Best military thriller books according to redditors

but what if reading was bad?

The only book you need to read

http://www.amazon.com/Six-Days-Brendan-DuBois/dp/1491233478

This one? I dunno. Reads better than Vince Flynn. The people who read these books aren't judging craft - usually just story.

Here are two other novels on what an anarcho-capitalist society might look like:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_crash

http://www.amazon.com/Sharper-Security-Sovereign-Company-Novel-ebook/dp/B00A9CI3GM/

Linda Nagata's Nebula-nominated military SF novel The Red: First Light (2013)

Player of Games is a good book, and it's early enough in the Culture series that Banks hadn't yet realized he made the Minds too powerful and doesn't need the human characters to actually do anything. But it is not military science fiction and I don't think it's similar to The Forever War.

If you're looking for more military sci-fi I can recommend Forging Zero, All You Need is Kill, David Weber's Honor Harrington series, Orphanage...and many more I'm sure. Armor is great and I'm sure you've heard of Starship Troopers.

A note on David Weber, I find his overuse of italics a constant irritation when reading his books. It really helps to get digital copies and run them through calibre to eliminate all the italics first.

• Demon Trap by P.S. Power I also re-read the previous books in the series in preparation. Another good sequel in the series.
  
  
  
• Bill The Vampire by Rick Gualtieri as well as the sequels (4 books total i believe) It's a pretty good series, new take on urban fantasy / vampires. The main character got a little stale towards the end... its somewhat sitcommy
  
  
  
• The War of Stardeon by Cooley, Trevor H. Four book in the series just came out, so i nabbed it... its an easy read, nothing ground breaking but very entertaining. Main char is a bit marry sue (but a guy)
  
  
• The Cor Chronicles by Martin Parece I read all three books that are currently out. Its a good read, fairly epic. Interesting take on gods, very much about gods interacting with the world and warring. boy grows up to find out he turns into a rare race that was created by a lesser known blood god, has to fight persecution.
  
  
• Forging Zero by King, Sara as well as the sequel Zero Recall This is actually a sci fi book, the first once I've read in a LOONG time, its basically an alien invasion, but instead of the normal story the aliens conscript children to sue as solders, pretty neat take on things, because of these two books im going to look into more sci-fy.
  
  
• Mageborn: The God-Stone War fourth book recently came out, so i re-read the first three, then read the new one. Its good stuff, big cliff hanger though... cant wait till the next book.
  
  Now i just realized i read 18 books this month... what the hell.

Try out The Legend of Zero Series. I'm reading it now and it gives off some Red Rising vibes. Here's the Amazon book summary:



First Contact didn't go as expected. Now they own us.

Earth has been conquered by a massive galactic empire, and its war machine needs soldiers. In a cruel twist of fate, fourteen-year-old Joe Dobbs accidentally ends up on a ship carrying Earth's children to an alien training planet. To make it out alive, he must survive an apathetic bureaucracy that sees humans as little more than spare rations. Meat with guns. Or, if they're really unlucky, servants.

The oldest of the children drafted from humanity’s devastated planet, Joe unwittingly becomes the centerpiece in a millennia-long alien struggle for independence. Once his training begins, one of the elusive and prophetic Trith gives Joe a spine chilling prophecy that the universe has been anticipating for millions of years: Joe will be the one to finally shatter the vast alien government known as Congress. And the Trith cannot lie.…

But first Joe has to make it through boot camp.

For lovers of sci-fi thrillers, alien invasion stories, space opera, and sprawling first contact science fiction, this is an unforgettable post-apocalyptic epic about perseverance and survival in a harsh new world where humanity is just another item on the menu...

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


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Regular Fiction: Death World by B.V. Larson

Fanfiction: Whirlpool Among the Eddies

My name is Patrick W. Marsh and my book is called "Beware the Ills." It's a fantasy/horror novel about a guy on a island who basically has to kill whoever comes on it. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DTW03F8 I'll be selling it in paperback for cheaper than the paperback price on Amazon. I will also be advertising my blog there. Hopefully, I'll have some images up soon since I'm working with an illustrator on both projects. Look forward to seeing you there :)

DRAGON'S TRAIL by Joseph Malik

"I DIDN'T COME HERE TO SELL MY SOUL. I CAME HERE TO BUY IT BACK."

Once dubbed "The Deadliest Man Alive," Jarrod Torrealday is a former Olympic saber hopeful and medieval weapons expert banned from competition for killing another fencer in a duel. Despondent, volatile, alcoholic, yet still one of the greatest swordsmen alive, he now works for third-rate fantasy films as a technical consultant and stuntman.

When Jarrod accepts the gig of a lifetime from a sorcerer looking for a hero, he finds himself facing an invading army in a world inhabited by creatures from Earth's mythical past. He soon learns that the enemy mastermind is also from Earth, and has laid the foundations for a new kind of war.

Seamlessly blending hard science with elements of classic sword and sorcery, DRAGON'S TRAIL is an international bestseller that's being hailed as the pioneering work of a new genre: the Fantasy Technothriller.

"Action, humor, and intrigue . . . James Bond in tarnished armor. Detailed descriptions of equipment and tactics don't distract from the plot; rather, they add a layer of depth and dimension that carries the tale to the next level. This is a highly enjoyable story for fans of self-aware epic fantasy."

-- Publishers Weekly

"Fantasy with a twist . . . executed with verve and intelligence."

-- The BookLife Prize

"A book to savor and soak in all the details."

-- San Francisco Review of Books

DRAGON'S TRAIL has been an internationally bestselling e-book in four countries since its release in late 2016, and is now available at major retailers as e-book, paperback, or hardcover. Hard copies are available at your local bookstore through IndieBound. You can order autographed copies through my website.

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Apple iBooks

Kobo

If you are looking for totally new authors, try Sara King and her Legend of Zero series. Two books out now, more to follow.

Starts with [Forging Zero] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BTKA42Y/)

Military scifi, yes, but with lots of character focus.

This is the best book I have read about humans being taken by an alien empire. This focuses on one group of people, and mostly one man, but it is an amazing work. Forging Zero - http://amzn.com/B00BTKA42Y

you might like Linda Nagata's The Red which was nominated for the Nebula Award. It's not a classic like Haldeman, but it's one of the few pieces of military sci-fi I've come across, of late, that goes beyond the rah-rah heroism shit; there's a layer of cynicism/commentary there.

Fist full of sand and the sequel,

https://www.amazon.com/Fist-Full-Sand-Book-Cerulea-ebook/dp/B079F5NSZD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K4V8HB9/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

Crafting of Chess and he has a sci-fi book that hits the gamelit feels but isnt' really Intelligence block,

https://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Chess-LitRPG-adventure-ebook/dp/B07P1YRHTX

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S1HMJL4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Spwinward dreamsate novel

https://www.amazon.com/Spinward-Artificial-Dream-State-Novel-ebook/dp/B01KQOSHYK

Bushido online.

https://www.amazon.com/Bushido-Online-Battle-Begins-LitRPG-ebook/dp/B0759XBQNW

Axillion99

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BDDDBB6/ref=x_gr_w_glide_sout?caller=Goodreads&callerLink=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39138895-axillon99&tag=x_gr_w_glide_sout-20

Viral (Not really litrpg or gamelit but kind of fits.)

https://www.amazon.com/Viral-Piers-Platt-ebook/dp/B07DHZ8R6Y

Homebrew

https://www.amazon.com/Homebrew-LitRPG-novel-Metagamer-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B07BTL5RM4

Yeah, you just reminded me of one of my favorite novels, Iron Coffin. Time to dig it up and read it again.

reading this now.. and its detailed.. and military centered and great... https://smile.amazon.com/Counter-Zombie-Warfare-Jason-Beauchemin-ebook/dp/B01I0OB7YU/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483143303&sr=1-13-spons&keywords=zombie+military&psc=1

For what it's worth, as I was setting up my son's Kindle app I ran across a series of books I read a while ago that is good for his age that I thought I'd share with anyone else interested: The Legend of Zero series. It's about a kid (somewhere 9-12, I believe) is abducted by alien invaders and conscripted into their multi-species army. Not dystopian, obviously, but good sci-fi.

Your answer is very good, but I think you missed a part of it. Audible is far overpriced, in general. The audiobook market is overpriced. I don't know if it's an issue of not enough people interested in audiobooks, or what.

Case in Point: Game of Thrones book 1 on Audible: $31.50

Game of Thrones book 1 on Amazon: $11.56 on paperback and $6.99 on Kindle

Sorry, but these prices have nothing to do with the cost. You might argue that it's a lot of extra effort for a guy to sit there and read 1,000+ pages and give a decent performance with multiple voices and a good reading. But even if it takes the voice actor 1-2 months per book, a Hollywood movie takes far more people far longer working full time. And I can buy those for $10-$20. Even more damning... I can buy this guy's book for $5 on Kindle and add the complete Audible version for $2 more. It even has Whispersync, which means I can seamlessly switch between the Audible version and Kindle version and it will update to the latest location. And you don't need to have an Audible subscription to get that price. I only bought Game of Thrones on Kindle, but I buy all my BV Larson books with the Audible version and listen while driving or read when I'm at home or in public. It's freaking amazing and I would buy all my books like that if it were that cheap.

So the upshot is that Audible is overpriced like crazy unless the publisher wants reasonable prices. Why they do this, I don't know. Maybe to avoid audiobook prices cannibalizing sales numbers for the hardcopy? Maybe to force people to get Audible subscriptions, which is when prices start getting reasonable?

Edit: looks like you can get the Audible version of some of the Game of Thrones for $13 per book if you buy the Kindle version of that book. The later GoT books are $10, so if you combine them that's $23 to get both Kindle and Audible. However the Audible version for any of these books alone ranges from $35 to $55!!

Not LitRPG, but straight up portal fantasy:
Dragon's Trail by Joseph Malik

World class swordsman is transported to a magical world where his skills are put to work. Well written, lots of fun.

That's enormously kind of you :-) There are three of them, though I think The Parnell Affair is the best one. There is also The Pyrrhic Rendition, which reads a little like a movie but has a lot of action, and The Adventurers, which is fantasy and indifferently edited (my apologies, there are four spelling errors and a your-you're error: excuse me a moment while I unclench my jaw). If any of their descriptions interest you, then please have a read: it's quite humbling to think of someone I don't know reading a novel of mine. If you want to tell me what you think of it afterward, that be great too! I only check this reddit account about once a month, though. Thanks for reading!

The Demi-Monde series by Rod Rees is the best steampunk that hardly anyone seems to read. Seems like it should fit (most) of your criteria. Demi-Monde: Winter is the first book.

It may be set a bit later than you want, but its a virtual steampunk world (think matrix), populated with a ton of different cultures and digitized personalities of famous historical figures. The simulation was basically created as a training ground for ultra-dense urban environments, but the plot goes off into a ton of different awesome and crazy directions.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Demi-Monde-Winter-Novel-Saga/dp/B00BQ84IUI

Three of the four books are out, last being scheduled later this year.

*Also: it has the coolest map of any series I've seen:

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/debut/bulletins/covers/demi-monde.png

Here's the Amazon link where it is available on Kindle and in Paperback.

If you want a signed copy you can order and pay with paypal from my website and it'll get shipped directly to your door.