Best Military Fiction of 2014

Best Military Fiction books of 2014

Military fiction is a subgenre that is just plain awesome cool. I think you as a guy must think back of time you were playing soldier when you read some of these books. When you think of military the first thought that you will have will be of big armies clashing or at least I had that when I first started reading Military fiction, though I had to throw this thought away quite quickly as the modern day Military Fiction is more aimed towards specialized units in current day or in the future. Which brings me to the following books. Reign of Evil by Weston Ochse is a display when the supernatural hits Earth and the last line of defense is a Seal Team specialized in quelling this threat. Reign of Evil is already the third installment in the series and is really the best so far. Weston Ochse involves a lot of military aspects in his writing, full gear lay down and tactics, very detailed and gives a great reading experience. Control Point by Myke Cole is terrific. This book was published already a few years back but I never had the change to read it before. My statement of "Where have you been all my life" still holds true. Control Point has some very cool aspects working in it favor and which Myke Cole has thought true and true, there is also a very cool addition, Goblins! Yes in a military urban fantasy  setting! Tom Doyle's American Craftsmen also focuses on soldiers with superpower much like Control Point but takes place in bit more realistic setting closer to our own day. These superpowered soldiers act as assassins to quell threats. Andromeda's Fall is the first book in the prequel series to The Legion series of William C. Dietz. I haven't read the original series but after Andromeda's Fall I surely had gotten into it. A great introduction to The Legion series, William C. Dietz writes a very personal and emotional story through the eyes of Andromeda. Adam Christopher's The Burning Dark is a deep space opera military fiction sort of book. THough the premise is first science fiction and a military aspect Adam Christopher involves more and more interesting bits even going so far as introducing ancient folklore in this futuristic story.

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- Seal Team 666: Reign of Evil by Weston Ochse, Titan
 
 Reign of Evil in short is a fast paced and action packed ride but more over it is just plain awesome. Once you embark you won't be able to stop it until it is over. Which is far too soon. In this already third installment of the Seal Team 666 series Weston Ochse has really out done himself. When I tweeted to him that this was the best book so far he said "you just like it because I bulldozed through England. Lol" Yes it is! There are no boundaries that Weston Ochse is afraid to break. Showing partly his own vision on just what a Wild Hunt entails was done in a most detailed kind of way that will get you scarred. big time. Weston Ochse has created a very interesting take on military and supernatural fiction and this Seal Team 666 series readily stands out and I must kindly urge everyone who likes their action raw with a supernatural twist to pick up these stories asap. They won't disappoint. Just a last note: Weston Ochse did leave Reign of Evil on a bit of a cliffhanger. Lets see what the next mission of Seal Team 666 will be.

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- Control Point by Myke Cole, Headline/Ace

 When I was just finishing the first chapter of Control Point, I tweeted: "Where have you been all my life". For me, with Control Point, Myke Cole has just taken military fiction and urban fantasy to a completely new level. The whole setting of the book is just plain and simply awesome. I guess this is pretty much a guy thing, who doesn't like to read about superpowers and military action? The book is sprawling with action from the first page right down until the last one. The characters that you meet in Control Point are memorable and they will grow on you, these aren't the hardened veterans of the military but young guys and girls who are obliged with entering the Army, while they would rather just spend their lives in the real world. Myke Cole paints a downright hard picture that sees some rays of sunshine in the end of the book. I think this story is far from over yet... Will Oscar be a catalyst of change? Need to get to Fortress Frontier asap

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- American Craftsmen by Tom Doyle, Tor

The ending of the book is something that I hadn't seen coming. All along the way of the story you are confronted by many facts, Dale simultaneously on the run and trying to figure out just what the heck is going on. When he and Michael uncover the real truth it's like a bomb exploding and causes you to abandon any pretense of what you first had assumed of the direction the story would go into. This is just the ending that you want to see for such a story and plot that goes way and way back than just a few years... 

I haven't seen whether American Craftsmen will be just a stand-alone book or that Tom Doyle is planning to write a sequel or turn it into a series but I hope he does. In this debut Tom Doyle clearly shows that he knows how to write one awesome story. It's full of action on one side and on the other it's a dirty game being played by some dangerous men. Tom Doyle makes the whole concept of bring magic to the military work in full colors and balances it out nicely so that nothing overtakes the other, this also comes back to showing the world itself, building the characters and one part that I enjoyed a lot, the history of said characters and family lineages. From the first page American Craftsmen will put you directly on the edge of your seat and keep you there right until the last page. Next time when there is nothing on TV and you are looking for an thrilling non-stop adventure, be sure to have American Craftsmen ready!

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- Andromeda's Fall by William C. Dietz, Titan/Ace

And what would military fiction be without any rapid fire action? William C. Dietz background must have helped in pulling this off. His descriptions of the action that takes place, the small fights - bullying between the Legion recruits down to fighting of aliens is all written in a clear a crisp way that brings you right to the edge of your seat and leaves you wanting more. What struck me as most pleasantly while reading was that there is definitely a great focus once the battles takes down where a lot of tactics are shown combined with several heavy artillery weapons, but this doesn't take over the storyline completely. You aren't thrown in the depths of military lingo at all, hereby the storyline is much more readily approachable by not only military science fiction fans but also for your average science fiction fans. And most importantly, with all this you get perhaps a much greater well rounded story, combining a strong female lead, great supporting cast, word building spanning an entire universe and edge of your seat action. Top stuff right here.

I can only highly recommend Andromeda's Fall to everyone. If you are looking for a great science fiction story, get it. If you are looking for military fiction, get it. If you are looking for great characters, get, If you are looking for a more than cool story, GET IT. I think you are catching my drift. William C. Dietz definitely knows how to write his stories in a engaging way that leaves you wanting more and more. I cannot yet relate the prequel events to the original Legion series but I hope I will be able to do so soon. Andromeda's Fall well get anyone eager to devour the rest of the series asap.

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- The Burning Dark by Adam Christopher, Titan/Tor

With The Burning Dark, I have really become addicted to Adam Christopher's books. The Burning Dark has some pretty cool and interesting idea's, where I first thought this to be an Science Fiction story soon turned out to be much more, the haunting house element with Japanse Folklore was really the cherry on top .Adam Christopher again went far above my expectations. You really have to expect the unexpected when you read one of his books. Though the story of The Burning Dark is a well rounded and concluding story, I think I though that this would be the first in a series, when you reflect on the whole story and mainly the universe that Adam Christopher has revealed so far in The Burning Dark, it readily asks for further exploration. Great edge-of-your-seat stuff. 

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