It's Hammer Time (On Serial Matters)

Last year saw me start to re-read one of my favorite sets of books and stories, the Hammer's Slammers stories of David Drake. I just finished re-reading the first volume of Night Shade Books (and now Baen's Books) omnibus collections of the tales (to date, hopefully Drake will revisit the series!).

It is interesting to look back on this series. They have been in print...never out of print...since they first appeared as an Ace paperback. Initial response from science fiction "academia" was less than stellar (but those folks have an agenda, and since these books have been in print and the books of those folks are often out of print quickly I have to wonder who is more aligned with the science fiction fanbase: the "academia" or the author?).

Why the popularity? Well, like it or not, science fiction fans (and the public in general) enjoys ripping good tales of war and heroism and the like. So we can probably count a lot of the audience in that camp.

But...Drake is a veteran. He has seen the elephant. And he writes about those who have seen the elephant. There's a lot here that appeals to those who serve, in peace and or war, truth that those who have never served at all cannot perceive.

David Drake has seen the elephant. If you have seen the elephant, you'll find a voice here that you'll recognize and understands what you have seen (while those around you do not).

David Drake: The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Volume One (Night Shade Books; 2006; ISBN 978-1-892389-69-5; cover art by John Berkey).

Made up of: Introduction (Gene Wolfe); Foreword: On Becoming a Professional Writer by Way of Southeast Asia; Under the Hammer; The Butcher's Bill; But Loyal to His Own; Caught in the Crossfire; Cultural Conflict; Hangman; Standing Down; Code-Name Feirefitz; The Interrogation Team; The Tank Lords; Liberty Port; Night March; The Immovable Object; The Irresistible Force; A Death in Peacetime; Afterword: Accidentally and by the Back Door. With the following "non-fiction" essays: Backdrop to Chaos; The Bonding Authority; The Church of the Lord's Universe; Powerguns; Supertanks; Table of Organization and Equipment, Hammer's Regiment.

Counts as twenty entries in the 2010 Year in Shorts and three entries in the 2011 Year in Shorts.

David Drake: The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Volume Two (Night Shade Books; 2006; ISBN 978-1-892389-73-2; cover art by John Berkey).

Made up of: Introduction (David G. Hartwell); Foreword: We Happy Few; At Any Price; Counting the Cost; Rolling Hot; The Warrior; The Day of Glory; Afterword: What's for Sale.

David Drake: The Complete Hammer's Slammers, Volume Three (Night Shade Books; 2007; ISBN 978-1-892389-80-0; cover art by David Martin).

Made up of: Introduction (Barry N. Malzberg); The Sharp End; Paying the Piper; The Darkness; Jim.