Military SF
Military SF is SF that focuses particularly on armed conflict (war), typically from the perspective of military personnel, and often with detailed attention to military strategy, materiel, battles, relationships across the ranks, and so on. The defining feature is the focus on the military aspects; thus, "Star Wars", although it has "war" in the title, is not "military SF" as very little of it focuses on war. (Although the last scenes of the "Star Wars" movie are notable for their connection to Leni Riefenstahl and certain military stories.) Numerous recastings of traditional historical / military genres have been exported to space or alternative historical eras.
In SF, military stories frequently focus on inter-stellar warfare, often drawing from nautical and naval stories in particular.
In fantasy, military stories are typically planet-bound, often in an alternative fantastic earth with pre-Industrial Revolution technology.
In computer/video games, military settings frequently provide a background for first person shooter games and space combat games. ("World of Warcraft" is not, actually, a military SF title, although fighting monsters is a major part of the game.)
Perhaps one of the earliest famous works of military SF are Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1959) (made into the execrable 1997 film) and H. Beam Piper's Uller Uprising (1952) and Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (1965). A significant early anthologoy includes Gordon Dickson, editor, Combat SF (1975). Following Heinlein's lead, much of this work leans from Libertarian to conservative to fascist. A significant contemporary publisher is Baen Books, which publishes Lois McMaster Bujold's works among others.
A number of works have specifically used the military SF genre to critique the military, war, or violence, often incorporating feminism by reference rather than from an explicitly feminist viewpoint. See, e.g., Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (critique of use of war and military by society); Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero (1965 parody of space opera, and critique of military recruiting techniques). Even when not critiquing, a number of works have been written using a military context that have thoughtfully explored the role of the military in society, or explored the potential for horror in warfare. See, e.g., David Drake's "Slammers" books, Counting the Cost; Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.
Feminist SF writers have long been a feature of the genre, crafting stories in which an exceptional woman is a soldier or leader (like Jeanne d'Arc), and alternative or future realities in which women and men both serve in the military. (See Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion stories for an alternative fantasy take in which women serve in the military; Elizabeth Moon's The Serrano Legacy and Vatta's War series; "Battlestar Galactica (2004)" for a SFnal take in which women and men both serve in the military; Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series which features a patriarchal society). See also C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station; David Weber's Honor Harrington series.
A number of anthologies have been published that have explored women and "war", as opposed to the "woman warrior"; these typically include military SF, but may also include works focusing on the military from other perspectives.
- Women at War (1995), ed. by Lois McMaster Bujold and Roland J. Green (anthology of military SF by women authors)
- Women of War (2005), ed. by Tanya Huff and Alexander Potter (women involved in war issues; typically individual warriors, but some other war-related SF)