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Really just wondering, do people have a preferences between books where the protagonists tend to win their battle courtesy of bigger, better, more outrageous weaponry, such as the Honorverse. or those where the weaponry and ships more 'mundane' and tactics dominate battles, such as say The Lost Fleet? I enjoy both to be honest but I am curious as to whether one style or the other is more popular.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I enjoy Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica for their fighter-on-fighter dogfights.

But I also enjoy capital ships (or their space-going equivalent) just hammering away at each other.

I prefer it when the win comes from thinking outside the box. Not just standard tactics where you guess your opponent's move and then make the right counter to it ahead of time. Clever tricks. Want some examples?

Absolutely, started this to stir up some discussion!

The examples that spring to mind are mostly on planet ones, not space battles.

Tactics of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson and most of the rest of the Dorsai books

Pandora's Legions by Christopher Anvil

I'm trying to recall the name of the book where a damaged one person fighter hid inside the wreck of a larger enemy ship and managed to get close to the enemy mother ship and blow it up. If I figure it out I'll post it. It might be The Long Way Home by Sabrina Chase but that's a guess.

I prefer a logical symbiosis between the two. I wanna see how technology constrains, or pushes tactics in a particular direction. For example, why would a particular system of FTL I.e. David Weber evolve to resemble Napoleonic warship tactics? Is napoleonic warship tactics logical in light of technological factors which Weber imposes? Or can battle be approached in another way?

Teresa wrote: "The examples that spring to mind are mostly on planet ones, not space battles.

Tactics of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson and most of the rest of the Dorsai books

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I haven't read the Dorsai books in years, but its emphasis on the tactical side of warfare stuck with me, 'Tactics of Mistake' is a book where I can still recall a number of scenes even now.

I guessed right! First chapter of The Long Way Home is that scene I mentioned above.

I like it when the writer comes up with a clever way to exploit the rules of the universe they've set up. Whether it's slightly harder SF such as in Niven's Protector where (view spoiler)[Brennan shoots a rifle as they slingshot around a neutron star, causing a flare that kills the pursuing ship hours later (hide spoiler)] or in more fanciful sci-fi such as R.M. Meluch's Tour of the Merrimack where she uses her invented technology to get a leg up on the enemy in unexpected ways. (I'd put it behind a spoiler tag, but it's so involved you might as well just read The Myriad.)

Of course, the greatest of all time is in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with the "no-win scenario". 35 years later and I still smile thinking about how the theatre erupted in cheers when Kirk looks at Saavik and says, "I don't like to lose."

I recently did a reread of Elizabeth Moon's Vatta War series (Trading in Danger being the first book, though not the one with the battle I wish to make reference of), and there's an interesting dynamic going on that I had forgotten about - space-ships had trained for the current environment, and when a new tactical edge came into play you see two things happen immediately: the one with the new technology (view spoiler)[loses because they don't really understand the technology; but, two, when that individual is taken out of the equation, the lead character takes over as fleet admiral and - barely - saves most of the rest of the ships in the fleet by actually using the new technology plus advanced tactical knowledge -- one of the neat things is that the other side already had the new technology (view spoiler)[FTL communications (hide spoiler)] but didn't really know tactics except what they had picked up from one tactics book - which is why the lead main character was able to use the same technology to save a few more ships than expected (more than zero), she had been trained in a military academy - so it's tactics plus technology in that specific fight that won the day (hide spoiler)].

There's an interesting dynamic that goes on in that series - actual warships rarely actually participate in the battles, yet there are many space-battles. Mostly by people using privateer ships or pirate ships (both of which tend to be merchant ships that have been converted to warships).

One of the plot points of R.M. Meluch's "USS Merrimack" series, is that the enemy the crew faces just soaks up fire from energy weapons, and only get stronger as a result.

So they have to resort to both old technology (swords and blades) and old training doctrines (repelling boarders) in order to survive.

I think both can have their own charm, so long as they are written well.

The first and most outrageous of course are the giant space battles of EE Doc Smith's Galactic Patrol.

Then you have the tactical sailing ship style battles of David Drake's RCN series - With the Lightnings, Second Edition

There is the tactical and technological battles of David Weber's "Dahak" series featuring planetoid sized AI ships - Empire From the Ashes

As a side mention and almost forgotten now are the space battles of the Renegade Legion novels based on the board game such as - Renegade's Honor

And finally, the space to ground (or vice versa) combat of the BOLO universe - Bolo Brigade

*Forgot to mention the Wing Commander style battles of David Weber's "Stars At War/Starfire" series - The Stars at War

Galactic Patrol and the Lensman series are probably the first sci-fi books I ever bought, and I certainly have a soft spot for Dahak. :)

Atomic Rockets is pretty good for forming a basis for your technology, and can help to develop tactics. I used it for my book.

My preference is well written and smart protagonist whether by use of tactics, tech or combination. Don't violate the rules of the book's universe/tech and don't forget where all your ships are in a battle.

For those who like the tactics, please note that your favorite great tactics book probably fits the Outside the Box theme for May. Nominate it!

Tactics requires more intelligence on the part of authors.

If you are just using big technology to pull someone out of the fryer, you run the risk of coming across as Deus Ex Machina. It's like, Hey, I've written myself into a corner! I'll just come up with an uber tech that can kill everything.

On the other hand, if someone comes up with a novel approach where someone tricks their enemies, and beats outrageous technology by sheer brainpower, that is impressive. Especially if the enemy has an apocalyptic weapon.

(And who doesn't like an underdog)

I like a mix of both. The problem is when the technology equals an instant win or the tactics described would only work if your opponent was a class of kindergarteners.

That is true. “Tactics�� that come across as clever, or classic, are great. “Tactics�� which seem obvious ends up with the same lazy author problem.

The key to a gripping world is believability. And an author can say have something crazy happen, but so long as it is believable in the context of the story, and flows, it can be great

I quite like Timothy Zahn's portrayal of Thrawn and his tactical mind, not just when it comes to weapons and strategy in a fight, but overall tactics in the long game.

Bookish wrote: "I quite like Timothy Zahn's portrayal of Thrawn and his tactical mind, not just when it comes to weapons and strategy in a fight, but overall tactics in the long game."

I agree. Thrawn is the literary character I would most like to meet. As an Army officer, I think it would be enlightening.

While some “technology�� stories are limp after the reveal of the new tech, others follow the ramifications of the new tech and that can be extremely interesting. How does the enemy adapt to you having this new tech? Do others try to steal it or reverse engineer it? Does your own government work to deploy it to the fleet or does it mark the tech top secret and try to suppress the knowledge? Politics gets very strange since the new tech often means some rich industrialist is going to start losing business due to his current product becoming obsolete.

But most military genre stories don’t follow those details.

Phillip wrote: "I agree. Thrawn is the literary character I would most like to meet. As an Army officer, I think it would be enlightening."

That would be an interesting conversation!

Whether in the midst of a battle or during everyday life technology driven stories can be very entertaining but more because of how the technology is used, changes things, etc. than the technology itself. Many times the big tech reveal is only a few pages then the rest is coping with it. Many times the real story is how the characters and society cope.
There are many types of tech stories. One is what happens when new tech, such as free energy, super fast space travel or communications, is introduced. Another is what happens when a major part of technology fails or is taken away by outside forces. When either happens in the midst of a battle there is more shock factor than when in happens in everyday life. Yet when it happens in everyday life, because it is the big event, the tech change can create more suspense and have more impact.

An element that I like in some sci-fi stories (including lots of Zahn's) is a society with a new technology or other element that makes life very different. The ramifications of life with that technology/element are explored, and then a secret underpinning it is revealed, and the society has to adapt.

Different media. What you like in a novel does not necessarily translate to a more visual medium. It also tends to slow the action down.

V.W. wrote: "There is the tactical and technological battles of David Weber's "Dahak" series featuring planetoid sized AI ships - Empire From the Ashes"

Thanks to this post I actually got and read the Empire From The Ashes -trilogy! "Planetoid sized AI ships" just sounded so cool... Enjoyed the series, although the last book diverted a bit from the space opera elements. So thanks for introducing this series!

As for the question itself, I like both. Stories focused on tech are usually more flashy and fast-paced. Advanced tech also makes many things possible that aren't possible in our lives (yet). It's very interesting, it's one of the main reasons I like to read scifi. And not just about actual machines but how tech affects the society as well.

But I also enjoy stories of "underdogs" who beat the odds using creative tactics. Lost Fleet -series is definetly a good example.