat to unreal.

Read everything he ever published except angry lead skies, and enjoyed almost all of it a lot. Looking forward to the replacement for Wrath of Kings next month even though I am generally skeptical of going back to worlds after 25 years or whatever, just because of how the author him/herself changes.

[Werthead]

He also fucking slammed on Grack's second fav author (KJA, or He who shall not be named) during a world building forum. See KJA is big into 'mapping out the plot', claiming that that is where is fun is at (fucking rip off artist living off of a dead men's dreams.. fuck KJA). Cook dressed him down, and ended his rant with: 'I love to find out where the characters grow and go, you must be bored to death when you write your books KJA.'

Ha.

Any author who tears into KJA's bullshit is fine by me.

Apparently at a prior Worldcon KJA did a reading and only a dozen people showed up. The next reader was GRRM whose queue was at least ten times longer. Apparently KJA was not amused and made some bizarre comments about the situation as he left the reading room, something about him needing to have brought some alcohol to get more people in. I'm not sure what he was trying to say (this was like a third-hand report) but it sounded like KJA himself was suggesting you needed to be drunk to enjoy his novels (though I'd have substituted 'drunk' for 'dead'). Bewildering.

* moves The Black Company a few notches up the Pile *

[Grack21]

The fact that Cook hates KJA makes me all tingly inside.

You ever see any videos of panels with that guy? He thinks hes the second coming of Tolkien. He's like the Charlie Sheen of scifi.

[peterbound]

The fact that Cook hates KJA makes me all tingly inside.

You ever see any videos of panels with that guy? He thinks hes the second coming of Tolkien. He's like the Charlie Sheen of scifi.

I've seen him at three cons. He is from Colorado so he comes to all the ones in the area. The last COSine he was on an 'emerging trends' panel, and he started the thing with, no joke, 'I don't know if you guys know me, but i'm KJA, and i'm kind of a big deal in the publishing industry. People send me treatments all the time.' Now i'm a fan of some funny humor, and I thought that he was referencing some Anchorman.. but as the panel went on, it became apparent the guy was totally into himself. Connie Willis was on the board as well, she was rolling her eyes quite a bit at his drivel.

ETA: Last MileHiCon he relayed the story of how he landed the 'Largest pre publishing contract in sci/fi fantasy history' with The Dune Books. Shit made me fucking sick. As i stated before, he's raping a dead man's ghost with that shit, and it won't stand with me.

[House Balstroko]

Graham McNeil's Ultramarines series. A great entry into the Warhammer 40k universe. The trilogy follows the adventures of the 4th company of the Ultramrines chapter that is part of the Space marines of the Imperium.

[Werthead]

ETA: Last MileHiCon he relayed the story of how he landed the 'Largest pre publishing contract in sci/fi fantasy history' with The Dune Books. Shit made me fucking sick. As i stated before, he's raping a dead man's ghost with that shit, and it won't stand with me.

An intelligent person might have worked out that a new, authorised Dune series would have gotten a shitton of money thrown at it if it had been a collaboration between Robert Newcombe and Piers Anthony and published by Stanek. The fact it was Anderson writing it had nothing to do with it.

He was defending himself on Twitter a few months ago about writing more Dune books by saying there was 20,000 years of history in the setting and he felt justified in them publishing books set in all parts of it, even though Frank Herbert only ever expressed interest in exploring a few parts of it.

[Grack21]

An intelligent person might have worked out that a new, authorised Dune series would have gotten a shitton of money thrown at it if it had been a collaboration between Robert Newcombe and Piers Anthony and published by Stanek.

Those probably would have been better then what was actually written.

[SkynJay]

Are KJA's Dune books worse than his Star Wars books? Or just more hated because Dune is a classic, while Star Wars were always camp? Never read his Dune work, but slogged through his SW stuff to keep up with continuity.

[Grack21]

Are KJA's Dune books worse than his Star Wars books? Or just more hated because Dune is a classic, while Star Wars were always camp? Never read his Dune work, but slogged through his SW stuff to keep up with continuity.

I don't actually know. I've never actually read Dune. I KNOW ILL GET TO IT SOON OK. Been trying to catch up on my OMG YOU HAVT READ THAT YET WTF books. I think the problem was I avoided anything even remotely scifi til about 5 years ago when I discovered Wolfe. Fuck, I JUST read Liebowitz for the first time like 6 or 7 months ago. Um what are we talking about? Oh right.

I'm basing my hate purely on his SW books. They make the prequels look like the originals.

[Werthead]

Are KJA's Dune books worse than his Star Wars books? Or just more hated because Dune is a classic, while Star Wars were always camp? Never read his Dune work, but slogged through his SW stuff to keep up with continuity.

Much worse. On Star Wars KJA had editors to reign him in and keep him under control (though how the hell the Sun Crusher or whatever it was called got by them, I don't know), but on Dune there is no-one to restrain his absolute avalanche of shittiness.

Don't get me wrong, his Star Wars books suck a lot, but his Dune books are on a whole other level of shittiness, especially the Butlerian Jihad stuff. And that's just the writing, not even counting the 'lying like an arsehole about how the whole thing was based on Herbert's notes so was canon' stuff.

[SkynJay]

(though how the hell the Sun Crusher or whatever it was called got by them, I don't know), b

KJA: Ok, Ok. So you know how the Death Star destroyed a planet?

KJA:Ya, ok, so picture this! A machine that destroys the entire system! And it's invincible!

Ed: Wouldnt something that destroys a planet pretty much fuck up a system?

KJA: INVINCIBLE!

Seriously, the worst part is KJA himself made the best case for what to do with the SC, which is poke holes in other ships. Then ignores that whole thought line.