The Stark's War Series by Jack Campbell

Introduction to the Stark's War Series

Stark's War is a series of military science fiction novels written by John G. Hemry / Jack Campbell. They were first published between 2000 and 2002.

The series covers the invasion of the Moon by the military forces of Earth in a conqueror's role for the resources of the Moon, as the resources of Earth (or The World, as the citizens of the Moon refer to it) are not sufficient to sustain the American economy.

Following a disastrous initial invasion, Sergeant Stark, the hero of the series, seizes control of the American military forces on the Moon.

A major theme of the novel is the separation of the military and civilian portions of the population, and the further separation between the enlisted and officer corps of the American military. Stark himself is considered an anachronism as he was born a civilian and chose to join the military.

With few exceptions, officers are portrayed as either bumbling sycophants, intent on obeying the letter of every law, no matter how asinine, and forcing their subordinates to do the same, or as near-tyrannical overlords, who create plans that are full of double-talk and invented words, and are known to not work but are forced through regardless.

The other major force are the corporations that attempt to lay claim to the Moon, through the puppets of the generals and the various political figures they are shown to own through thinly veiled bribes in the form of campaign contributions. The sergeants of the enlisted are almost universally smarter, better trained, and the only force that can bring the officer corps' plans to fruition.

The second major theme is the presence of the media and corporations in war. Rather than be providers of war material, the corporations portrayed use the war as a medium for entertainment, allowing for real time viewing of combat as part of a paid subscription.