Genres
Military science fiction
Science fiction depicting the use of futuristic technology, including spaceships and weapons, for military purposes.
Military science fiction depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and weapons, for military purposes. Its main characters are typically members of a military organization, often during wartime in space or on other planets, and the genre leans on duty, honor, sacrifice, loyalty and camaraderie, with detailed conflicts, tactics, weapons and military roles. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Haldeman's The Forever War and Drake's Hammer's Slammers anchor the shelf.
The genre extrapolates from real Earth conflicts transposed into the future, which is the working difference from space opera's adventure-first sweep. Its ranks, chains of command and fleet movements multiply fast, so the story bible carries real weight in a long serial.