Military Science Fiction Definition - Bastet - 2010
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What is Military Science Fiction?
To explain it in a few words, it's about things military in space and time. This said, it is naturally not so simple at all. There is no exact definition.
There are a variety of concepts which are a common occurence throughout the genre, like future concepts of war, military training, battle descriptions.
There is a lot of discussion about the borders of this genre. Some definitions include only sories of war, conflict and military, that center on the tactical aspect or on battle-scenes. On the other side of the spectrum you can see stories labelled as military science fiction, that center on individuals in conflict or stories with protagonists which have or had a (para)military lifestyle.
Therefore a clear definition will never be given for this particular sub-genre of Science Fiction. But still, there are certain elements, most of the stories do entail. Most of the texts included in the Military Science Fiction Genre include elements like
- combat,
- chain of command,
- (para-)military theme,
- high-tech weapons,
- tactics,
- description of battle scenes
- and description of warfare (often critical).
To show how different (and similar) the definitions given are, the following sub-chapter collects definitions of well-known authors and sources. There is also a Military Science Fiction Bibliography published in eLib.at with well-known authors and books to get you started.
Definitions for Military Science Fiction
Stories that involve primarily military characters, who are engaged in wars either in space or for the control of specific planets.
Don d' Amassa: Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 2005, ISBN 0-8160-5924-1
Basically, the armed forces in space.
SFsite.com
Military science fiction looks at combat in future locations (space, another planet), against a range of opponents (modified humans, aliens, machines), with futuristic, high-tech weaponry (including genetically modified soldiers). While some military science fiction asks "how fast can we blast the bugs?" (Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers), many authors use this subgenre to address anti-war themes. David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series explores both the heroism and the carnage of warfare.
writing-world.com (Marg Gilks and Moira Allen)
For me, military science-fiction is science-fiction which is written about a military situation with a fundamental understanding of how military lifestyles and characters differ from civilian lifestyles and characters. It is science-fiction which attempts to realistically portray the military within a science-fiction context. It is not "bug shoots." It is about human beings, and members of other species, caught up in warfare and carnage. It isn't an excuse for simplistic solutions to problems.
Author David Drake in an Interview.
About hard militaristic SF at Baen Books: "...hard SF evolved into right wing power fantasies about military hardware, men killing things with big machines."
James, E and Mendlesohn, F (2003). Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge, C. University Press, p 193 ff.
Military science fiction is a subset of science fiction where interstellar or interplanetary conflict and its armed solution make up the backdrop of the story. Typically, the conflict is assumed to be inevitable (Humans vs. inhuman bugs, Democracies vs. Dictatorships, ...), and the military approach is not questioned. Traditional military values (discipline, courage, chain of command) are stressed, and the action is described from the point of view of a soldier or officer. Technology is advanced, but fairly static, wars are not primarily won by R&D or even logistics, but by willpower and military virtues.
wikipedia.en
One definition of military science fiction is science fiction in which the main characters are part of the chain of command.
wikipedia.en
Articles about Military Science Fiction
- Defining the Genre: Military Science Fiction, Fandominia.
- The Subgenres of Science Fiction. Marg Gilks and Moira Allen.
- The Politics of Military SF - Space operas are one thing; idealizing real war another, Scott Connors, Publishers Weekly, 4/7/2008.
- Science Fiction: The Literature of Ideas Marg Gilks, Paula Fleming and Moira Allen.
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