https://thewarshelf.com/Military fantasy and science fiction: where to start and what to read next.en https://thewarshelf.com/military-fantasy-bookshttps://thewarshelf.com/military-fantasy-booksThe best military fantasy books, from The Black Company to Malazan and Powder Mage, sorted by what you want: soldiers, sieges, command or big wars.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/grimdark-fantasy-bookshttps://thewarshelf.com/grimdark-fantasy-booksGrimdark fantasy books with soldiers, veterans and wars, from The Blade Itself to The Black Company, plus how real the darkness is next to history.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/flintlock-fantasyhttps://thewarshelf.com/flintlock-fantasyWhat flintlock fantasy is, where to start, and the best gunpowder fantasy books, from Promise of Blood to The Thousand Names, by a historian.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/pike-and-shot-fantasy-bookshttps://thewarshelf.com/pike-and-shot-fantasy-booksFantasy 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.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/military-science-fiction-bookshttps://thewarshelf.com/military-science-fiction-booksThe best military science fiction books, from Starship Troopers and The Forever War to Old Man's War and Honor Harrington, and where to start.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/warhammer-40k-bookshttps://thewarshelf.com/warhammer-40k-booksWhich 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.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-red-risinghttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-red-risingWhat to read after Red Rising: sci-fi and fantasy with brutal stakes and underdog heroes, each with who recommends it and how it differs.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-poppy-warhttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-poppy-warWhat 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.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-will-of-the-manyhttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-will-of-the-manyWhat to read after James Islington's The Will of the Many: hidden-identity heroes, deadly schools and brutal hierarchies.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-dungeon-crawler-carlhttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-dungeon-crawler-carlWhat to read after Dungeon Crawler Carl: LitRPG, funny and violent sci-fi and horror with jokes, each with who recommends it.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-powder-magehttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-powder-mageWhat to read after Brian McClellan's Powder Mage, starting with the book McClellan himself recommends: muskets, generals and battlefield magic.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-black-companyhttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-black-companyWhat to read after Glen Cook's The Black Company: mercenaries, compromised soldiers and dark sorcery, from Malazan to Kings of the Wyld.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-tainted-cuphttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-the-tainted-cupWhat to read after Robert Jackson Bennett's The Tainted Cup: fantasy detectives, imperial investigators and strange murders.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/books-like-video-games-and-war-filmshttps://thewarshelf.com/books-like-video-games-and-war-filmsBooks 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.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/what-flintlock-fantasy-gets-right-about-musket-warfarehttps://thewarshelf.com/what-flintlock-fantasy-gets-right-about-musket-warfareA historian on how muskets and volleys really worked, and what flintlock fantasy like Powder Mage gets right about them.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/matchlock-vs-flintlockhttps://thewarshelf.com/matchlock-vs-flintlockMatchlock vs flintlock explained: how each lock worked, when the flintlock took over, and why it matters for fantasy armies.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/red-rising-historyhttps://thewarshelf.com/red-rising-historyThe 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.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/poppy-war-historyhttps://thewarshelf.com/poppy-war-historyThe real history behind R. F. Kuang's The Poppy War: the Second Sino-Japanese War, Nanjing, Unit 731 and the Opium Wars. Contains spoilers.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://thewarshelf.com/abouthttps://thewarshelf.com/aboutSandro Andreatta, historian and author of The Witch Field, runs The War Shelf. Start with a free Witch Field short story.Tue, 10 Nov 2026 12:00:00 GMT