War Stories

In War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, editors Andrew Liptak and Jaym Gates collect short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors dealing with the effects of war prior, during, and after battle to soldiers and their families.


War is everywhere. Not only among the firefights, in the sweat dripping from heavy armor and the clenching grip on your weapon, but also wedging itself deep into families, infiltrating our love letters, hovering in the air above our heads. It's in our dreams and our text messages. At times it roars with adrenaline, while at others it slips in silently so it can sit beside you until you forget it's there.


Join Joe Haldeman, Linda Nagata, Karin Lowachee, Ken Liu, Jay Posey, and more as they take you on a tour of the battlefields, from those hurtling through space in spaceships and winding along trails deep in the jungle with bullets whizzing overhead, to the ones hiding behind calm smiles, waiting patiently to reveal itself in those quiet moments when we feel safest. War Stories brings us 23 stories of the impacts of war, showcasing the systems, combat, armor, and aftermath without condemnation or glorification.


Instead, War Stories reveals the truth.


War is what we are.


Table of Contents:


Foreword -- Gregory Drobny

Graves -- Joe Haldeman


Part 1: Wartime Systems

In the Loop -- Ken Liu

Ghost Girl -- Rich Larson

The Radio -- Susan Jane Bigelow

Contractual Obligation -- James L. Cambias

The Wasp Keepers -- Mark Jacobsen

Non-Standard Deviation -- Richard Dansky


Part 2: Combat

All You Need -- Mike Sizemore

The Valkyrie -- Maurice Broaddus

One Million Lira -- Thoraiya Dyer

Invincible -- Jay Posey

Light and Shadow -- Linda Nagata


Part 3: Armored Force

Warhosts -- Yoon Ha Lee

Suits -- James Sutter

Mission. Suit. Self. -- Jake Kerr

In Loco -- Carlos Orsi


Part 4: Aftermath

War Dog -- Mike Barretta

Coming Home -- Janine Spendlove

Where We Would End a War -- F. Brett Cox

Black Butterfly -- T.C. McCarthy

Always the Stars and the Void Between -- Nerine Dorman

Enemy States -- Karin Lowachee

War 3.01 -- Keith Brooke


Cover art by Galen Dara.