The military shows up in a lot of sci-fi stories but the subgenre of military SF depicts soldiers holding their own in fantastical situations without needing superheroes to come save the day. Many military SF authors served in the armed forces and bring a sense of verisimilitude to depicting their experiences, even if the stories are about futuristic high-tech or alien invasions. I talk with authors Myke Cole, Linda Nagata and Taylor Anderson about whether the genre has a mission beyond entertainment.
