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Starhunters #1
Men Hunting Things
From 23rd-century armored warfare as practiced by "the meanest bunch of mercs who ever wrecked a world for pay" it is but a short step to showing what it's like to have a gun in your hand and an alien in your sights - and that's just what David Drake has done in this unique volume on the theme of futuristic blood sport. In at the kill are Michael Shaara, Robert Silverberg, Clifford Simak, Eric Frank Russell - and David Drake himself.
- GenresScience Fiction
271 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1988
54 people want to read
About the author
David Drake
306 books886 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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August 22, 2008MEN HUNTING THINGS (Starhunters, Vol 1) by David Drake (1988)
June 24, 2020
Considering I put down a horror anthology (written within the past 10 years) to read this , I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the writing was optimal for this type of science fiction/horror.
The cover of the book is what admittedly drew me in, since it was always sitting at a local book store for at least four years before I finally pulled the trigger to read it for a measly three dollars.
My favourite stories were the first three or four, though most I would consider good. The best involves a small town in a swamp chasing something mysterious and dangerous. The story with hunters and a palaeontologist was also fascinating with a fantastic ending. (though, the author had described the sexual dimorphism of hyena genitalia very wrong, just a minor nitpick!) I was pleasantly surprised by such strong philosophies of morality in some of these stories.
I will say there were a few cases of language that the sensibilities of the easily offended might bother nowadays. As always there were also some cliche’ sci-fi tropes that are easy to roll your eyes at.
If you’re looking for some quick short stories, I would definitely recommend it and I look forward to reading part 2, “things hunting men” someday in the future. (:
The cover of the book is what admittedly drew me in, since it was always sitting at a local book store for at least four years before I finally pulled the trigger to read it for a measly three dollars.
My favourite stories were the first three or four, though most I would consider good. The best involves a small town in a swamp chasing something mysterious and dangerous. The story with hunters and a palaeontologist was also fascinating with a fantastic ending. (though, the author had described the sexual dimorphism of hyena genitalia very wrong, just a minor nitpick!) I was pleasantly surprised by such strong philosophies of morality in some of these stories.
I will say there were a few cases of language that the sensibilities of the easily offended might bother nowadays. As always there were also some cliche’ sci-fi tropes that are easy to roll your eyes at.
If you’re looking for some quick short stories, I would definitely recommend it and I look forward to reading part 2, “things hunting men” someday in the future. (:
May 26, 2024
Considering I put down a horror anthology (written within the past 10 years) to read this , I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the writing was optimal for this type of science fiction/horror.
The cover of the book is what admittedly drew me in, since it was always sitting at a local book store for at least four years before I finally pulled the trigger to read it for a measly three dollars.
My favourite stories were the first three or four, though most I would consider good. The best involves a small town in a swamp chasing something mysterious and dangerous. The story with hunters and a palaeontologist was also fascinating with a fantastic ending. (though, the author had described the sexual dimorphism of hyena genitalia very wrong, just a minor nitpick!) I was pleasantly surprised by such strong philosophies of morality in some of these stories.
I will say there were a few cases of language that the sensibilities of the easily offended might bother nowadays. As always there were also some cliche’ sci-fi tropes that are easy to roll your eyes at.
If you’re looking for some quick short stories, I would definitely recommend it and I look forward to reading part 2, “things hunting men” someday in the future. (:
The cover of the book is what admittedly drew me in, since it was always sitting at a local book store for at least four years before I finally pulled the trigger to read it for a measly three dollars.
My favourite stories were the first three or four, though most I would consider good. The best involves a small town in a swamp chasing something mysterious and dangerous. The story with hunters and a palaeontologist was also fascinating with a fantastic ending. (though, the author had described the sexual dimorphism of hyena genitalia very wrong, just a minor nitpick!) I was pleasantly surprised by such strong philosophies of morality in some of these stories.
I will say there were a few cases of language that the sensibilities of the easily offended might bother nowadays. As always there were also some cliche’ sci-fi tropes that are easy to roll your eyes at.
If you’re looking for some quick short stories, I would definitely recommend it and I look forward to reading part 2, “things hunting men” someday in the future. (:
February 7, 2021
I picked this one up for its amusingly frank title and, as has been a trend as of late, ended up finding a new favorite anthology. :D
Its straightforward title belies a book of unexpected variety and complexity. While some of the stories are simple and hilarious (Wilson Tucker's "Gentlemen, The Queen!"), others offer a deep and often unsettling look at the psychologies of hunter and hunted, and frequently question which is actually the animal (or monster) in the story - the literal target, or the one *hunting* that target (or commissioning the hunt, in the case of Robert Silverberg's "The Day The Monsters Broke Loose.")
There's a great diversity of story types, too, from the hard sci-fi of Clifford D. Simak's "Good Night, Mr. James" and Eric Frank Russell's "Mechanical Mice" to the moody Victorian-style horror of Alister McAllister's "The Hunting on the Doonagh Bog" to the downright dystopia of Henry Kuttner's "Home is the Hunter."
I name these as standouts, but honestly there's not a bad story in the bunch. If you're looking for an anthology that balances the fun with the deep and hard sci-fi with the light, give it a try!
Its straightforward title belies a book of unexpected variety and complexity. While some of the stories are simple and hilarious (Wilson Tucker's "Gentlemen, The Queen!"), others offer a deep and often unsettling look at the psychologies of hunter and hunted, and frequently question which is actually the animal (or monster) in the story - the literal target, or the one *hunting* that target (or commissioning the hunt, in the case of Robert Silverberg's "The Day The Monsters Broke Loose.")
There's a great diversity of story types, too, from the hard sci-fi of Clifford D. Simak's "Good Night, Mr. James" and Eric Frank Russell's "Mechanical Mice" to the moody Victorian-style horror of Alister McAllister's "The Hunting on the Doonagh Bog" to the downright dystopia of Henry Kuttner's "Home is the Hunter."
I name these as standouts, but honestly there's not a bad story in the bunch. If you're looking for an anthology that balances the fun with the deep and hard sci-fi with the light, give it a try!
July 24, 2024
A scientist tracks a deadly alien beast through an urban night; a hunter heads to an alien world to retrieve dangerous beasts for cruel bloodsports; a would-be time explorer tries to contain self-reproducing robots before they spread out of control; college students head to Mars to follow legends of a beautiful queen of the red wilderness. "Men Hunting Things" collects a number of stories following the theme of the hunt, with protagonists tracking a variety of dangerous things -- alien, machines, other people -- for survival, profit, or thrill.
As is usual for genre anthologies, the quality of the stories is a bit variable. Overall, though, I found this a rather enjoyable read. I quite liked "Mechanical Mice" and "The Day the Monsters Got Loose" in particular, and "Gentlemen! The Queen!" has a fun twist ending. The tone varies more than the quality, I'd say, as the stories range from fairly straightforward tales of a varyingly determined or desperate hero tracking down a monster to ones that ruminate a bit more deeply into the ethics and philosophy of hunting.
As is usual for genre anthologies, the quality of the stories is a bit variable. Overall, though, I found this a rather enjoyable read. I quite liked "Mechanical Mice" and "The Day the Monsters Got Loose" in particular, and "Gentlemen! The Queen!" has a fun twist ending. The tone varies more than the quality, I'd say, as the stories range from fairly straightforward tales of a varyingly determined or desperate hero tracking down a monster to ones that ruminate a bit more deeply into the ethics and philosophy of hunting.
May 24, 2017
A collection of hunting tales by a number of older SF/F authors but with a twist. The hunted are not the normal deer, bear, or squirrel. Rather they are strange and alien beasties.
June 8, 2019
It's really, really dated. Some of the short stories are almost 100 years old and as a result are hard to parse the sentence construction. If you're sensitive to gender stereotyping, skip this one.
August 7, 2017
A mixed bag of short stories, some great, some mediocre.
April 30, 2025
Three stars, because this one started strong and then kind of tailed off. To wit:
"Death of a Hunter" by Michael Shaara 3/5 stars. I'm giving this one an extra star partly because Drake praised it so highly. It is a memorable story about a man hired to exterminate aborigines, although I did not like it as much as Drake evidently did. (As an aside, I was curious whether this was the same Michael Shaara who won a Pulitzer for writing Killer Angels; it was. He started out writing SF, and his short speculative fiction is collected in Soldier Boy.)
"Priceless Possession" by Arthur Porges 5/5 stars. Just a great short story. Read it! Drake reprinted two other stories by Porges in the succeeding volumes of this series, but this one is by far the best, IMO.
"Good Night, Mr. James" by Clifford D. Simak 5/5 stars. This one reminded me why I used to like Simak so much. His work is all over the map, from the mediocre to the excellent--like this one, which has not one but several mind-blowing plot twists. Simak's prose here is nothing special, but it's a great story nonetheless.
"Gentlemen, the Queen!" by Wilson Tucker 1/5 stars. Tucker pokes fun at Burroughs' Barsoom and others, but to what end?
"Mechanical Mice" by Eric Frank Russell 2/5 stars. The title pretty much says it all.
"The Day the Monsters Broke Loose" by Robert Silverberg. 2/5 stars. A meh story about men capturing kaiju on distant planets.
"The Hunting on the Doonagh Bog" by Alister McAllister. 4/5 stars. Like the leadoff story, I found this one a bit hard to rate, but it is a creepy tale about a family curse that stuck in my memory.
"The Mermaid Hunter" by Casey Prescott 2/5 stars. In the reverse of the Simak story, here we have a tale with slick prose, but not much else.
"The Beetle Experiment" by Russell Hays 3/5 stars. On the one hand, it's a memorable horror story. On the other hand, educated readers will find it implausible--oops! That's the pot calling the kettle black! (I have published two stories featuring giant insect antagonists.)
"Home Is the Hunter" by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore 1/5 stars. Once again, I find that I don't like Kuttner's work at all.
"Calibration Run" by David Drake 3/5 stars. It pains me not to give Drake a higher rating here, especially since this is a sort of origin story for Henry Vickers (of Time Safari fame)--one of my favorite Drake characters. Herein, time travelers encounter human ancestors in prehistoric Africa. Somehow, I didn't enjoy it as much as the other three Vickers stories, which are all quite good.
"Death of a Hunter" by Michael Shaara 3/5 stars. I'm giving this one an extra star partly because Drake praised it so highly. It is a memorable story about a man hired to exterminate aborigines, although I did not like it as much as Drake evidently did. (As an aside, I was curious whether this was the same Michael Shaara who won a Pulitzer for writing Killer Angels; it was. He started out writing SF, and his short speculative fiction is collected in Soldier Boy.)
"Priceless Possession" by Arthur Porges 5/5 stars. Just a great short story. Read it! Drake reprinted two other stories by Porges in the succeeding volumes of this series, but this one is by far the best, IMO.
"Good Night, Mr. James" by Clifford D. Simak 5/5 stars. This one reminded me why I used to like Simak so much. His work is all over the map, from the mediocre to the excellent--like this one, which has not one but several mind-blowing plot twists. Simak's prose here is nothing special, but it's a great story nonetheless.
"Gentlemen, the Queen!" by Wilson Tucker 1/5 stars. Tucker pokes fun at Burroughs' Barsoom and others, but to what end?
"Mechanical Mice" by Eric Frank Russell 2/5 stars. The title pretty much says it all.
"The Day the Monsters Broke Loose" by Robert Silverberg. 2/5 stars. A meh story about men capturing kaiju on distant planets.
"The Hunting on the Doonagh Bog" by Alister McAllister. 4/5 stars. Like the leadoff story, I found this one a bit hard to rate, but it is a creepy tale about a family curse that stuck in my memory.
"The Mermaid Hunter" by Casey Prescott 2/5 stars. In the reverse of the Simak story, here we have a tale with slick prose, but not much else.
"The Beetle Experiment" by Russell Hays 3/5 stars. On the one hand, it's a memorable horror story. On the other hand, educated readers will find it implausible--oops! That's the pot calling the kettle black! (I have published two stories featuring giant insect antagonists.)
"Home Is the Hunter" by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore 1/5 stars. Once again, I find that I don't like Kuttner's work at all.
"Calibration Run" by David Drake 3/5 stars. It pains me not to give Drake a higher rating here, especially since this is a sort of origin story for Henry Vickers (of Time Safari fame)--one of my favorite Drake characters. Herein, time travelers encounter human ancestors in prehistoric Africa. Somehow, I didn't enjoy it as much as the other three Vickers stories, which are all quite good.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews