I have always had problems with space battles in some fictions. Not only space battles, but also the new Hollywood Normany landing type of beach battles makes little to no logical sense.

Normandy like battles are quite rare because a naval fleet can easily land invading forces to beaches unguarded by strong military presence. Similarly, with the vastness of space, invading star fleets can easily by-pass an enemy fleet and land forces on an unguarded section of the planet. Englobement of an entire planet would be cost prohibitive as a defensive measure. Logically, if there were to be space war, offensive actions would be the only sane military strategy. Furthermore, hurling one spaceship at near light-speed into an enemy planet would end the war without the need for phasers or photon torpedoes.