The Forlorn Hope

by David Drake

They had fought long and hard, and damn near won in spite of everything. But now the men who hired them are going to sell them to the enemy...and so begins a novel of adventure in which a band of Star Mecenaries is driven across the face of a planet by enemies bent on their distruction. With only the guns in their hands, this tiny band must battle ships, artillery, treachery, and the most powerful tank in the universe.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, War

318 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

David 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.

Reviews

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite book by David Drake. This one drew me in more than any of his other works. Excellent Military SciFi as a small band of mercenaries have to fight from one side of a world to the other after being betrayed.

[Jaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in grade school. It was my introduction to David Drake and his brand of military science fiction. I saw an ad for the book in a vintage copy of Analog magazine and decided to re-read it for old times' sake.
The heroes of this story are the soldiers of a nameless mercenary company hired to stiffen the spines of a local unit fighting a civil war on the planet Cecach. Their side is losing, and the soon-to-be victors are religious extremists. After the collapse of the front and the capitulation of their allies, the mercs have to fight their way out in order to escape.
I loved this book when I was a child, but I don't think I understood it as well then. I'm trying to figure out if one of the main characters is meant to reinforce an ugly stereotype or if it just comes across that way.

[Leons1701 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic early Drake military SF. Less tied to a specific historical event or setting than much of his later work (it really doesn't seem to fit the model of the 10,000 to me). Has some similarities to the Hammerverse, but the tech is different enough to make it fairly certain it's a different timeline.

[Mathew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter gave me this book as a Christmas present - she said it looked liked something I'd read.
It does.
I read it.
It was a pretty good read, especially considering the entire reason for purchase was the cover. The actual story was a fast paced race for survival, which made it easy to read, and kept me wanting to turn the pages and see what would happen next. Set on some planet in the future a gang of mercenaries are caught up in a war that is about to end, however, they are given up as a sacrificial lamb to help ease the transition - but they don't want to be killed so they make a run for it. This gang of toughies battle their way through a gauntlet of challenges in an attempt to reach the only starship nearby that could take them away. They do it, but at what cost?

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was Drake's first full length military science fiction novel and it's a classic. Right from the beginning, it's non-stop, shock inducing, action sequences, with well flushed out, diverse and interesting characters. I love that Drake seamlessly weaves female soldiers into the Company and combat (long before most Western nations seriously considered it). He also utilizes and passes no judgment on LGBT characters. There is a reason he's the standard in military science fiction and this early book demonstrates it.

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to say that I completely forgot this book after about 6 months. This doesn't happen for me unless a book left me with little or no impact, so I'm afraid I have to give this a poor review.

I looked it over once again to try to jog my memory, and it looks intense, but I can see how it wouldn't leave me with anything.

It's like the Gears of War of books, but I actually have lots of memories of GoW XD

1.9

[David Cuatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like science fiction with a lot of action, you can't go wrong with David Drake.
I've read several of his books and enjoyed them all. He is very good at depicting alien cultures and technology without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.

[David Harriss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Story

Simultaneously a celebration of skilled and determined soldiers, and a condemnation of the people and groups that start wars. A clear eyed look at the humanity of war, and the costs to that humanity.
Recommended for anyone thirteen or older.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fraternity of Arms and Combat

David Drake is a ACTION Military Science Fiction story teller of stellar Talent! Drake portrays very well the brother hood and sisterhood of combat veterans! Drake's stories are a real adrenaline RUSH! The BEST!

[shawn murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Drake’s The Forlorn Hope. Mercenary company hired to fight for the Federal Planetary government in a civil war find themselves fighting both sides. They are outmanned and outgunned as they try to escape.

[James Michael Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great story about a unit in the pot and the Lt. who led them out of it. Warfare on a personal level.

[Bill Brinkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really good David Drake story. I enjoy the action and the interaction between the characters. I recommend this book.

[Trevor McGuire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A whole book that describes 20 soldiers in a relentless made up battle is pretty rough to write and read I think.

[Jose C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, for DD, nothing to remember after being done with it. Action scenes are minimal, and not as well done (not comparing to Hammer's Slammers) as other sci-fi stories. Read once, and done.

[Harper Kingsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I can't really explain why I love this book so much. I don't know, like the rest of David Drake's military sci-fi books it's a solid piece of fiction. There's mercenaries, there's fighting and killing, there's a group of mercenaries being burned as some nationals make a behind the scenes deal that involves them betraying the mercenaries "for the greater good" of their people. There's also a suicide trek across a beleaguered planet so they can somehow escape to safety.

There's also some incredibly interesting characters that I simply couldn't help liking. After reading this book, I was left wishing that this could be the start of another mercenary book series. I mean, sure, he's already got Hammer's Slammers, but I firmly believe the world always needs one more military sci-fi mercenary series. Why? Because that would be cool. Super cool, even.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well done little book. I think it is based on the Czech Legions attached to the Imperial Russian Army during World War One. The newly installed Communist government in 1917 concluded a separate peace with Germany; the Czech Legion, who were initially promised safe passage out of Russian territory were attacked by the Bolshevik Red Army in a effort to destroy this Czech military unit. What is a relatively small group of Czech mercenaries to do? Why capture the Trans-Siberian Railway and fight your way across Russia to Vladivostok in Siberia. In this SF book militant, humorless neo-Protestant "Republicans" are crushing the inept and vaguely corrupt "Federals"; the space mercenaries, who speak Czech, are especially despised by the "Rubes". Let the fighting begin.

[Rich McAllister · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came thru the FOPAL sale and I decided to read it before I sent it off to the Bargain Room after not selling. Good Drake war story, which is good indeed. Not as over complicated as some of his fantasy plots, and not as caught up in the future military tech as Slammers sometimes did. Didn't really see much of Xenophon in it tho certainly the same theme of a mercenary crew trying to fight out of a bad situation.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read David Drake, my impression was that he wrote good action, but that there was so much of it that there was no room for variety. This book reinforces my assessment of non-stop action, but the characters and strategies show plenty of variety. Drake is excellent at portraying deeply flawed but still sympathetic characters, though I think he avoids shades of gray in his bad guys.

[Jay Hendricks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. The action in it is very well done, just enough of the military background to keep things interesting but the plot I felt left something to be desired. It felt like it would have done much better being longer with more detail at many points.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK military SF, about a company of mercenaries left high and dry by their employers. I had trouble keeping track of the names/characters, since the author kept switching among POVs, but it wasn't a major problem.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid pointless military sf. The action didn't make sense and actually not only was it hard to follow, it also wasn't worth following. The characters were unbelievable. This book had been on my to-read pile for at least a year or two - now its on my get rid of pile.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Forlorn Hope is one of Drake's rare stand-alone novels, a good military sf adventure based historically on Xenophon. It's not among his very best books, but it's well worthwhile, especially for military history buffs.

[Caer Glas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rollicking good military SF from the master of the genre, David Drake. Great light read!

[Eric Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to most of his work, The Forlorn Hope wasn't in my opinion not the greatest. However, it IS David Drake, so once you start figuring stuff out, it gets to be pretty good.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hammers slammers - sort of - good read

[Tim Clouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good potboiler based on Xenophon's Anabasis. Like all of Drake's stuff, it is fast-paced and captures most of what goes on in a war.

[SciFiOne · Rating 1 out of 5]

1985 grade F

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of a neat inversion of Drake's typical Slammers formula, with a relatively lightweight mercenary company going up against a Slammers-like organization. Definitely an early work, though.

[IMHO · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
David Drake was a Master of Science Fiction.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid effort. I enjoyed it quite a lot.