The World Of Special Forces Military Fiction Novels
It's always fun to explore a new genre of literary fiction and the war novel is no exception. In many ways, the reader can gain a more vivid picture of wartime life from a purely fictional work than they can a non-fiction piece of work. When the author is allowed to hide behind a veil of anonymity, they feel freer to describe individuals and situations than they would if they had to name and shame. Among the newest sub-genres of the war novel are special forces military fiction novels.
Most of today's war novels are set outside the United States. Most 21st century conflicts are in practically every other continent apart from North America. The wars in which they are set tend to be in the Gulf or the Balkan states. Prior to that, Vietnam war stories were popular and before that, World War II or Korea. As tensions heat up between NATO and Russia, the next generation of war stories may well focus on an emerging Cold War II.
The special forces, such as the Navy SEALS, are a popular topic. Special ops teams tend to be smaller units, making it easier for the author to fully develop characters. Special ops teams also seem to get the most gripping, fast-paced stories.
A lot of war novel authors were soldiers, sailors or aviators themselves. For them, writing about their war is a catharsis, part of the healing process. This could be why we see so many series' of novels. Take, for instance, "The Blades, " about SAS special operations. These stories take place in places as diverse as Sierra Leone and London, Colombia and Las Vegas.
Another series of military fiction stories are Scott Nicholson's "AFTER" books, a series of stories about a world recovering from a catastrophic solar storm that wipes out the world's computers and kills billions of people. Those who survive have to contend with not only a world without Facebook, but a strange new violent race of people they call the Zapheads.
Military science fiction is another sub-genre within the war novel classification. These stories tend to be based on past conflicts but retold on a grander scale, involving planets and galaxies instead of countries. A perfect example of this theme was seen in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation, " set in the 24th century, but retelling the story of Gilgamesh, a king of Mesopotamia late in the third millennium, B. C.
War stories have been captivating readers ever since Homer scratched out the Iliad and will continue to do so for centuries from now as man conquers outer space. Although they are by definition not "true, " a lot of historical perspective can be gained from them by reading about the human side of war.
So what's coming next in the world of the war story? There could be a big new paradigm on the horizon as the Navy considers whether to permit women to serve in special warfare combat teams or even the SEALs. The field is wide open for new heroins, new story lines and a new dimension of human wartime relationships.
Most of today's war novels are set outside the United States. Most 21st century conflicts are in practically every other continent apart from North America. The wars in which they are set tend to be in the Gulf or the Balkan states. Prior to that, Vietnam war stories were popular and before that, World War II or Korea. As tensions heat up between NATO and Russia, the next generation of war stories may well focus on an emerging Cold War II.
The special forces, such as the Navy SEALS, are a popular topic. Special ops teams tend to be smaller units, making it easier for the author to fully develop characters. Special ops teams also seem to get the most gripping, fast-paced stories.
A lot of war novel authors were soldiers, sailors or aviators themselves. For them, writing about their war is a catharsis, part of the healing process. This could be why we see so many series' of novels. Take, for instance, "The Blades, " about SAS special operations. These stories take place in places as diverse as Sierra Leone and London, Colombia and Las Vegas.
Another series of military fiction stories are Scott Nicholson's "AFTER" books, a series of stories about a world recovering from a catastrophic solar storm that wipes out the world's computers and kills billions of people. Those who survive have to contend with not only a world without Facebook, but a strange new violent race of people they call the Zapheads.
Military science fiction is another sub-genre within the war novel classification. These stories tend to be based on past conflicts but retold on a grander scale, involving planets and galaxies instead of countries. A perfect example of this theme was seen in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation, " set in the 24th century, but retelling the story of Gilgamesh, a king of Mesopotamia late in the third millennium, B. C.
War stories have been captivating readers ever since Homer scratched out the Iliad and will continue to do so for centuries from now as man conquers outer space. Although they are by definition not "true, " a lot of historical perspective can be gained from them by reading about the human side of war.
So what's coming next in the world of the war story? There could be a big new paradigm on the horizon as the Navy considers whether to permit women to serve in special warfare combat teams or even the SEALs. The field is wide open for new heroins, new story lines and a new dimension of human wartime relationships.