Fighting Future Wars: An Anthology of Science Fiction War Stories, 1914-1945

Our anthology isn’t the only one out there on military science fiction, and like anything in the genre, it’s always amazing what one finds when you start turning rocks over. I came across this book completely by mistake – I was looking at another one, and this came up: Fighting Future Wars: An Anthology of Science Fiction War Stories, 1914-1945, published in 2011 by Routledge Books.

This is a pretty awesome looking anthology of early pulp military science fiction stories, put together with a scholarly eye. Here’s the description:

The period between World War I and World War II was one of intense change. Everything was modernizing, including our technology for making war—witness machine guns, trench warfare, biological agents, and ultimately The Final Solution. This modernization and eye toward the future was reflected in many facets of pop culture, including fashion, home-wear design, and the popular literature of the time. In sci-fi, a specific genre emerged—that of the ‘future war.’

Fred Krome has collected many of these future war stories together for the first time in Fighting the Future War. Bolstered by a comprehensive introduction, and introduced with historical information about both the authors of the stories and the historical time period, these stories provide a view into the field of pulp science fiction writing, the issues that informed the time period between the world wars, and the way people envisioned the wars of tomorrow. Revealing anxieties about society, technology, race and politics, the genre of the future war story is important material for students of history and literature.

In a more interesting development, I was pointed to this interview, by none other than a former instructor of mine! It’s a good listen. You can buy a copy here.

Space Marine Cosplay

This. Is. Badass.

 

 

Many more over here.

None But Man, Gordon R. Dickson

 

I was at the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY yesterday, and found that they have a pretty excellent collection of SF paperbacks from the 1950s/70s in stock. I came across this one, which looks entertaining: None But Man, by Gordon R. Dickson. From the back cover:

The Pleides Planets, the last outpost of the human frontier, has become an interstellar hotbed. The unhuman Moldaug Ambassador to the Tri Worlds Council warned that the Pleides belonged to the Aliens, and that the Mouldaug are ready to attack the whole human race if the Frontier is not evacuated immediately.

Would the diplomats of the Old Worlds sacrifice the border colonies in a panic attempt to avert galaxial war? If so, one Frontiersman was prepared to wage a guerrilla war all his own!

 

Thank You!

We’re very gratified for all the interest and support today. Thank you, everyone who’s liked the page thus far.

We’ve had some pointed questions and comments about what this anthology will be about. We are *not* intending for this to be a US-centric work that focuses on glorifying warfare. Rather, we’re hoping for a wide range of perspectives, from the impact of PTSD, decisions under fire, wartime ethics and civilians caught in the crossfire. Our marketing blurb this morning didn’t really reflect that.

We’ll be speaking more to what has inspired this project and what we intend for this anthology  in the coming weeks. We’re excited to get this project off the ground. Stay tuned for more details!

Old Man’s War: $2.99

Today, John Scalzi’s novel Old Man’s War is available on Kindle for just $2.99. It’s a fun read, and if you haven’t picked it up yet, we highly recommend it!

Announcing War Stories: An Anthology of Military Speculative Fiction

In recent years, the role of the military around the world has drastically changed as conflicts have raged in the the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The decade long war on terror has highlighted changes in how war is conducted, and the violence has impacted millions of soldiers, civilians and families across the world. We want to explore the new landscape in all of its facets: from the soldiers who wage war to those caught in the crossfire.

War Stories, co-edited by Andrew Liptak and Jaym Gates, will be an anthology of military science fiction, containing stories that emphasizes the cultural, social, political and psychological repercussions of modern war. The anthology has been acquired by Jason Sizemore’s Apex Publications and will be funded through a Kickstarter campaign.

While the anthology’s contributors are still being confirmed, a number of authors have already indicated their strong interest in participating, including James Sutter (Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic), T.C. McCarthy (Germline trilogy), Karin Lowachee (Warshild, Gaslight Dogs), F. Brett Cox (Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic, English Professor at Norwich University, the nation’s 1st Private Military College), Jean Johnson (Theirs Not to Reason Why trilogy), Michael Stackpole (X-Wing series, Dark Glory War series), Laura Anne Gilman (Dragon Justice), Will McIntosh (Soft Apocalypse, Love Minus Eighty), Gwen Perkins (The Universal Mirror, The Jealousy Glass) and Science Fiction Grandmaster Joe Haldeman (The Forever War). More authors will be announced soon. The book will be introduced by former Airborne Infantryman and RangerUp! writer Greg Drobny. In addition to the invited authors, there will be an open submissions period following the launch of the project’s Kickstarter.

Artist Galen Dara will illustrate the anthology’s cover. She’s known for her work from with Lightspeed Magazine, Nightmare Magazine or the Spectrum showcase. She is currently the 2013 nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist.

War Stories will launch on Kickstarter in early September, with a variety of perks for backers, ranging from an ebook / physical copies of the anthology, to prints of the cover and other exciting things to come! Stay tuned for an official launch date.

To follow the progress of the anthology’s planning, and to get sneak peeks, excerpts and news from around the military science fiction world, you can visit the project’s website: http://www.warstoriesanthology.com, follow the project on twitter (@warstoriesantho), or like the anthology on Facebook: facebook.com/warstoriesanthology.

Jaym Gates is the editor of the zombie anthology Rigor Amortis, which was a Barnes and Noble Top 10 pick in 2011, and short fiction author (published in The Aether Age: Helios). She is the publicist for the Science Fiction Writers of America, Candlemark & Gleam and Pathfinder Books. She helped launch several Kickstarter projects, including Geek Love, the highest-funded anthology in Kickstarter’s history.

Andrew Liptak received his Master of Arts in Military History from Norwich University (the nation’s first private military academy), and has written extensively about military science fiction for io9 and SF Signal, and has written for such websites as Kirkus Reviews, Geek Exchange, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, and magazines such as Armchair General and the Norwich Record. He is currently an editorial assistant for Lightspeed Magazine.

Lock and load.

Halo 5 Trailer

We’re huge fans of the Halo franchise, which has all the classic memes of military science fiction: space battles, power armor, explosions, alien worlds, etc.

343 Industries has released a teaser for the next Halo game:

Looks… odd. Coupled with the fact that it’s being released only on the XboxOne, I’m not sure that I’m all that excited for it yet.

How to Build An Army In Space

Over on io9, I have an article on a thought experiment that I worked on: how do you conduct warfare in space?

What kind of military would you need to wage a war in space? You’ve got your Napoleonic space navies, which can lay waste to one another in empty sections of space. You’ve got space marines, who are armored up and ready to kill anything that moves. And finally, you’ve got the fighter jocks, who run interference and find those vulnerable, womp rat-sized holes to exploit. But are these representations actually realistic?

Read the whole thing here.

General Eisenhower’s Message Sent Just Prior to the Invasion

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

— Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Source

 

War Stories is Coming

War Stories is an planned anthology of Military Science Fiction short fiction that looks to the nature of war and its impact on the soldiers who wage it. Stay tuned to this site for more details, information and updates as planning progresses!