Imperfect Characters Working to Win Wars or Solve Big Problems

I read alot of Military Science Fiction, and some history and fantasy. I’m not limited to those genres.

It is easy to find Military SciFi or Fantasy that focuses on a tactical level. One ship, one squad, one person gets most of the focus.

But what I love is the Strategic level. Planning, logistics, economics, politics, etc. I like imperfect characters working to solve big problems.

In the case of history, it is easy to find a strategic focus, but often they downplay characters or lack twists, which can make them dry and uninspiring.

Warfare tends to be the focus of many strategic level stories, but it wouldn’t have to be to hold my interest. For instance “The Wager” by David Grann is a survival situation. “The Path Between The Seas” by David McCullough is a somewhat character light take on the building of the panama canal. “The Martian” by Andy Weir is a survival take in space. A legal trial, a scientific discovery, a heist, an exploration expedition, a big construction project, a political campaign… All are perfectly reasonable stories for a strategic level approach.

That isn’t to say I am not interested in books that focus on warfare, only that as I think about what tropes are shared by the books I love most, it is the strategy, not the War.

My favorite series are:

The “Starfire” series by David Weber, Steve White and others.

The “Black Company” series by Glenn Cook.

The “Conquers” series by Timothy Zahn.

The “Empire” series by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurtz

by tag8833