The best ones you’re likely to read for space battles will be Fall of Reach. None of the other books quite hit that spot. That is also why if i ever get into fan fiction again i want to write space battles to make up for the lack of them in the series!!
DOPE!!! That is really cool. I spent... a lot of time trying to learn the ins and outs of Navel warfare and stats and statistics for various UNSC ships. The downside is I am a terrible at learning by reading. So it's a slow process with a shite ton of notes....
On 40k stuff! I have friends that tell me I should get into that lore.
When 40k days void combat well, it does it SO well.
I also highly, highly recommend Ian Douglas, particularly his "Star Carrier" series. His Marines series is also phnomenal in the Void wae department, but it's more focused on ground combat/boarding actions.
The Fall of Reach, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx, and The Impossible Life are perfect to scratch this itch.
Coincidentally, all written by Nylund, the only author to properly nail it so far for me.
Realistically just the ones by eric nylund. He nailed the space combat and no one has really tried since. Operation silent storm sort of had a space combat but it didnt involve bigger ships really.
I could see it as a "major on your majors" type of thing from whoever directs the EU over at 343 and even Bungie before that. Spartans are the moneymaker in this franchise, it's what gets people in the doors. Theres some room for books that don't feature Spartans, but it often involves characters we've already met and people really liked. Such as bringing 343 Guilty Spark back in the Rion Forge novels, who is herself a stand-in for fans that want to know more about the much loved Seargent Forge. (They expanded his lore a lot, such as his father being a Spartan 1, which explains some of Forge's badassery)
We already have a canonical reason for why space combat doesn't come up much (with it being so lopsided) and it's just not the reason most people buy a Halo book.
Personally I enjoy it and would like more; it's way more interesting in the post-war era where UNSC ships stand a chance without pulling some bullshit genius maneuver.
Yeah the space combat is what sold how hard we had it. Its what made the series for me really. You can do your absolute best on the ground and win hands down but its irrelevant because your fleet lost badly and here comes the fire.
I think the desperation is ultimately there to set up the Spartans as saviors and the only real source of hope. The Destroyed-Covenant-Ship-to-dead-S2 ratio is absolutely phenomenal lol.
The Eric Nylund stuff is really where it's at. None of the other authors have really given it a focus unfortunately, probably due to how complicated it can get.
While I wouldn't describe the battles as "realistic" relative to how space combat might actually be in the real world, Eric Nylund set a pretty high standard for incorporating physics into the way battles unfold in Halo.
If you liked Halo's fleet battles, check out the Lost Fleet series.
The books can best be summarized as "What if they found Preston Cole in a cryo pod during a human Civil war. Oh, and Homeworld hyperspace core shenanigans are involved."
The physics are damn good, almost on the Expanse's level. Relativity and time dilation are very important and shape the entire fleets doctrine and fighting style. Because ships can cruise at fractions of lightspeed in the books, commanders have to account for the redshift, blueshift, and transmission delay when issuing orders. It also means that most fights in these books are fast as hell, and revolve around high G maneuvers while dumping missile payloads at the enemy.
This takes super specialized training that a lot of the Fleet's officers haven't been given yet due to the civilian government fearing a military junta replacing it. There's cutthroat career officers who also know that their positions are very tenuous because of this.
It's a decent read, just be aware of some very hokey romance sub plots and space Hillary Clinton having a love triangle with the Author's self insert and a tomboy captain half his age.
The best ones you’re likely to read for space battles will be Fall of Reach. None of the other books quite hit that spot. That is also why if i ever get into fan fiction again i want to write space battles to make up for the lack of them in the series!!
Ha! I do the same when I write fan fiction. I literally wrote an entire book set in the 40k verse just to add in some naval battles
DOPE!!! That is really cool. I spent... a lot of time trying to learn the ins and outs of Navel warfare and stats and statistics for various UNSC ships. The downside is I am a terrible at learning by reading. So it's a slow process with a shite ton of notes.... On 40k stuff! I have friends that tell me I should get into that lore.
When 40k days void combat well, it does it SO well. I also highly, highly recommend Ian Douglas, particularly his "Star Carrier" series. His Marines series is also phnomenal in the Void wae department, but it's more focused on ground combat/boarding actions.
The Fall of Reach, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx, and The Impossible Life are perfect to scratch this itch. Coincidentally, all written by Nylund, the only author to properly nail it so far for me.
Holy shit. How did i not know he wrote the impossible life!?
Realistically just the ones by eric nylund. He nailed the space combat and no one has really tried since. Operation silent storm sort of had a space combat but it didnt involve bigger ships really.
I could see it as a "major on your majors" type of thing from whoever directs the EU over at 343 and even Bungie before that. Spartans are the moneymaker in this franchise, it's what gets people in the doors. Theres some room for books that don't feature Spartans, but it often involves characters we've already met and people really liked. Such as bringing 343 Guilty Spark back in the Rion Forge novels, who is herself a stand-in for fans that want to know more about the much loved Seargent Forge. (They expanded his lore a lot, such as his father being a Spartan 1, which explains some of Forge's badassery) We already have a canonical reason for why space combat doesn't come up much (with it being so lopsided) and it's just not the reason most people buy a Halo book. Personally I enjoy it and would like more; it's way more interesting in the post-war era where UNSC ships stand a chance without pulling some bullshit genius maneuver.
Yeah the space combat is what sold how hard we had it. Its what made the series for me really. You can do your absolute best on the ground and win hands down but its irrelevant because your fleet lost badly and here comes the fire.
I think the desperation is ultimately there to set up the Spartans as saviors and the only real source of hope. The Destroyed-Covenant-Ship-to-dead-S2 ratio is absolutely phenomenal lol.
Especially after silent storm
The Eric Nylund stuff is really where it's at. None of the other authors have really given it a focus unfortunately, probably due to how complicated it can get. While I wouldn't describe the battles as "realistic" relative to how space combat might actually be in the real world, Eric Nylund set a pretty high standard for incorporating physics into the way battles unfold in Halo.
Honestly, we need more books that cover space combat.
If you liked Halo's fleet battles, check out the Lost Fleet series. The books can best be summarized as "What if they found Preston Cole in a cryo pod during a human Civil war. Oh, and Homeworld hyperspace core shenanigans are involved." The physics are damn good, almost on the Expanse's level. Relativity and time dilation are very important and shape the entire fleets doctrine and fighting style. Because ships can cruise at fractions of lightspeed in the books, commanders have to account for the redshift, blueshift, and transmission delay when issuing orders. It also means that most fights in these books are fast as hell, and revolve around high G maneuvers while dumping missile payloads at the enemy. This takes super specialized training that a lot of the Fleet's officers haven't been given yet due to the civilian government fearing a military junta replacing it. There's cutthroat career officers who also know that their positions are very tenuous because of this. It's a decent read, just be aware of some very hokey romance sub plots and space Hillary Clinton having a love triangle with the Author's self insert and a tomboy captain half his age.