StarFist series

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[edit]

Dan 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 is a former United States Marine, whose military experience influenced his work from the start of his writing career.^[3]

StarFist Series[edit]

The 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.^[4]

A short time after the authors submitted the manuscript of Double Jeopardy the series publisher, Del Rey, decided to cancel the series.^[5]

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)

StarFist: Force Recon Series[edit]

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[edit]

• Backshot (2005)
• PointBlank (2006)
• Recoil (2008)

Critical reception[edit]

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 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.".^[6]

The books have been praised, however, for their verisimilitude with actual military experiences - being called "exciting",^[7] , "hyperrealistic",^[8] and in a specific installment, "state-of-the-art military SF".^[9]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Starfist Headquarters, a fan site devoted to the series.