The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century

Edited by Harry Turtledove with Martin H. Greenberg, copyright 2001, Del Rey Books. The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century is a collection of some of the greatest science fiction ever written. More than that, it's a collection of some of the greatest science fiction writers ever to grace the pages of Amazing, Astounding and other popular sf magazines. Several of the stories collected here went on to become some of the most popular novels of all time, notably Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game," Joe W. Haldeman's "Hero" and Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider."

Most of these classic stories (and their authors) need no introduction, so completely have they become implanted in the minds of sf fans everywhere. This is THE collection, all the stories you ever heard about and wanted to read but didn't know where to look. Many of the names alone should be recognizable to even the most casual reader. The themes of war are looked at from every possible angle, though war is not the only theme explored. Everyone should find something to enjoy about this book.

The complete list:

• "Among Thieves" by Poul Anderson
  After centuries of fighting the barbaric semi-human Kolresh, the people of Norstad must make a choice: continue the war, or turn their attentions inward, toward Earth.
• "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick
  Their country blasted by nuclear war, the moon-based US government falls back on killer robots to continue the war against Russia. But can robots be made TOO efficient?
• "Hero" by Joe W. Haldeman
  An elite corps of space marines goes into training to confront humankind's first interstellar enemy. The story which led to the novel The Forever War.
• "Superiority" by Arthur C. Clarke
  Superior technology is no guarantee of victory.
• "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
  Humanity looks for a savior against an alien menace and finds it...in a child. The story which led to the novel of the same name.
• "Hangman" by David Drake
  The first of the Hammer's Slammers space mercenary stories.
• "The Last Article" by Harry Turtledove
  An alternate history in which India is conquered by Germany rather than Great Britain.
• "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith
• "Night of the Vampyres" by George R. R. Martin
  A lone fighter pilot fights desperately to stop a terrorist attack, while other battles are waged groundside.
• "To the Storming Gulf" by Gregory Benford
  A realistic account of ordinary people caught in a nuclear war.
• "Wolf Time" by Walter Jon Williams
  A classic cyberpunk tale, and an in-depth look into the mind of a soldier.
• "The Scapegoat" by C. J. Cherryh
  Can peace be made between humanity and an alien race which doesn't seem to fear death?
• "Dragonrider" by Anne McCaffrey
  After stagnating for centuries, the last of the Dragonriders must save Pern from the Threads.