''StarFist'' is a series of

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

novels written by

David Sherman David Sherman (1958 - November 16, 2022) was an American novelist who dealt overwhelmingly with military themes at the small-unit tactical level. His experiences as a United States Marine informed his writings. Early life and education Sher ...

and

Dan Cragg Dan Cragg (born September 6, 1939) is an American science fiction author. Biography Cragg was born in Rochester, Newy York. He served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1980, retiring with the rank of Sergeant Major. He served two tours of d ...

. The novels are set in the 25th century and are written from the viewpoint of the men of the ''Confederation of Human Worlds''

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

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

Dan Cragg was a non-commissioned officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, serving for twenty-two years with eleven years in overseas stations, five and half in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

; at retirement Cragg was a

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

. He is also a writer of military non-fiction, including ''Inside the VC and NVA,'' and many others based around the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. He lives in Virginia. Cragg published the first of the StarFist series with coauthor David Sherman.

is a former United States Marine, whose military experience has influenced his work from the start of his writing career.

''StarFist'' Series

The ''Confederation of Human Worlds'' in the 21st century established its capital city at Fargo, North Dakota, which grew into a large

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

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 A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military servic ...

, an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

with

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

capability transport space navy ships to whatever planet they are ordered to, and a

make up the force. Humans have colonized numerous worlds out several hundred light years and are faced with conflicts involving surrounding

extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

. A short time after the authors submitted the manuscript of ''Double Jeopardy'' the series publisher, Del Rey, decided to cancel the series.

Novels

*''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)

StarFist: Force Recon Series

''StarFist: 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 Recon, 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.

Novels

* ''Backshot'' (2005) * ''PointBlank'' (2006) * ''Recoil'' (2008)

Critical reception

The 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 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.".

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

''Starfist'' Headquarters
a fan site devoted to the series. Science fiction book series Space marines Novels set in the 25th century Military science fiction novels