Best Action Scenes in SF Literature

[ryantherebel]

Name says it all. What are the best action scenes ever to grace a science fiction novel? Here are some of my choices:

The climactic showdown in Player of Games.

Emperor Gregor's ship saving Miles in The Vor Game

The Klendathu Battle from Starship Troopers

The Martian War Machines vs. the Thunder Child in War of the Worlds

The Soldiers tale from Hyperion

The Surprise Attack on the Barracks from All You Need Is Kill

The Battles in the Hells from Surface Detail

The Climactic Space Station Assault of Leviathan Wakes.

Your choices?

 

[Namanari]

Any of Richard K Morgan, Neal Asher or Peter F Hamilton's scenes.

 

[Charlie]

Name says it all. What are the best action scenes ever to grace a science fiction novel? Here are some of my choices:

The climactic showdown in Player of Games.

Emperor Gregor's ship saving Miles in The Vor Game

The Klendathu Battle from Starship Troopers

The Martian War Machines vs. the Thunder Child in War of the Worlds

The Soldiers tale from Hyperion

The Surprise Attack on the Barracks from All You Need Is Kill

The Battles in the Hells from Surface Detail

The Climactic Space Station Assault of Leviathan Wakes.

Your choices?

...Battle between Belter warcraft and Lunar fortress in Clarke's "Earthlight".

...Sandworm/Fremen attack on Emperor's forces in "Dune".

...alien attack on Earth/ Luna in Spinrad's "The Solarians" (best, most desperate counterattack ever).

...desperation attack of Earth's lone warship Archangel on alien mothership in Niven's "Footfall".

...attack by human children and their allies on the home planet of the Killers in Bear's "Anvil of Stars".

Guess I have a fondness for underdog fights.

Charlie

 

[JimF]

There was a scene in Hamilton's Pandora's Star/Judas unchained when the Character of Gore Burnelli fought an alien backed agent equipped with all kinds of cybernetic enhancements, who was attacking his daughter. Gore who was the head of a mega rich family had enhancements of his own, including having his skin changed to resemble metallic gold. He launched himself like a naked golden missile at the bad guy and an epic beat down ensued.

 

[bio]

The battle of Earth's ships with Destroyers armada in Perseus Cluster in Sergiey Sniegov trilogy. The best space opera ever was written in USSR. Funny?

 

[richard.william.fox]

Name says it all. What are the best action scenes ever to grace a science fiction novel? Here are some of my choices:

The climactic showdown in Player of Games.

Emperor Gregor's ship saving Miles in The Vor Game

The Klendathu Battle from Starship Troopers

The Martian War Machines vs. the Thunder Child in War of the Worlds

The Soldiers tale from Hyperion

The Surprise Attack on the Barracks from All You Need Is Kill

The Battles in the Hells from Surface Detail

The Climactic Space Station Assault of Leviathan Wakes.

Your choices?

Emperor Gregor's ship saving Miles in The Vor Game
"What in hell's that? It's too big to be that fast. It's too fast to be that big." That was an amazing scene, but I think my favorite was the extraction at the end of Borders of Infinity. That story really drives home Mile's brilliance, more so than any other in my opinion.

The Martian War Machines vs. the Thunder Child in War of the Worlds

The Soldiers tale from Hyperion
The first time I read the fight between Colonel Kassad and the Shrike, I reread it several times. Those books were amazing, and the few true action sequences were very condensed but pulse pounding. I also really enjoyed the fight between Endymion and Rhadamanth Nemes in The Rise of Endymion. I found the final two books in that series even more compelling than the first two.

Speaking of Dan Simmons, it's hard to beat the scenes he depicted of the battle of Troy in Illium and Olympos. I particularly liked the way he described the super natural like abilities of the ancient warriors in terms of science fiction.

In a similar vein, Ramez Naam writes a few short but very compelling fight scenes in his book Nexus. The first, when ERD agent Samantha Cataranes faces off against a group of hired killers in a back alley of Thailand, and second when Watson Cole comes through the roof of an apartment on top of a squad of ERD agents, full auto shotguns blazing.

 

[ryantherebel]

Speaking of Dan Simmons, it's hard to beat the scenes he depicted of the battle of Troy in Illium and Olympos. I particularly liked the way he described the super natural like abilities of the ancient warriors in terms of science fiction.

In a similar vein, Ramez Naam writes a few short but very compelling fight scenes in his book Nexus. The first, when ERD agent Samantha Cataranes faces off against a group of hired killers in a back alley of Thailand, and second when Watson Cole comes through the roof of an apartment on top of a squad of ERD agents, full auto shotguns blazing.

I should have mentioned Nexus. I love that series.

 

[Ropie]

What are the best action scenes ever to grace a science fiction novel?

Not something I look for in the books I read usually, but I always love the bit in Left Hand of Darkness where Genley is loaded into the back of the freezing transport and shipped off to the gulag.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Battle of Anorak in Ready Player One

psik

 

[Jussslic]

The Deliverator desperately trying to deliver a pizza at the beginning of Snow Crash! Haha I was so floored by that chapter; I had just read like three Belgariad books, and then the beginning of Snow Crash is just this frantic explosion of cool. Racing through a suburban enclave in a supercar with a gun and a sword and a pizza. Getting "pooned" by an armored skateboard courier... Then that reveal, that the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist.

It was like graduating, I immediately knew that Neal Stephenson was not like any author I'd read before.

 

[richard.william.fox]

The Deliverator desperately trying to deliver a pizza at the beginning of Snow Crash! Haha I was so floored by that chapter; I had just read like three Belgariad books, and then the beginning of Snow Crash is just this frantic explosion of cool. Racing through a suburban enclave in a supercar with a gun and a sword and a pizza. Getting "pooned" by an armored skateboard courier... Then that reveal, that the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist.

Stephenson is an outstanding author. Snow Crash and The Diamond Age still have a special place in my heart and I always read them back to back. Uncle Enzo facing off against Raven at the end of Snow Crash was perhaps the most intense scene in the book. Traditional action sequences in Stephenson novels seem few and far between, but very well placed and explosive. He describes a physical conflict between two heavily genetically engineered characters near the end of Seven Eves that is probably less than a full page, but extremely exciting. That said, he is a master at creating tension and action in ways that aren't necessarily traditional. He's easily on my current top-three list of authors.

 

[Namanari]

Stephenson is an outstanding author. Snow Crash and The Diamond Age still have a special place in my heart and I always read them back to back. Uncle Enzo facing off against Raven at the end of Snow Crash was perhaps the most intense scene in the book. Traditional action sequences in Stephenson novels seem few and far between, but very well placed and explosive. He describes a physical conflict between two heavily genetically engineered characters near the end of Seven Eves that is probably less than a full page, but extremely exciting. That said, he is a master at creating tension and action in ways that aren't necessarily traditional. He's easily on my current top-three list of authors.

The thing about Neal Stephenson, of course, which helps him with his action writing, is that he's a long time afficionado of HEMA [Historical European Martial Arts]. Not sure what his particular area of interest is, but it's safe to say he has a clue about wrestling, pugilism, sword and buckler, longsword etc.

The Mongoliad series, which is very odd and flawed in some other ways (I suspect mainly due to the group effort nature of it) has some good scenes in this respect.

 

[psikeyhackr]

 

[Gkarlives]

Any of the space dock battles in the Chaunar series by C J Cherryh.

 

[Windshadow]

The sword fight at the end of the quest in Glory Road is a standout I was a state épée champion in as a teenager. It was obvious that RAH knew a lot about the use of the sword. At the time I read it I didn't know that he was himself a top rank fencer at the Naval Academy.

 

[Raule]

The combat scenes in the first half of John Steakley's Armor.

 

[Millionwordman]

Omaha thunder is down, repeat, Omaha thunder is down...

Brilliance

 

[Ambrose Balin]

The battle of Earth's ships with Destroyers armada in Perseus Cluster in Sergiey Sniegov trilogy. The best space opera ever was written in USSR. Funny?

I was sad to see that there is not an English translation of this yet. I am unfortunately unable to read it any of it's currently available forms.

 

[Colonel Worf]

There are some great battle scenes in Exultant by Stephen Baxter. It helps that I was emotionally invested in the main characters.