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

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 has influenced his work from the start of his writing career.[3]

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 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
  • 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.".[6][7]

References
  1. "STARFIST: Lazarus Rising". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  2. "Authors : Sherman, David : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". www.sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  3. "Sherman, David". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  4. 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.
  5. "The Future of Starfist".
  6. "STARFIST: Lazarus Rising (Review)". Publishers Weekly. 2 December 2003. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  7. Wolff, Michael. "Starfist: A World of Hurt by David Sherman & Dan Cragg (Review)". Starlog Magazine. No. 332. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
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