SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi all -- I'm counting on all of you to come up with some great recommendations for my almost-19-yr-old son. He likes books (not YA) with a lot of action. He just read Michael Crichton's last book Pirate Latitudes, which had tons of realistic action. He will read sci-fi or fantasy or regular fiction if there is an emphasis on battles. He has read many books about the various wars (Viet Nam and WWII mostly, loved Band of Brothers). Any suggestions for books with maybe lots of space battles or anything that sounds like it would fit his interests? Thanks!!

(Fantasy)

Although not completely about battles per say, this fantasy does encompass quite a bit of fighting and survival with a great plot and amazing characters. :)
I personally loved it! (18 yr old boy :P)

First Contact used to be free from author's web page. This book has really great space battles. Starship Troopers also comes to mind as well as Old Man's War.

Starship Troopers seems really familiar for some reason...
I really need to read that book to figure out why. *starry gaze*

EJ; Thirteen Reasons Why wrote: "Starship Troopers seems really familiar for some reason...
I really need to read that book to figure out why. *starry gaze*"

The was a movie based on the book. Almost everybody agrees that the movie was horrible and did not do the justice to the book.

Evgeny wrote: "EJ; Thirteen Reasons Why wrote: "Starship Troopers seems really familiar for some reason...
I really need to read that book to figure out why. *starry gaze*"

The was a movie based on the book. Alm..."

That might've been it. ._.
I think I saw it and was only interested in "The Bugs" and how they looked... but that would've been years ago. I think I should see it again (but read the book first).
Why is the book almost ALWAYS better than the movie?

These are complete entertainment fare, but any of the Star Wars novels seems like they would be sufficient. There is also, if he's a fan of the Mass Effect games, the Mass Effect novels. Just avoid the one not written by Drew Karpyshyn.

In the fantasy vein, there are many good books in the various Dungeons and Dragons settings, most notably the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms settings.

EJ; Thirteen Reasons Why wrote: "(Fantasy)

Although not completely about battles per say, this fantasy does encompass quite a bit of fighting and survival with a great plot and amazing characters. :)
..."

Thank you -- great recommendation!

Evgeny wrote: "First Contact used to be free from author's web page. This book has really great space battles. Starship Troopers also comes to mind as well as Old Man's War."

I dug all through my bookshelf looking for Old Man's War last night, it has to be here somewhere. Thanks much!

Daemon and Freedom (TM) by Daniel Suarez.

The Sten series by Allan Cole and Chris Bunch.

Sten
The Wolf Worlds
The Court of a Thousand Suns
Fleet of the Damned
Revenge of the Damned
The Return of the Emperor
Vortex
Empire's End

Saga of the Well World by Jack L. Chalker.

Midnight at the Well of Souls
Exiles at the Well of Souls
Quest for the Well of Souls
The Return of Nathan Brazil
Twilight at the Well of Souls

Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry.

Patient Zero
The Dragon Factory
The King of Plagues
Assassin's Code

Tour of the Merrimack series by R.M. Meluch. (I've only read the first one.)
The Myriad

SF: Lots of stuff by David Weber:
Honor Harrington

Safehold

Glen Cook:
Black Company (Fantasy)

I would also like to recommend Jeremy Robinson's novels.

Chess Team Adventure series
Origins Edition series
Second World
Antarktos Saga series
Island 731
Project Nemesis

Those are some of his best books, as I have heard. Island 731 and Project Nemesis I can vouch for.

Enders game and Exodus: Leaving home are great reads

The Vampire Earth books by E.E. Knight (first is Way of the Wolf) have a militaristic feel and are pretty fun.

I remember Jon Marco's fantasy as having a lot of medieval-style battles. Firelord by Parke Godwin was one of the first to set King Arthur around the time Rome occupied Britain, with period battles. Naomi Novik's books add dragons to Napoleonic-era warfare.

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway is longer and has plenty of digressions (like ninja training), but I really enjoyed it.

For non-fantasy/sff, there's James Jones, starting with The Thin Red Line, if he hasn't read it yet. I also thought David Bellavia's House to House: A Soldier's Memoir was a gripping read.

The Leviathon series would be another great series with plenty of battles going on in a Steampunk-style World War I setting.

David Weber's Honor Harrington are worth checking, they have realistic feeling space battles with scan lag, electronic warfare.

This is not sf or fantasy but since you said Vietnam, I can't but recommend my two favourite Vietnam books - Chickenhawk by Robert Mason and Low Level Hell by Hugh Mills

Chickenhawk is a good book.
Would it be worth your son looking at historical novels. There's Harry Sidebottom 'Warrior of Rome Series'whilst Christian Cameron has his 'Long War' series and also his 'Tyrant' series

Redliners by David Drake

Here are some historical events that have been fictionalized



Azincourt

Genghis Khan wrote the book on war! Here's a trilogy that find out why!

Genghis: Birth of an Empire

Genghis: Lords of the Bow

Genghis: Bones of the Hills

Enigma Though based during the war, this is more of a thriller than a book about war.


Heading over to the Fantasy side of things the
The Heroes is an amazing book which deals with the realities dealt with during a pitched battle, it's a stand alone book but having read Joe's First Law trilogy before won't hurt!

Joe Abercrombie

Fantasy battles don't come any grimmer than this next book

Prince of Thorns

Mark Lawrence

Look at David Gemmell or R.A. Salvatore

Baen Books has cornered the niche when it comes to military SF and Fantasy, and quite a few of their authors are veterans - take a look at their list and their author biographies to see what clicks.

I second and third the Safehold and Honor Harrington series by David Weber. If reading about "women" bothers him (It did my husband, but not my sons), choose the Safehold series over the Honor Harrington series.

Also, agree with Janny - Baen books is a great place to start.

The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell beginning with Dauntless

Has he tried any Warhammer 40,000? For full on none stop military action I'd recommend Dan Abnett's Gaunts Ghosts series.

Conn Iggulden's Ghengis series and his Emperor series are good historical fiction.

Bernard Cornwell is another good author. I read his series with Hookton the archer - Renegade/Vagabond/Heretic (not sure that's the correct order - curses on my memory)

id recommend Mortal Engines. Its YA, plenty of action and a lot of good fun.

Some of the Star Wars stuff by Timothy Zahn, AC Crispin, Kathy Tyres etc would be worth checking out.

Sounds like you have a lot of good recommendations, something no one has mentioned yet is alternate history. Harry Turtledove is the king of AH, imho, and most of his series are military battles/wars/big conflicts. I got my husband started with the standalone Guns of the South, and we both enjoyed the Colonization series' (aliens come to earth expecting flintlock-level tech, find humans just starting WWII, humans band together against aliens.) My DH is now moving into some of the other series, like Empire, and the Great War.
Anyway, besides space opera and military scifi, I think he'd like alternate history. Other good authors include S.M. Stirling and Eric Flint.

I really liked Dune when I was that age.... Ah, who am I kidding? I still like that book.

Definitely Dune,
Shadow of the Wraith
The Lord of the Rings
The Stolen Throne
Dragon Fate
The War of the Worlds

Lois McMaster Bujold---Vorgosigan series...Extremely well-written TONS of adventure and skull-doggery in a SF world...(Actually anything by Bujold is great.)