Can anybody recommend any stories about women in the army/military/female soldiers, preferably historical or contemporary ones that aren't scifi or futuristic?
Can anybody recommend any stories about women in the army/military/female soldiers, preferably historical or contemporary ones that aren't scifi or futuristic?
preferably historical or contemporary ones
Hmmm,
historical is problematic, there were only a few.
e.g. Boadicea and Joan of Arc.
In High Fantasy it's another kettle of fish entirely, there are many stories of female fighters.
Contemporary? The restrictions imposed on women in the military are still severe, most end up in supporting positions, not actually fighting. Problematic for a writer to create an actually fighting female MC. Female helicopter pilots are more common than female infantry fighters.
In SciFi you'll find more female soldiers, in David Weber's Honorverse are quite some in prominent positions: Honor Harrington, Michelle Henke, Helen Zilwicki, Abigail Hearns,...
Don't know if John Ringo's "Black Tide Rising" books meet your criteria, but I find Faith and Sophia Smith outstanding as female soldiers, especially Faith.
HM.
In SciFi you'll find more female soldiers, in David Weber's Honorverse are quite some in prominent positions: Honor Harrington...
For all who never read a book in the Honor Harrington series, the first two books are in Baen's Free Library
http://www.baen.com/on-basilisk-station.html
http://www.baen.com/the-honor-of-the-queen.html
HM.
If ex-military is allowed, carniegirl's Deputy/Sheriff Porter stories might be worth a look.
AJ
Or look at Todd_d172's St Clair stories
https://storiesonline.net/universe/932/saint-clair
HM.
If ex-military is allowed, carniegirl's Deputy/Sheriff Porter stories might be worth a look.
In that way you could include Lisa (marine, shot down in Iraq) from the Florida Friends. Although no longer military it has plenty of violent action in the Secret Service
A couple of Morgan's stories have female soldiers but I suspect the story line doesn't meet your requirements.
Can anybody recommend any stories about women in the army/military/female soldiers, preferably historical or contemporary ones that aren't scifi or futuristic?
Not on this site, but there are commercial books by Jacques Antoine about a girl/young woman who grows up to become a Marine, P G Allison about a female soldier and cadet at West Point (who is also a were-Puma), Jack July's "Amy Lynn" novels of a female soldier and special operative.
Thanks for your noting P G Allison's story about Missy the Werecat. I found it to be a very enjoyable series.
Cheers
Thanks. Just read the first book about her being recruited. Looks like a very interesting read.
Cheers
@samuelmichaelsThanks for your noting P G Allison's story about Missy the Werecat. I found it to be a very enjoyable series.
My thanks also. I just finished book 2 and am ready to jump into book 3.
Here on SOL, try black_coffee's Sparks and The Gunny And Lenore as contemporary / recent past non-SF
There is one I have read where the main characters are a female flight officer and a male sergeant mechanic in the Air Force. Non-fraternisation rules cause some problems and both eventually leave the force. Cannot remember author or title though, sorry.
I recommend Reaching for Wings by Wes Boyd on his site. The female protagonist (wrong sex to call her a hero) is still in high school but flies gliders and much of the story is about her effort to go to the Air Force Academy.
I recommend Reaching for Wings by Wes Boyd on his site. The female protagonist (wrong sex to call her a hero) is still in high school but flies gliders and much of the story is about her effort to go to the Air Force Academy.
Second the recommendation. There's just a _ton_ of character development in this story. Her growth as a person as she attempts to broaden her activities to improve her odds of being accepted to the Air Force Academy is amazing, but very believable.
Due to a recommendation from somewhere around here, I am reading 'The Private' by Random Writings. While she is a secondary character, Lt. Swanson is doing a good job of growing into her rank in the total war they are fighting. I'm a little less than half way through, and so far it has been interesting.
https://storiesonline.net/s/69860/the-private
I'm a little less than half way through, and so far it has been interesting.
You do know it's incomplete and inactive for more than two years, don't you? According to the last entry in his/her blog
We are nearing the last chapter.
there are probably only a few chapters missing.
HM.
There are lots of SF women soldiers and special agents, but alas the OP didn't want science fiction.
One historical one I can think is is Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Good but depressing.
One just popped up on FS: The Mission by Sagacious. Main protagonist is male, but one of his team of 3 is female. It's sort-of SF, set in alternate past where Russia is invading Europe in the 60's; any story that talks about a log-periodic antenna gets my attention.
That's been available for a while, maybe on SOL. It's a good story, but almost all the female characters are tertiary to the story. The one that would come closest is his homeless waif, who is not in the military exactly.
the story that hiltonls16 mentioned above
"There is one I have read where the main characters are a female flight officer and a male sergeant mechanic in the Air Force. Non-fraternization rules cause some problems and both eventually leave the force. Cannot remember author or title though, sorry."
I've been trying to locate that for some time. Does anybody remember the name or auther. Thanks
Thanks to @WiseTioga for asking over on the Lost Stories forum and @The Outsider for the answer about 'female flight officer and a male sergeant mechanic in the Air Force'
It's over on Finestories, WT:
http://finestories.com/s/10683/high-flight
http://finestories.com/a/Robert_McKay
The Butterfly and the Falcon is a story about a soldier who meets an anarchist woman fighting in the Spanish civil war.
I'm rereading The Gunny and Lenore where a large part is about a female ROTC candidate fighting with a Seal Team. Pretty good story too.
ETA: I see after reviewing previous posts that this story was already mentioned even if it was 10 months ago. Should've scanned before I posted. Apologies.
If you like historical, then I endeavour to name one of my own:
https://storiesonline.net/s/58363/joerg-isebrand
16th century, and Joerg's sisters are no camp followers or shrinking violets.
Some of the stories from Horatio might come close to what you want. Be quick if you're not a premium member because they are up for archival.
There's "A Soldier's Secret," the story of Sarah Edmonds, age 19, who fought in the Civil War masquerading as a man named Frank Thompson. Sarah is the narrator. S'far as I know, there's only a dead-tree version and maybe one for the Kindle.