''In Death Ground'' is a 1997

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...

novel by American writer

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...

and Steve White. The story is completed in the novel ''

The Shiva Option ''The Shiva Option'', published by Baen Books, is the sequel to David Weber and Steve White's military science fiction novel '' In Death Ground''. Plot summary The Grand Alliance of Terrans, Orions, Gorm and Ophiuchi has suffered a catastroph ...

''. The title is taken from a passage in Chapter 11 of

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

's ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is compos ...

'': "In difficult ground, press on; On hemmed-in ground, use subterfuge; In death ground, fight." The original text is "圮地則行；圍地則謀；死地則戰"。

Plot summary

The novel is set in a distant future. Following the accidental discovery of interstellar travel via ' warp points', humanity has expanded throughout space, evolving into a Terran Federation consisting of Core Worlds like Earth and Alpha Centauri, Corporate Worlds like Galloway's Star, and Fringe Worlds colonized by small groups of like-minded people seeking to preserve ethnic or cultural identities from getting lost in a cosmopolitan sameness. (Tensions exist between the three groups of worlds, and are further explored in ''Insurrection'', another novel also written by Weber and White). Following a series of three interstellar wars (ISWs 1–3) with different species (warlike felinoid Orions and their

centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

oid Gorm associates, birdlike Ophiuchi, the genocidal Rigelians, and the Thebans (explored in a prequel novel ''Crusade''), humanity has experienced a seventy-year "vacation from history", i.e. seven decades of peace. A survey squadron travels through a previously uncharted warp point and encounters a hive-like species referred to derisively as the ' Bugs' (inspired by the Arachnids in

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...

's ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of ...

''). All attempts at communication fail, and the Bugs ambush the survey squadron, with a great loss of material and human life. Pursuing the survivors, the Bugs mount a massive invasion of Terran and Orion space.

Satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s left behind monitor the conquered planets and reveal that Bugs regard other sentient life forms as food sources; indeed the Bugs prefer to consume their prey alive. It is later revealed that the Bugs raise ranches of conquered species. The alternative being "equal opportunity genocide", Terrans, Orions, Gorm, and Ophiuchi form a Grand Alliance, with Terrans and Orions as the senior members. The novel features long and very detailed space and ground battle sequences, detailed discussions of tactical doctrine, the ongoing

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

between the Alliance and the Bugs, and the development of interpersonal relations between military people of different background and species. The universe and novels are based on the '' Starfire'' wargame series, which David Weber helped to develop, and which has existed in various editions since 1976.

External links

* * * An excerpt of ''In Death Ground'' is available for download or reading online at the

Baen Free Library The Baen Free Library is a digital library of the science fiction and fantasy publishing house Baen Books where 61 e-books as of June 2016 (112 e-books as of December 2008) can be downloaded free in a number of formats, without copy protection. It ...

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{{David Weber 1997 American novels 1997 science fiction novels Books with cover art by David Burroughs Mattingly Collaborative novels Military science fiction novels Novels by David Weber Starfire (board wargame)