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Onward, Drake!
TOP AUTHORS PAY TRIBUTE TO A MASTER. David Drake has left an indelible mark on the science fiction and fantasy genres. He is considered the Grand Master of Military Science Fiction. Now, top authors in the field pay tribute to the man and his work in this all-new collection of stories and essays.
Best-selling author David Drake has been creating topnotch military science fiction, space opera, and fantasy novels and stories for decades. In this all-original collection that appears as Drake turns 70 and is a Special Guest of the 2015 World Fantasy Convention, a stellar line-up of writers pays tribute to Drake with stories as broad in range as his own fiction. Each one comes with an illuminating afterword explaining the connection of the story to Drake and his work. The book also features two new pieces from Drake himself: a comic historical fantasy; and Save What You Can, the first new Hammer Slammers story in nearly a decade! Fans of Drake's fiction, as well as anyone who enjoys a good story, will not want to miss Onward, Drake!
Contributors: Eric S. Brown
Larry Correia
Tony Daniel
Hank Davis
Tom Doherty
David Drake
Eric Flint
Cecelia Holland
Mur Lafferty
John Lambshead
Barry N. Malzberg
T.C. McCarthy
Mark L. Van Name
Sarah Van Name
Praise for the work of David Drake:
"[P]rose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank; rivals Crane and Remarque" - Chicago Sun-Times
"Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint. - Booklist
"[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera." - Publishers Weekly
"The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!" - Philadelphia Weekly Press
"[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along;character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs." - SFReader.com
Best-selling author David Drake has been creating topnotch military science fiction, space opera, and fantasy novels and stories for decades. In this all-original collection that appears as Drake turns 70 and is a Special Guest of the 2015 World Fantasy Convention, a stellar line-up of writers pays tribute to Drake with stories as broad in range as his own fiction. Each one comes with an illuminating afterword explaining the connection of the story to Drake and his work. The book also features two new pieces from Drake himself: a comic historical fantasy; and Save What You Can, the first new Hammer Slammers story in nearly a decade! Fans of Drake's fiction, as well as anyone who enjoys a good story, will not want to miss Onward, Drake!
Contributors: Eric S. Brown
Larry Correia
Tony Daniel
Hank Davis
Tom Doherty
David Drake
Eric Flint
Cecelia Holland
Mur Lafferty
John Lambshead
Barry N. Malzberg
T.C. McCarthy
Mark L. Van Name
Sarah Van Name
Praise for the work of David Drake:
"[P]rose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank; rivals Crane and Remarque" - Chicago Sun-Times
"Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint. - Booklist
"[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera." - Publishers Weekly
"The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!" - Philadelphia Weekly Press
"[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along;character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs." - SFReader.com
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 28, 2022
Short story collection celebrating the seventieth birthday of science fiction luminary David Drake, by many considered the father of modern military science fiction.
Somewhat in character, Mr. Drake provided the two longest stories for the collection himself. The rest vary from pure tribute, to tuckerization of Mr. Drake himself, to various forms connected thematically somehow. The afterwords provided by the various authors are charming, with insights into how Mr. Drake’s work and personality affected them personally and professionaly.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2022/05/...
Somewhat in character, Mr. Drake provided the two longest stories for the collection himself. The rest vary from pure tribute, to tuckerization of Mr. Drake himself, to various forms connected thematically somehow. The afterwords provided by the various authors are charming, with insights into how Mr. Drake’s work and personality affected them personally and professionaly.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2022/05/...
March 29, 2016
This book is a good collection of stories and is a tribute volume for David Drake. Some of the stories have somewhat tenuous connections to him or his work, but I especially enjoyed the semi-autobiographical ones from Eric Flint and Sarah Van Name, a Hammer story by Larry Correia, and short pieces by Gene Wolfe and Barry Malzberg. The Malzberg was particularly cool, being just like some of the most cramped and paranoid work he published in the '60s and '70s. The only ones I really didn't like were two from the editor and Cecelia Holland. Appreciations are included by Toni Weisskopf and Tom Doherty, his two major publishers, and each story has an afterword that serves as an appreciation for Drake and his work by each author. Drake himself contributes two stories, a fine fantasy that's reminiscent of deCamp, and a very good new Hammer. (The only thing that's missing is an unlikable character named Platt.) The cover by Donato Giancola is remarkable; it portrays Drake in Roman garb amid a pile of books with pages flying all around him.
March 21, 2017
This is an interesting tribute to David Drake. As such, it will be easier to appreciate if you have read some of his military stuff and some of his fantasy. But it could stand alone, and if you like what you see maybe you'll seek out some Drake.
Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of emphasis on his military stories and his own post-service issues,
but just before it gets to be too much there's a fantasy story here and there to lighten it up.
Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of emphasis on his military stories and his own post-service issues,
but just before it gets to be too much there's a fantasy story here and there to lighten it up.
April 27, 2020
This was a collection celebrating an author who is known to write military fiction/military science fiction among other things, so war and battle were recurring motifs throughout the stories. So I would say the stories were well written but many were not my cup of tea (though there were some which were lighter and some which were funny) Also <<< Hugs >>> for all vets of all wars both in this reality and all other realities.
September 10, 2017
Good short stories ...
... by a lot of familiar names including one by Drake himself. Good insights into what makes vets tick, but don't kid yourself into thinking it explains all of us. Worth a read as entertainment, too, BTW
... by a lot of familiar names including one by Drake himself. Good insights into what makes vets tick, but don't kid yourself into thinking it explains all of us. Worth a read as entertainment, too, BTW
December 17, 2023
I stumbled on this book after hearing of the recent death of David Drake so of course I had to get it. Seemed like a nice touch before going through my library of his books. David contributed two stories to this collection. Its a good collection and doesn't suffer as much from unevenness that some anthologies do. Read it, its well worth the time.
July 10, 2024
A very interesting collection of tales and reminisces written in honor of David Drake and his writings by a variety of authors. Includes two new stories by David Drake.
August 1, 2016
I have been reading David Drake's fiction since about 1985. I've never met him, but we have communicated via email a couple of times over the years. I think it's nice that he's finally getting some recognition for the influence he's had on the sub-genre of military science fiction. This collection includes a selection of stories written in Drake's style or milieu, interspersed between essays about Drake and his works. In truth, I enjoyed the essay portions more than most of the stories, as these mostly focused on his fantasy work, which I have not read as much of. There is one new Hammer's Slammers story, "Save What You Can" that I think worked pretty well, as well as one story by Larry Correia about what it's like to be on the other side of one of the Slammers' wars.
March 24, 2017
A great selection of stories that pay tribute to David Drake's influence on both fantasy and science fiction. Interestingly, I'd already read the Hammer's Slammer's story that ends the book and is supposed to be a "new" story, but it's possible I read it in another anthology published after this one.
Overall, I liked the lot, apart from one story that I skimmed over completely.
Larry Correia and Sarah Hoyt in particular wrote great stories, but I liked them all.
Definitely worth a read if you are a David Drake fan.
Overall, I liked the lot, apart from one story that I skimmed over completely.
Larry Correia and Sarah Hoyt in particular wrote great stories, but I liked them all.
Definitely worth a read if you are a David Drake fan.
April 16, 2016
A nice collection of stories honoring David Drake. My favorites were Hellhounds (Daniel), Technical Advantage (Lambshead), Saracens (McCarthy), Village of Yesteryear (S. Van Name), Trouble With Telepaths (Davis), A Cog in Time (Hoyt), All That's Left (M. Van Name), Losing Side (Correia), and Save What You Can (Drake).
December 17, 2015
Entertaining collection.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews