StarFist is a series of military science fiction novels written by David Sherman and Dan Cragg. The novels are set in the 25th century[1] and are written from the viewpoint of the men of the Confederation of Human Worlds Marine Corps 34th FIST (Fleet Initial Strike Team). An additional spin-off series, titled StarFist: Force Recon, by the same authors was started in 2005 with the publication of Backshot.
Authors
editDan Cragg was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, serving for twenty-two years with eleven years in overseas stations, five and half in Vietnam; at retirement Cragg was a sergeant major. He is also a writer of military non-fiction, including Inside the VC and NVA, and many others based around the Vietnam War. He lives in Virginia. Cragg published the first of the StarFist series with coauthor David Sherman.[2]
David Sherman was a United States Marine veteran, whose military experience influenced his work from the start of his writing career.[3][4]
StarFist series
editThe Confederation of Human Worlds in the 21st century established its capital city at Fargo, North Dakota, which grew into a large metropolis with a multitude of skyscrapers and government buildings. The military headquarters of the Confederation in Fargo, North Dakota is called the Heptagon. A space navy, an army with air force capability transport space navy ships to whatever planet they are ordered to, and a Marine Corps make up the force. Humans have colonized numerous worlds out several hundred light years and are faced with conflicts involving surrounding extraterrestrials.[5]
A short time after the authors submitted the manuscript of Double Jeopardy the series publisher, Del Rey, decided to cancel the series.[6]
Novels
edit- First to Fight (1997)
- School of Fire (1998)
- Steel Gauntlet (1999)
- Blood Contact (1999)
- TechnoKill (2000)
- Hangfire (2000)
- Kingdom's Swords (2002)
- Kingdom's Fury (2003)
- Lazarus Rising (2003)
- A World of Hurt (2004)
- Flashfire (2006)
- Firestorm (2007)
- Wings of Hell (2008)
- Double Jeopardy (2009)
First to Fight
edit First edition | |
| Author | David Sherman & Dan Cragg |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jean Targete |
| Language | English |
| Series | StarFist |
| Genre | Military science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | October, 1997 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 378 |
| ISBN | 978-0-345-40622-4 |
| OCLC | 37648602 |
| LC Class | 97091713 |
| Followed by | School of Fire |
First to Fight was released on October, 1997 and set in the 25th century as the first novel of the series. Don D'Amassa reviewed it for Science Fiction Chronicle.[7]
Plot summary
editThe Confederation of Human Worlds comprises about two hundred semi-autonomous settled worlds. Some of those worlds are rich and powerful, others are not. Reports start to come from the desert world of Elneal of untold violence and hunger. A peacekeeping force composed of Marines from the 34th FIST (Fleet Initial Strike Team) is assembled.[8] Amongst them is the young Private First Class Joseph F. Dean, a member of Third Platoon, Company L, whose journey through bootcamp and deployment is narrated.
As the Marines are deployed to isolated villages in Elneal, violence soon abates - one of Third Platoon's squads is given a new communicating device to field test, and dropped off some tens of kilometers away from the base. When the device malfunctions, the squad sees itself stranded in the desert, days of walking ahead of them, without armor. The Marines are constantly harassed by enemy forces and have to make multiple stands in order to fend off their assaults. The senior NCO with the squad, Staff Sergeant Bass, in desperation, makes a bold call - he challenges the enemy chieftain to a hand to hand duel, and wins. The enemy, awed, allow the Marines to return to a city unharassed.
School of Fire
edit | |
| Author | David Sherman & Dan Cragg |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jean Targete |
| Language | English |
| Series | StarFist |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 1998 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 0-345-40623-0 |
| OCLC | 39531660 |
| Preceded by | First to Fight |
| Followed by | Steel Gauntlet |
School of Fire is the second novel of the series. School of Fire received a positive review from Interzone, which praised the authors' experience.[9]
Plot summary
editIn this installment, the men of 34th FIST are deployed to help the rulers of Wanderjahr put down a rebellion that threatens the planet's political and economic stability. The Marines have two battles to fight — that they're aware of at least — one with the resourceful and well-led guerillas, and the other with the entrenched bureaucracy of the planetary police. But the 34th FIST gradually becomes aware that not all is what it seems. As the Marines are drawn deeper and deeper into the convoluted politics of Wanderjahr, they begin to suspect that the guerillas might not be the real enemy after all.[10]
Blood Contact
edit| Author | Dan Cragg & David Sherman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jean Targete |
| Language | English |
| Series | StarFist |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 1999 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 344 |
| ISBN | 0-345-42527-8 |
| OCLC | 43248280 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 1904 vol. 14 |
| Preceded by | Steel Gauntlet |
| Followed by | TechnoKill |
Blood Contact is the fourth novel of the series.
Plot summary
editThis book follows Gunnery Sergeant Bass and the rest of 3rd Platoon, Company L, 34th FIST as they investigate a missing scientific team on the uninhabited planet Society 437. Initially expecting that pirates are to blame for the failure of the team to check in as scheduled, 3rd Platoon discovers something far more deadly and dangerous is behind the destruction of the station. What they find has serious implications for the entire human race. The Skinks, a race of bipedal, amphibian-like creatures who wield acid guns, conduct a campaign to wipe out the entire Scientific Society.[11]
Kingdom's Swords
edit| Author | Dan Cragg & David Sherman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Mark Harrison |
| Language | English |
| Series | StarFist |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 2002 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 368 |
| ISBN | 0-345-44371-3 |
| OCLC | 49666230 |
| Preceded by | Hangfire |
| Followed by | Kingdom's Fury |
Kingdom's Swords is the seventh novel of the Starfist Saga.
Plot summary
editIn the previous book, Hangfire, it was related that the Skinks (an alien race thus far mostly unknown to the Human Confederation) had invaded the planet Kingdom. The planetary government reluctantly requests Confederation assistance, but thanks to miscommunications and pure bureaucratic bungling, the Marines of 34th FIST are deployed thinking that they are on their way to put down a peasant rebellion. Kingdom's government are very religious and make it harder for the 34th FIST to fight the Skinks. Kingdom's army is too poorly equipped and trained to fight the Skinks. So the Skinks catch the 34th FIST by surprise. Only one platoon of the unit has encountered the Skinks before, in Blood Contact, and had been forbidden to talk about their experiences, or even reveal the existence of these aliens. Even worse than this surprise is a new devastating weapon in use by the Skinks, the Rail Gun, a weapon that makes it impractical for the Marines to use aircraft or armored vehicles. To make matters worse for Company L, their commander is unexpectedly summoned back to Earth.[12]
Kingdom's Fury
edit | |
| Author | David Sherman & Dan Cragg |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Mark Harrison |
| Language | English |
| Series | StarFist |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 2003 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 338 |
| ISBN | 0-345-44372-1 |
| OCLC | 51490566 |
| Preceded by | Kingdom's Swords |
| Followed by | Lazarus Rising |
Kingdom's Fury is the eighth novel of the series, taking place largely on the planet called Kingdom, a world with a crazy-quilt religious theocracy involving various flavors of Christians, Muslims, and others. This book continues where Kingdom's Swords left off. Author Mary Welk gave it a positive review in 2003.[13]
Plot summary
edit34th FIST has been reinforced by the 26th FIST, now that the Confederation is aware that this is a full scale Skink invasion. With the reinforcements, the Marines are now able to go off the defensive and take the battle to the Skinks. The Skinks have been using a devastating weapon never before seen by the Confederation armed forces, but in this book the Navy figures out what the weapon is, a Rail Gun. There doesn't appear to be a true defense, but at least there is now a warning when it is about to be used. The Marines launch a major operation where the Skinks have made a stronghold in the swamps on Kingdom. Meanwhile, Skink Battle Cruisers are on their way to Kingdom. Having been pushed back from their swamp on Kingdom the Skinks launch a diversion cover their retreat to the Skink fleet. Up to this point in the Starfist series there have been no portrayals of space Naval battles, but this omission is now rectified. The Marines and Confederation Navy drive the Skinks off world and push them back to the planet "Quagmire" where they used its natives as slaves and used the planet as a staging area to invade Kingdom. The Marines then go to Quagmire and kill most of the Skinks there, with the help of the natives.
Finally, an anti-skink task force is created, under the leadership of Marine General Aguinaldo. There is also a subplot involving the government of Kingdom, as one of the more powerful figures among the Kingdomites takes advantage of the distraction caused by the extensive combat to overthrow the theocracy and establish a fascist-style government.[14]
StarFist: Force Recon Series
editStarFist: Force Recon describes the experiences of the men and women who carry out intelligence-gathering and small-unit raids behind enemy lines. The Confederation Marine Force Recon mission is very similar to that of United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, with which co-author Sherman, a former US Marine, is familiar. The new series did not sell as well as the parent series, and the publisher allowed the series to end after three novels: Backshot, published in 2005; PointBlank, published in 2006; and Recoil, published in 2008.
Backshot
editBackshot, the first book, was published in 2005. This story introduces the second platoon, Fourth Force Recon Marines, which are the unit that the series focuses on. The Marines are dispatched to the far-off agricultural world of Atlas, a member of the secretive Union of Margelan, itself a member-state of the Confederation of Human Worlds. The Margelan government is developing a secret technological project in Atlas; the Marines are ordered to discover what it is, and, if it is a weapon of mass destruction, to either destroy it or seize it for the Confederation. Once planetside, the Marines stumble upon many difficulties and intrigues on their way to their objective.[15]
PointBlank
editPointBlank is the second book in the series, published in 2006. The protagonists are once again second platoon, Fourth Force Recon Marines, and they are dispatched to Ravenette, a world which is waging a secessionist war with the Confederation. The Confederate forces on the planet are desperately fighting off a siege by the separatist forces, heavily outnumbered, and it is up to the Force Recon Marines to try to even the odds through black ops warfare - assassinations, demolitions and raids, in order to undermine the enemy's offensive capabilities.[16] This book's events happen simultaneously to the main series novel Flashfire's.
Recoil
editRecoil is the last book in the series, published in 2008. Second platoon is dispatched to the far-off world of Haulover, where local forces are fighting a losing battle against the skinks, an extraterrestrial enemy which for years has been violently raiding the frontiers of human space. Once again the Force Recon Marines are employed as force multipliers, using their special skill set in spectacularly bold ways.[17] This book's events happen simultaneously to the main series novel Wings of Hell's.
Critical reception
editThe novels were criticized for their all-male cast of soldiers, using contrived inter-service rivalries as a plot device, and a "tendency to telegraph their denouements". But as the Publishers Weekly review of STARFIST: Lazarus Rising stated, at the end "The politically correct may have trouble with the lack of female soldiers à la Honor Harrington, but the traditional male audience at which this is targeted will have no complaints.".[18]
The books have been praised, however, for their verisimilitude with actual military experiences - being called "exciting",[19] "hyperrealistic",[20] and in a specific installment, "state-of-the-art military SF".[21]
Regarding Force Recon, the writer Thomas Evans reviewed the first two volumes of the series, lauding Backshot's story, plot development and its differences from the main series of books;[22] although he mentioned also liking PointBlank, he affirmed it "did not quite grab me as much as I had hoped".[23]
References
edit- ^ "STARFIST: Lazarus Rising". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
- ^ "Authors : Sherman, David : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". www.sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
- ^ "Sherman, David". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ "In Memoriam: David Sherman". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. January 12, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/662671.First_to_Fight First to Fight is the first book in a Military Science Fiction series focusing on the 34th FIST (Fleet Initial Strike Team) of the Confederation Marine Corps.
- ^ "The Future of Starfist".
- ^ D'Ammassa, Don (April 1, 1998). "First to Fight". Science Fiction Chronicle. p. 53. ISSN 0195-5365.
- ^ "Starfist: First to Fight by David Sherman and Dan Cragg". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "School of Fire: Starfist, Book Two". Interzone. 137: 64. November 1, 1998.
- ^ "#SchoolOfFire". HashReview. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "Starfist: Blood Contact: Book IV by David Sherman and Dan Cragg". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Starfist: Kingdom's Swords". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "STARFIST: KINGDOM'S FURY, Book VIII, audio". Reviewing the Evidence. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ "Starfist: Kingdom's Fury". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
- ^ "Starfist: Force Recon: Backshot". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ "Starfist: Force Recon: Pointblank". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "Starfist: Force Recon: Recoil". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ "STARFIST: Lazarus Rising (Review)". Publishers Weekly. 2 December 2003. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ "STARFIST: Firestorm (Review)". Publishers Weekly. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "STARFIST: Flashfire (Review)". Publishers Weekly. 1 January 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ Cannon, Peter (October 6, 2003). "STARFIST: Lazarus Rising (Book)". Publishers Weekly. 250 (40): 65–66. ISSN 0000-0019.
- ^ "Backshot: Starfist: Force Recon Book 1, David Sherman and Dan Cragg (Del Rey, 2005)". The Archaeologist's Guide to the Galaxy.. by Thomas Evans. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ "Starfist: Force Recon Book II – Point Blank, David Sherman & Dan Cragg (Del Rey, 2006)". The Archaeologist's Guide to the Galaxy.. by Thomas Evans. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
External links
edit- Starfist Headquarters, a fan site devoted to the series.