# The War Shelf > Military fantasy and science fiction: where to start and what to read next. Book recommendations for military fantasy, military science fiction, flintlock and pike-and-shot fantasy, grimdark and Warhammer. Every recommendation says who backs it (a book creator, a book site, readers on Goodreads or Reddit, an award, or "My pick" for books the site's author has read and recommends) and what is different about the book. The site is run by Sandro Andreatta, a historian of late medieval and early modern warfare and author of The Witch Field, a military fantasy series set in a pike-and-shot world (coming 2027). Recommendations cannot be bought. 204 books are listed in total. ## Start here - [Military Fantasy Books: Where to Start](https://thewarshelf.com/military-fantasy-books): The best military fantasy books, from The Black Company to Malazan and Powder Mage, sorted by what you want: soldiers, sieges, command or big wars. - [Military Science Fiction Books: Where to Start](https://thewarshelf.com/military-science-fiction-books): The best military science fiction books, from Starship Troopers and The Forever War to Old Man's War and Honor Harrington, and where to start. - [Flintlock Fantasy: The Complete Guide](https://thewarshelf.com/flintlock-fantasy): What flintlock fantasy is, where to start, and the best gunpowder fantasy books, from Promise of Blood to The Thousand Names, by a historian. - [Pike-and-Shot Fantasy Books](https://thewarshelf.com/pike-and-shot-fantasy-books): Fantasy set in the age of pikes, muskets and the Thirty Years' War, and the history behind it, written by a historian of early modern warfare. - [Grimdark Fantasy Books](https://thewarshelf.com/grimdark-fantasy-books): Grimdark fantasy books with soldiers, veterans and wars, from The Blade Itself to The Black Company, plus how real the darkness is next to history. - [Warhammer 40K Books: Where to Start](https://thewarshelf.com/warhammer-40k-books): Which Warhammer 40,000 novel to read first: Eisenhorn, Gaunt's Ghosts, Ciaphas Cain and more, with how much you need to know about the setting. ## What to read next - [Books Like Red Rising](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-red-rising): What to read after Red Rising: sci-fi and fantasy with brutal stakes and underdog heroes, each with who recommends it and how it differs. - [Books Like The Poppy War](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-poppy-war): What to read after The Poppy War, and the real history behind R. F. Kuang's trilogy: the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Opium Wars. - [Books Like The Will of the Many](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-will-of-the-many): What to read after James Islington's The Will of the Many: hidden-identity heroes, deadly schools and brutal hierarchies. - [Books Like Powder Mage](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-powder-mage): What to read after Brian McClellan's Powder Mage, starting with the book McClellan himself recommends: muskets, generals and battlefield magic. - [Books Like The Black Company](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-black-company): What to read after Glen Cook's The Black Company: mercenaries, compromised soldiers and dark sorcery, from Malazan to Kings of the Wyld. - [Books Like The Tainted Cup](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-tainted-cup): What to read after Robert Jackson Bennett's The Tainted Cup: fantasy detectives, imperial investigators and strange murders. - [Books Like Dungeon Crawler Carl](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-dungeon-crawler-carl): What to read after Dungeon Crawler Carl: LitRPG, funny and violent sci-fi and horror with jokes, each with who recommends it. - [If You Like This Game or War Film, Read This Book](https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-video-games-and-war-films): Books to read if you like Halo, Mass Effect, Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Doom or Master and Commander, with what each book is and what to expect. ## Essays - [What Flintlock Fantasy Books Get Right About Musket Warfare](https://thewarshelf.com/what-flintlock-fantasy-gets-right-about-musket-warfare): A historian on how muskets and volleys really worked, and what flintlock fantasy like Powder Mage gets right about them. - [Matchlock vs Flintlock](https://thewarshelf.com/matchlock-vs-flintlock): Matchlock vs flintlock explained: how each lock worked, when the flintlock took over, and why it matters for fantasy armies. - [The History Behind The Poppy War](https://thewarshelf.com/poppy-war-history): The real history behind R. F. Kuang's The Poppy War: the Second Sino-Japanese War, Nanjing, Unit 731 and the Opium Wars. Contains spoilers. - [Where Red Rising Comes From](https://thewarshelf.com/red-rising-history): The history and ideas behind Pierce Brown's Red Rising: Plato's Republic, the Roman Republic, Antigone and the god of war, in Brown's own words. ## About - [All books](https://thewarshelf.com/books): every book on the site, A to Z, with the lists it appears on. - [About the Author](https://thewarshelf.com/about): Sandro Andreatta, historian and author of The Witch Field. - [For Authors](https://thewarshelf.com/for-authors): how authors can submit a book (free, no guarantee of a listing). - [Full text for language models](https://thewarshelf.com/llms-full.txt)