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Hammer's Slammers #1, short stories
The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 1
The Best-Selling Series That Rocketed David Drake to Military Science Fiction Stardom.
The First of Three Volumes Collecting the Complete Series.
With a veteran’s eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of tank combat in his Hammer’s Slammers fiction. The Slammers are neither cartoon heroes nor propaganda villains; rather they are competent professionals engaged in a deadly business. The inevitable conflicts between policy, necessity, and human nature make Drake’s Slammers fiction instantly identifiable and utterly compelling. This is the first of a three volume set presenting for the first time the entire genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform trade paperback set, with new introductions by major SF figures and new afterwords by David Drake. Each volume will also include a Slammers story not collected in previous Slammer’s books.
“Fans of Drake's edgy stories of a mercenary tank regiment in a future not all that different from our present will rejoice [at the publication of] the entire series in three volumes. Drake, a Vietnam vet who served in the Blackhorse Regiment, uses prose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank to portray the men and women of Hammer's Regiment. . . . In his depiction of combat, Drake rivals Crane and Remarque.”
— Publishers Weekly , reviewing the Night Shade hardcover edition
The First of Three Volumes Collecting the Complete Series.
With a veteran’s eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of tank combat in his Hammer’s Slammers fiction. The Slammers are neither cartoon heroes nor propaganda villains; rather they are competent professionals engaged in a deadly business. The inevitable conflicts between policy, necessity, and human nature make Drake’s Slammers fiction instantly identifiable and utterly compelling. This is the first of a three volume set presenting for the first time the entire genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform trade paperback set, with new introductions by major SF figures and new afterwords by David Drake. Each volume will also include a Slammers story not collected in previous Slammer’s books.
“Fans of Drake's edgy stories of a mercenary tank regiment in a future not all that different from our present will rejoice [at the publication of] the entire series in three volumes. Drake, a Vietnam vet who served in the Blackhorse Regiment, uses prose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank to portray the men and women of Hammer's Regiment. . . . In his depiction of combat, Drake rivals Crane and Remarque.”
— Publishers Weekly , reviewing the Night Shade hardcover edition
516 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2005
About the author
David Drake
323 books893 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 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 12, 2023
Outstanding military scifi featuring future wars, mercenaries, tanks and people. David Drake served with the 11th armored cavalry, the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam. Having been at the pointed end of the stick, his military fiction is quite believable. Mr. Drake has retired from writing novels because of his health.
October 13, 2025
This was good to a great collection of the short fiction Hammer's Slammers, including a new story just for this volume.
Like most collections, the quality of the writing is pretty up/down throughout a lot of it, but I never found myself skipping any stories or wanting to skip any.
Most of the volume is in the 3-star territory, but there are two short stories about a religious "fanatic" that steals one of the super tanks from the Slammer's to further his sides war, and those two were phenomenal writing.
While showing its age around the edges, I still thoroughly enjoyed this trip in the Slammer's universe.
Like most collections, the quality of the writing is pretty up/down throughout a lot of it, but I never found myself skipping any stories or wanting to skip any.
Most of the volume is in the 3-star territory, but there are two short stories about a religious "fanatic" that steals one of the super tanks from the Slammer's to further his sides war, and those two were phenomenal writing.
While showing its age around the edges, I still thoroughly enjoyed this trip in the Slammer's universe.
June 12, 2016
Reprinted short stories from one of the old hands of military sci-fi. Extremely gritty, extremely violent, unglamorous depiction of warfare.
I'd never read any of David Drake, although he has been writing with commercial and critical success for longer than I have been alive. Figuring to remedy that oversight, I picked this up. It's extremely grim material. Drake served in Vietnam, as an interrogator in the US Army's 11th Armored Cavalry, and his experiences directly colored what he presents in his fiction. The afterword directly addresses this; Drake basically wrote this material as a way of working through his experiences in Vietnam.
Rather than set his fiction in Vietnam, Drake opted to move it to a far-future setting. But the sense of chaos and nihilism that inhabits motion pictures like Full Metal Jacket and Platoon is fully present here, as well. I've never served in the military, much less been deployed into combat, but Drake's depiction of soldiers who have shut down their higher emotional faculties as a matter of survival in the face of atrocious suffering is very much in keeping with memoirs and biographies that I have read on the experience. The stories are about war, but they don't glamorize it in the least.
These stories are of excellent literary quality, and Drake has been published in such prestigious magazines as Analog and Galaxy. But they are not for everyone. If you, for example, can't handle Game of Thrones, then pass these up. As one character remarks, it's hard to pick out clear good guys in war, although sometimes you can clearly distinguish a particularly bad guy.
I'd never read any of David Drake, although he has been writing with commercial and critical success for longer than I have been alive. Figuring to remedy that oversight, I picked this up. It's extremely grim material. Drake served in Vietnam, as an interrogator in the US Army's 11th Armored Cavalry, and his experiences directly colored what he presents in his fiction. The afterword directly addresses this; Drake basically wrote this material as a way of working through his experiences in Vietnam.
Rather than set his fiction in Vietnam, Drake opted to move it to a far-future setting. But the sense of chaos and nihilism that inhabits motion pictures like Full Metal Jacket and Platoon is fully present here, as well. I've never served in the military, much less been deployed into combat, but Drake's depiction of soldiers who have shut down their higher emotional faculties as a matter of survival in the face of atrocious suffering is very much in keeping with memoirs and biographies that I have read on the experience. The stories are about war, but they don't glamorize it in the least.
These stories are of excellent literary quality, and Drake has been published in such prestigious magazines as Analog and Galaxy. But they are not for everyone. If you, for example, can't handle Game of Thrones, then pass these up. As one character remarks, it's hard to pick out clear good guys in war, although sometimes you can clearly distinguish a particularly bad guy.
March 24, 2015
I probably should have researched this volume a little more before reading. I was under the assumption that it was a compilation of a continuing series on Hammer's Slammers. Instead, it is a series of largely stand alone short stories.
I had previously read Across the Stars by David Drake, which was my first exposure to Hammer's Slammers, and why I decided to read this volume. I have to say I was disappointed in the volume. There were some of the shorts that were more interesting than others, but largely the theme was very strictly military SF. Even then, other than the fact that the tanks are propelled on a cushion of air a few inches above ground and fire energy charges instead of bullets, it didn't seem very "futuristic". I didn't even really buy the mode of transport given the surface was largely very uneven and presumably the huge tanks were only inches above the ground.
Maybe if I had more of a military perspective I would have appreciated these short stories more, but lacking that I didn't really connect to the story line (with a few exceptions as noted above).
So, my rating doesn't as much reflect the quality of writing as it does my personal preference regarding the storyline. I have Volume 2, but am debating whether to read it or not. I guess the good thing is that I can read all or portions of it, and not really miss out on any story progression.
I had previously read Across the Stars by David Drake, which was my first exposure to Hammer's Slammers, and why I decided to read this volume. I have to say I was disappointed in the volume. There were some of the shorts that were more interesting than others, but largely the theme was very strictly military SF. Even then, other than the fact that the tanks are propelled on a cushion of air a few inches above ground and fire energy charges instead of bullets, it didn't seem very "futuristic". I didn't even really buy the mode of transport given the surface was largely very uneven and presumably the huge tanks were only inches above the ground.
Maybe if I had more of a military perspective I would have appreciated these short stories more, but lacking that I didn't really connect to the story line (with a few exceptions as noted above).
So, my rating doesn't as much reflect the quality of writing as it does my personal preference regarding the storyline. I have Volume 2, but am debating whether to read it or not. I guess the good thing is that I can read all or portions of it, and not really miss out on any story progression.
October 21, 2025
Solid short stories and novellas at the quality end of the Military SF market, written with all the authority of somebody who has served in the 11th Armoured Cavalry during the Vietnam War.
Hammer's Slammers are an elite mercenary force, hiring themselves out to whoever can afford them. And business is good, because war is endemic in a failing interstellar "civilisation". Brutal, honest, filled with a large cast who just want to get the job done they've been paid to do and not have to think too much about the consequences... and those who HAVE to think about the consequences.
No single story goes quite where you expect it to, and many hide surprises in the last few paragraphs (if not the last few sentences). The characterisation and world-building are very good, the situations varied, and the tech believable (even if I don't quite buy the apparent uselessness of aircraft compared to hovering -fans, not AG- artillery). Possibly not best read in a lump as certain explanations and descriptions are often repeated. There are another two volumes of these stories, and I'm pretty sure I'll be reading both at some point in the near future. Enjoyed.
Hammer's Slammers are an elite mercenary force, hiring themselves out to whoever can afford them. And business is good, because war is endemic in a failing interstellar "civilisation". Brutal, honest, filled with a large cast who just want to get the job done they've been paid to do and not have to think too much about the consequences... and those who HAVE to think about the consequences.
No single story goes quite where you expect it to, and many hide surprises in the last few paragraphs (if not the last few sentences). The characterisation and world-building are very good, the situations varied, and the tech believable (even if I don't quite buy the apparent uselessness of aircraft compared to hovering -fans, not AG- artillery). Possibly not best read in a lump as certain explanations and descriptions are often repeated. There are another two volumes of these stories, and I'm pretty sure I'll be reading both at some point in the near future. Enjoyed.
August 3, 2026
Vol 1: ★★★★★
-includes the Hammer's Slammers short stories-
Vol 2: ★★★★★
At Any Price (1985) ★★★★★
Counting the Cost (1987) ★★★★★
Rolling Hot (1989) ★★★★★
The Warrior (1991) ★★★★★
Vol 3: ★★★★★
The Sharp End (1993) ★★★★★
Paying the Piper (2002) ★★★★
Wow. These were a treat of my youth. I’m not even sure I read them in order back then, but going through the series today was a genuine thrill. There is something wonderfully nostalgic about returning to a series that helped shape your imagination when you were younger and finding that, beneath all the memories, the books still work. David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers is essentially the Black Company in space, with the same hard-edged soldiering, morally complicated campaigns, and sense that the people doing the fighting are often simply trying to survive the decisions made above them. But Drake adds his own particular flavor: armored warfare, futuristic technology, mercenary soldiers, political games, and an almost unapologetic dedication to delivering the kind of epic military action that makes childhood playtime suddenly seem like a perfectly reasonable way to spend an afternoon.
At its core, Hammer’s Slammers follows a mercenary armored regiment operating across the worlds of a far-future human civilization. The Slammers are professionals, and Drake is interested in what that professionalism actually means when soldiers are repeatedly dropped into somebody else’s war. The stories move through different campaigns, planets, governments, factions, and political situations, but the underlying question remains remarkably consistent: what does it mean to be a soldier when the people paying you may have entirely different reasons for wanting you there? Drake based the series partly on his own military experience with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and Cambodia, and that background helps explain why the military side of these books often feels so confident.
And that confidence is probably what I admire most about Drake. Like Glen Cook or Anthony Ryan, he has a tremendous sense of certainty about the kind of story he wants to tell. He doesn’t spend much time apologizing for it. The characters are soldiers. The tanks are enormous. The weapons are loud. The battles are brutal. The politics are usually complicated enough to get people killed. Then Drake puts all of those pieces on the board and lets the Slammers go to work.
That sounds simple, but the series gets considerably more interesting once you start paying attention to the people inside the machinery. Colonel Hammer stands at the center of the regiment as its commanding presence, while characters such as Joachim Steuben and Danny Prichard provide some of the familiar faces that make the Slammers feel like an actual organization rather than a rotating collection of anonymous soldiers. Later stories introduce other perspectives as well, including younger officers such as Lieutenant Arne Huber in Paying the Piper. Huber is particularly useful to the series because he represents someone still wrestling with the principles and responsibilities of command while operating inside an organization that has already learned how ugly war can become. Paying the Piper places him in a conflict where his obligations to his troops, his unit, and the people employing them do not necessarily point in the same direction.
That variety is one of the reasons the repetition never bothered me as much as it might have. There is a recognizable structure to many of these stories. The Slammers arrive somewhere, the political situation becomes increasingly complicated, somebody makes a spectacularly bad decision, and eventually the soldiers have to deal with the consequences. Yet Drake keeps finding different ways to put his characters into that machinery. Sometimes the focus is on the battlefield. Sometimes it is command. Sometimes it is politics. Sometimes it is simply what happens to ordinary people caught underneath the tracks of a war they did not start.
The books also have a particular kind of growth despite those recurring narratives. Nothing usually feels like a cheap attempt to shock the reader, and Drake is not constantly reaching for some enormous twist simply to prove that he can. Instead, the development comes from watching the Slammers themselves accumulate experience. The characters change because campaigns leave marks on them, because responsibilities become heavier, and because survival often requires compromises that would look very different from a safe distance. That gives the series a surprisingly sturdy emotional foundation underneath all the explosions.
And yes, there are plenty of explosions. This is absolutely a series for anyone who enjoys “space boom time” with soldiers, tanks, mercenaries, futuristic weapons, and characters who occasionally resemble military stereotypes because, frankly, that is part of the fun. If you need every science-fiction military story to reinvent the genre, this probably isn’t going to be your cup of tea. But if you want epic action delivered with consistency, competence, and a straight face, Hammer’s Slammers is an enormous amount of fun. The books understand exactly what they are trying to be, and they are very good at being that thing.
My only real reservation comes with the final book, Paying the Piper. It felt a little rushed compared with the standards established by the books that came before it. Drake’s own bibliography identifies it as the tenth Hammer novel, though technically it is structured as three self-contained novellas: “Choosing Sides,” “The Political Process,” and “Neck or Nothing.” There is still plenty here to enjoy, and the return of familiar Slammers characters gives the book that welcome feeling of coming back to an old group of soldiers you have spent a long time following. But I could not completely shake the feeling that the series was moving toward the finish line a little faster than I wanted. Whether that came from the demands of publication, the shape of the stories, or simply where Drake was creatively at the time, the result feels slightly less expansive than some of what preceded it.
That said, I still love the standard of writing Drake brings to the entire project. There is a difference between simple writing and confident writing, and Drake is very much the latter. He knows what he wants his scenes to accomplish. He knows how soldiers talk, how organizations function, and how quickly political decisions can become somebody else's battlefield problem. The prose rarely gets in the way of the story, which is exactly what I want from this kind of military science fiction.
I actually began this reread somewhat backward from the way someone might approach the series traditionally. After seeing the Complete Hammer’s Slammers collections in omnibus and volume editions, I started with the short fiction. That turned out to be a wonderful way to rediscover the series. Those early stories capture the Slammers in compact form, and for someone who already knows how much I enjoy short fiction, it was an especially good fit. The first volume of The Complete Hammer’s Slammers collects the short stories, while the later volumes gather much of the longer material, making the omnibus structure a surprisingly satisfying way to experience the series.
There was something genuinely satisfying about finding those old pleasures again through the shorter stories before moving into the larger books. Then the remaining volumes brought the rest of the series along with them, and damn if the thrill wasn't still there. The final two volumes are the thickest, and both ultimately give the series a solid sense of closure. Whether you prefer the conclusion of the ninth book or the tenth will probably come down to personal taste and what you want from an ending. Personally, I have a hard time imagining many readers preferring Paying the Piper over what comes immediately before it, but I still appreciated having the gang back around for one more ride.
That may be the greatest compliment I can give Hammer’s Slammers. It made me remember why I loved this stuff in the first place. This is boyhood imagination translated into military science fiction by a writer who actually knows how to make the machinery run. It is soldiers and tanks and politics and battlefields stretched across the stars. It is not trying to be delicate, and it is certainly not trying to convince you that military science fiction needs to be something other than what it is. It simply delivers its particular brand of fun with remarkable consistency.
If that sounds like your kind of reading, get aboard. If the idea of mercenary soldiers fighting future wars with armored vehicles, ridiculous firepower, political complications, and enough “space boom time” to keep the engines hot sounds unbearable, then by all means go somewhere else and leave this particular feast to those of us who enjoy it.
For me, returning to Hammer’s Slammers was more than a reread. It was a reminder that some books survive because they were never pretending to be anything other than exactly what they wanted to be. Drake wanted to write about soldiers, war, machines, survival, and the strange loyalties that form among people who repeatedly have to depend on one another when everything around them is falling apart.
And he was damn good at it. Hammer’s Slammers is not a perfect series, and Paying the Piper shows some of the wear of reaching the end. But taken as a whole, it is about as close as I can imagine to a perfect expression of that particular childhood fantasy: take the coolest soldiers you can imagine, put them in the biggest armored vehicles imaginable, give them an entire galaxy to fight across, and then let David Drake figure out what happens when the shooting starts. I’m very glad I came back to it.
-includes the Hammer's Slammers short stories-
Vol 2: ★★★★★
At Any Price (1985) ★★★★★
Counting the Cost (1987) ★★★★★
Rolling Hot (1989) ★★★★★
The Warrior (1991) ★★★★★
Vol 3: ★★★★★
The Sharp End (1993) ★★★★★
Paying the Piper (2002) ★★★★
Wow. These were a treat of my youth. I’m not even sure I read them in order back then, but going through the series today was a genuine thrill. There is something wonderfully nostalgic about returning to a series that helped shape your imagination when you were younger and finding that, beneath all the memories, the books still work. David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers is essentially the Black Company in space, with the same hard-edged soldiering, morally complicated campaigns, and sense that the people doing the fighting are often simply trying to survive the decisions made above them. But Drake adds his own particular flavor: armored warfare, futuristic technology, mercenary soldiers, political games, and an almost unapologetic dedication to delivering the kind of epic military action that makes childhood playtime suddenly seem like a perfectly reasonable way to spend an afternoon.
At its core, Hammer’s Slammers follows a mercenary armored regiment operating across the worlds of a far-future human civilization. The Slammers are professionals, and Drake is interested in what that professionalism actually means when soldiers are repeatedly dropped into somebody else’s war. The stories move through different campaigns, planets, governments, factions, and political situations, but the underlying question remains remarkably consistent: what does it mean to be a soldier when the people paying you may have entirely different reasons for wanting you there? Drake based the series partly on his own military experience with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and Cambodia, and that background helps explain why the military side of these books often feels so confident.
And that confidence is probably what I admire most about Drake. Like Glen Cook or Anthony Ryan, he has a tremendous sense of certainty about the kind of story he wants to tell. He doesn’t spend much time apologizing for it. The characters are soldiers. The tanks are enormous. The weapons are loud. The battles are brutal. The politics are usually complicated enough to get people killed. Then Drake puts all of those pieces on the board and lets the Slammers go to work.
That sounds simple, but the series gets considerably more interesting once you start paying attention to the people inside the machinery. Colonel Hammer stands at the center of the regiment as its commanding presence, while characters such as Joachim Steuben and Danny Prichard provide some of the familiar faces that make the Slammers feel like an actual organization rather than a rotating collection of anonymous soldiers. Later stories introduce other perspectives as well, including younger officers such as Lieutenant Arne Huber in Paying the Piper. Huber is particularly useful to the series because he represents someone still wrestling with the principles and responsibilities of command while operating inside an organization that has already learned how ugly war can become. Paying the Piper places him in a conflict where his obligations to his troops, his unit, and the people employing them do not necessarily point in the same direction.
That variety is one of the reasons the repetition never bothered me as much as it might have. There is a recognizable structure to many of these stories. The Slammers arrive somewhere, the political situation becomes increasingly complicated, somebody makes a spectacularly bad decision, and eventually the soldiers have to deal with the consequences. Yet Drake keeps finding different ways to put his characters into that machinery. Sometimes the focus is on the battlefield. Sometimes it is command. Sometimes it is politics. Sometimes it is simply what happens to ordinary people caught underneath the tracks of a war they did not start.
The books also have a particular kind of growth despite those recurring narratives. Nothing usually feels like a cheap attempt to shock the reader, and Drake is not constantly reaching for some enormous twist simply to prove that he can. Instead, the development comes from watching the Slammers themselves accumulate experience. The characters change because campaigns leave marks on them, because responsibilities become heavier, and because survival often requires compromises that would look very different from a safe distance. That gives the series a surprisingly sturdy emotional foundation underneath all the explosions.
And yes, there are plenty of explosions. This is absolutely a series for anyone who enjoys “space boom time” with soldiers, tanks, mercenaries, futuristic weapons, and characters who occasionally resemble military stereotypes because, frankly, that is part of the fun. If you need every science-fiction military story to reinvent the genre, this probably isn’t going to be your cup of tea. But if you want epic action delivered with consistency, competence, and a straight face, Hammer’s Slammers is an enormous amount of fun. The books understand exactly what they are trying to be, and they are very good at being that thing.
My only real reservation comes with the final book, Paying the Piper. It felt a little rushed compared with the standards established by the books that came before it. Drake’s own bibliography identifies it as the tenth Hammer novel, though technically it is structured as three self-contained novellas: “Choosing Sides,” “The Political Process,” and “Neck or Nothing.” There is still plenty here to enjoy, and the return of familiar Slammers characters gives the book that welcome feeling of coming back to an old group of soldiers you have spent a long time following. But I could not completely shake the feeling that the series was moving toward the finish line a little faster than I wanted. Whether that came from the demands of publication, the shape of the stories, or simply where Drake was creatively at the time, the result feels slightly less expansive than some of what preceded it.
That said, I still love the standard of writing Drake brings to the entire project. There is a difference between simple writing and confident writing, and Drake is very much the latter. He knows what he wants his scenes to accomplish. He knows how soldiers talk, how organizations function, and how quickly political decisions can become somebody else's battlefield problem. The prose rarely gets in the way of the story, which is exactly what I want from this kind of military science fiction.
I actually began this reread somewhat backward from the way someone might approach the series traditionally. After seeing the Complete Hammer’s Slammers collections in omnibus and volume editions, I started with the short fiction. That turned out to be a wonderful way to rediscover the series. Those early stories capture the Slammers in compact form, and for someone who already knows how much I enjoy short fiction, it was an especially good fit. The first volume of The Complete Hammer’s Slammers collects the short stories, while the later volumes gather much of the longer material, making the omnibus structure a surprisingly satisfying way to experience the series.
There was something genuinely satisfying about finding those old pleasures again through the shorter stories before moving into the larger books. Then the remaining volumes brought the rest of the series along with them, and damn if the thrill wasn't still there. The final two volumes are the thickest, and both ultimately give the series a solid sense of closure. Whether you prefer the conclusion of the ninth book or the tenth will probably come down to personal taste and what you want from an ending. Personally, I have a hard time imagining many readers preferring Paying the Piper over what comes immediately before it, but I still appreciated having the gang back around for one more ride.
That may be the greatest compliment I can give Hammer’s Slammers. It made me remember why I loved this stuff in the first place. This is boyhood imagination translated into military science fiction by a writer who actually knows how to make the machinery run. It is soldiers and tanks and politics and battlefields stretched across the stars. It is not trying to be delicate, and it is certainly not trying to convince you that military science fiction needs to be something other than what it is. It simply delivers its particular brand of fun with remarkable consistency.
If that sounds like your kind of reading, get aboard. If the idea of mercenary soldiers fighting future wars with armored vehicles, ridiculous firepower, political complications, and enough “space boom time” to keep the engines hot sounds unbearable, then by all means go somewhere else and leave this particular feast to those of us who enjoy it.
For me, returning to Hammer’s Slammers was more than a reread. It was a reminder that some books survive because they were never pretending to be anything other than exactly what they wanted to be. Drake wanted to write about soldiers, war, machines, survival, and the strange loyalties that form among people who repeatedly have to depend on one another when everything around them is falling apart.
And he was damn good at it. Hammer’s Slammers is not a perfect series, and Paying the Piper shows some of the wear of reaching the end. But taken as a whole, it is about as close as I can imagine to a perfect expression of that particular childhood fantasy: take the coolest soldiers you can imagine, put them in the biggest armored vehicles imaginable, give them an entire galaxy to fight across, and then let David Drake figure out what happens when the shooting starts. I’m very glad I came back to it.
June 19, 2010
Simply some of the best military fiction I've ever read. I first read the stories as a teenager, and later re-read them in this collection as an adult.
A lot of military fiction comes across with the attitude that only soldiers know how to get things done, and that if the civilians would just get out of the way and let them do their jobs then everything would be a lot better.
I used to read that attitude into the Slammers, but it's not really there. What's there is the attitude that good soldiers know how to do their job, and their job is to kill and destroy. What's also there, although mostly implied rather than stated, is that unless you specifically want people killed and things destroyed, then maybe you should come up with a way of doing things that doesn't involve soldiers. In other words, war is a last resort, and will either not get you what you wanted, or get it with consequences that aren't acceptable to you.
A lot of military fiction comes across with the attitude that only soldiers know how to get things done, and that if the civilians would just get out of the way and let them do their jobs then everything would be a lot better.
I used to read that attitude into the Slammers, but it's not really there. What's there is the attitude that good soldiers know how to do their job, and their job is to kill and destroy. What's also there, although mostly implied rather than stated, is that unless you specifically want people killed and things destroyed, then maybe you should come up with a way of doing things that doesn't involve soldiers. In other words, war is a last resort, and will either not get you what you wanted, or get it with consequences that aren't acceptable to you.
August 9, 2018
Combat Science Fiction from a veteran
David Drake did his time in Nam, and knows what he’s writing about. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve found it.
David Drake did his time in Nam, and knows what he’s writing about. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve found it.
January 17, 2025
War is hell, even in the far future and among the stars. Not an epic, noble hell where heroes struggle, but a mundane one with no heroes at all. Welcome to mercenary tank company Hammer's Slammers, protagonist of one of the best military sci-fi sagas of all time. Big emphasis on the military part: the sci-fi elements are there, but they are just background material for the action that dominates the stories here collected. The overall quality is quite high and if it wasn't for a couple of less interesting moments I would have rated this book 5 stars. Just be warned: if you look for a book with strong moral characters you can always sympathize with, this is not for you.
Very questionable and horrible things happen, sometimes done by sociopaths, but most of the time by soldiers that will do what they are ordered to, even when it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Civilian population will pay the price, even small children, and death is never too far for all the parties involved.
Informed by the author experience in Vietnam, the book Is characterized by a lot of military jargon (when English is not your first language, as in my case, this can be a little bit off-putting but nothing a little bit of research won't resolve) and concepts, as well as a gritty and honest showcase of what war really is without the need from the author tò point out what is right and what is wrong.
Very questionable and horrible things happen, sometimes done by sociopaths, but most of the time by soldiers that will do what they are ordered to, even when it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Civilian population will pay the price, even small children, and death is never too far for all the parties involved.
Informed by the author experience in Vietnam, the book Is characterized by a lot of military jargon (when English is not your first language, as in my case, this can be a little bit off-putting but nothing a little bit of research won't resolve) and concepts, as well as a gritty and honest showcase of what war really is without the need from the author tò point out what is right and what is wrong.
November 18, 2021
A tank regiment in the far future made up of mercenaries led by Colonel Hammer, fighting for pay on various planets. These stories follow various soldiers of the regiment in differing conditions, none of them overly pleasant. These are mercenaries, and as such are made up of men and women who join for differing reasons. Some are just poor farmboys looking to avoid a life a of boredom and poverty. Some are running from something, be it an unwanted marriage or a prison sentence. Some join up so they can legally kill people.
It's a gritty bunch of stories, and there are rarely clear cut good guys and bad guys. Hammer's Slammers are the best mercenaries money can buy, and end up end the worst places. These stories are of the common soldiers, how they react to the misery of warfare and they rarely know the big picture, and even more rarely care. No John Wayne stuff here, it's dirty fighting with winning being the only objective. The Slammers aren't overly interested in civilians. They don't kill them needlessly, but they won't stop shooting just because there are civilians in the way. And sometimes they can be convenient as hostages. These are hard men in hard times. War porn based in reality, even if they are using fusion powered tanks with energy weapons.
It's a gritty bunch of stories, and there are rarely clear cut good guys and bad guys. Hammer's Slammers are the best mercenaries money can buy, and end up end the worst places. These stories are of the common soldiers, how they react to the misery of warfare and they rarely know the big picture, and even more rarely care. No John Wayne stuff here, it's dirty fighting with winning being the only objective. The Slammers aren't overly interested in civilians. They don't kill them needlessly, but they won't stop shooting just because there are civilians in the way. And sometimes they can be convenient as hostages. These are hard men in hard times. War porn based in reality, even if they are using fusion powered tanks with energy weapons.
March 5, 2020
I first read these books many years ago in paperbacks but I wanted to re-read them so here we are.
Hammer's Slammers has a very distinct style which I didn't really get when I was young, but now, with a war of my own behind me they seem much more coherent. I don't know if being at the pointy end of things is a prerequisite to appreciate this universe, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Things are all shades of grey, much as they (really) are in life and as awesome (in all senses of the word) as the Slammers' iridium-hulled fusion-powered tanks are, the tech is not the focal point, the people are.
These aren't for everyone, but if you claim to like military sci-fi you'd better read at least a few of them. They are all short stories so reading any three (they aren't in any particular chronological order) will give you a feel for the Slammers universe. If you don't like them, fair enough, but these are foundational books in the mil sci-fi genre and (imo) far more "realistic" than is Starship Troopers. The latter was written by someone who hadn't seen action, so draw what conclusions you will from that.
Hammer's Slammers has a very distinct style which I didn't really get when I was young, but now, with a war of my own behind me they seem much more coherent. I don't know if being at the pointy end of things is a prerequisite to appreciate this universe, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Things are all shades of grey, much as they (really) are in life and as awesome (in all senses of the word) as the Slammers' iridium-hulled fusion-powered tanks are, the tech is not the focal point, the people are.
These aren't for everyone, but if you claim to like military sci-fi you'd better read at least a few of them. They are all short stories so reading any three (they aren't in any particular chronological order) will give you a feel for the Slammers universe. If you don't like them, fair enough, but these are foundational books in the mil sci-fi genre and (imo) far more "realistic" than is Starship Troopers. The latter was written by someone who hadn't seen action, so draw what conclusions you will from that.
December 31, 2020
Another one somewhere before a 4 and a 5 here. A collection of the Hammer's Slammers short stories, reading them shows there really is quite a variety in the sort of tale being told.
All of them are somewhat gritty, painting a somewhat bleak / gritty view of warfare, based on Drake's experiences of Vietnam - so certainly a realistic portrayal of what war is like, but bleak if this is what future war will still be like as such (and I don't really have any foreknowledge to suggest otherwise, but still bleak :) )
Some of the stories are quite sad, but others carry a bit of hope, or at least bitter-sweetness.
It is good to see points throughout the journey of the Hammer's Slammers, but as the stories are generally in published order, they aren't always in chronological order, which was a slight drawback for me.
Overall a very good read though, and I look forward to getting into the novels in Volume 2.
All of them are somewhat gritty, painting a somewhat bleak / gritty view of warfare, based on Drake's experiences of Vietnam - so certainly a realistic portrayal of what war is like, but bleak if this is what future war will still be like as such (and I don't really have any foreknowledge to suggest otherwise, but still bleak :) )
Some of the stories are quite sad, but others carry a bit of hope, or at least bitter-sweetness.
It is good to see points throughout the journey of the Hammer's Slammers, but as the stories are generally in published order, they aren't always in chronological order, which was a slight drawback for me.
Overall a very good read though, and I look forward to getting into the novels in Volume 2.
January 1, 2024
I read this after learning of Drake's passing. For all of the sci-fi and militaria I consumed in my teen years, it's baffling to me that I never read more than a couple of the Slammers stories (I DID tear through the "Fleet" anthology series, co-edited by Drake, when I was in high school and finally moving on from my middle-school diet of Star Trek serial fiction.) Maybe it is only later in life that I can appreciate how well-written, how thoughtful, and, ultimately, how ground-breaking they are. Drake was a writer's writer and a veteran who, by his own admission, found release from the trauma he had encountered. In a very real sense he created as moving a monument to that trauma as any writer can.
June 22, 2024
ratings out of 5:
prose 2
characters 1
world 3
pacing 3
fun 2
This is a collection of short stories that are loosely in the same universe. The prose wasn't easy to get into, since it was extremely deadpan most of the time. There aren't too many crescendo moments in any stories, and only the two near the end were really long enough to sink into. This series is kind of going for some kind of detached realism thing that accurately describes how it feels to be a soldier, but it just doesn't make for good page turning sci-fi. Sci-fi is just the backdrop. The vibes are the real star, and they're hard to capture even in my ratings.
prose 2
characters 1
world 3
pacing 3
fun 2
This is a collection of short stories that are loosely in the same universe. The prose wasn't easy to get into, since it was extremely deadpan most of the time. There aren't too many crescendo moments in any stories, and only the two near the end were really long enough to sink into. This series is kind of going for some kind of detached realism thing that accurately describes how it feels to be a soldier, but it just doesn't make for good page turning sci-fi. Sci-fi is just the backdrop. The vibes are the real star, and they're hard to capture even in my ratings.
January 14, 2022
There has been so much written about this series it's hard to say anything new or worthwhile about these stories. It's lack of sentimentality keeps it from feeling schlocky or prurient even in its most brutal and violent moments. David Drake's stories have long held a position of prominence in my exploration of genre fiction and it was through Hammer's Slammers that I first discovered him before going on to Old Nathan and the Dragon Lord and the rest.
Anyway, if you have any interest at all in soldiering or sci fi, read Hammer's Slammers.
Anyway, if you have any interest at all in soldiering or sci fi, read Hammer's Slammers.
December 20, 2018
Gritty realistic view of war from the sharp end
Stories of a plausible future, cohesive stories and logical interactions between factions inside and outside of the protagonist’s Team. Interactions are realistic and very human in periods of high stress. Characters are developed sufficiently for the reader to bond with them and realistically show flaws and compassion. Military SF at its finest.
Stories of a plausible future, cohesive stories and logical interactions between factions inside and outside of the protagonist’s Team. Interactions are realistic and very human in periods of high stress. Characters are developed sufficiently for the reader to bond with them and realistically show flaws and compassion. Military SF at its finest.
June 13, 2019
War as it is
I’m a Nam vet( two combat tours) and the combat described herein is accurate. Lot of times inNam you would be on a patrol and suddenly you’re in a firefight with guns, the cannon on our M-48 A3 tanks, machine guns, people screaming as they die, or writhe on the ground suffering the worst pain ever is war. Keep telling people that war ain’t glorious( exciting, addictive, yes)and ain’t a good method of birth control.
I’m a Nam vet( two combat tours) and the combat described herein is accurate. Lot of times inNam you would be on a patrol and suddenly you’re in a firefight with guns, the cannon on our M-48 A3 tanks, machine guns, people screaming as they die, or writhe on the ground suffering the worst pain ever is war. Keep telling people that war ain’t glorious( exciting, addictive, yes)and ain’t a good method of birth control.
May 11, 2022
Dark, probably under-appreciated
This is a competently written set of military science fiction stories with more focus on “military” than “science fiction.” When they came out, they were far more violent than most mainstream stories, and far more honest about the motivations and consequences of that violence.
What’s odd is that the reputation has stuck, even as many modern novels and stories have evolved into absurdities of gore and “DARKNESS.”
The stories are worth reading.
This is a competently written set of military science fiction stories with more focus on “military” than “science fiction.” When they came out, they were far more violent than most mainstream stories, and far more honest about the motivations and consequences of that violence.
What’s odd is that the reputation has stuck, even as many modern novels and stories have evolved into absurdities of gore and “DARKNESS.”
The stories are worth reading.
February 11, 2023
Excellent Depiction of Humans at War
I first read Mr. Dealers stories about Super Tank Warfare in serial publication format. When his first collection of short stories were published, I read them. I've been reading Mr. Dealers work ever since . Now I can enjoy reading them on the Kindle Fire! If you like Starship Troopers, Dorsal and the other Future War series, then you will love David France's works.
I first read Mr. Dealers stories about Super Tank Warfare in serial publication format. When his first collection of short stories were published, I read them. I've been reading Mr. Dealers work ever since . Now I can enjoy reading them on the Kindle Fire! If you like Starship Troopers, Dorsal and the other Future War series, then you will love David France's works.
April 10, 2024
One of the stories of all time, truly.
It is a decently well told series of stories. However, while the prose is certainly decently compelling, some of the politics taste a little funny. Additionally, Drake makes a valiant effort to uphold a fairly large cast, but they don't get much better than fairly lifelike looking cardboard cutouts.
At least the funny hovertanks are cool, even if their design... Hasn't aged that well.
It is a decently well told series of stories. However, while the prose is certainly decently compelling, some of the politics taste a little funny. Additionally, Drake makes a valiant effort to uphold a fairly large cast, but they don't get much better than fairly lifelike looking cardboard cutouts.
At least the funny hovertanks are cool, even if their design... Hasn't aged that well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2017
Why do people keep saying that this guy can write? He really stinks. And this collection of little snippets of stories is really bad. There's no There, there. Empty, pointless, meandering. Yikes, this stinks. I gave it 50 pages, and couldn't read another sentence. Really -- avoid this author. Too many good authors to waste any time on this hack.
September 4, 2019
This one was a very tough read at first but as you went along both the writing and stories got better. the first quarter was meh, the second quarter was ok, the third quarter was good, and the last quarter was very good. Not sure if I'll read the next 2 volumes but maybe if I have nothing else to read (that's why I read this one).
March 10, 2021
An interesting introduction to the series, a bunch of almost entirely unconnected short stories that together stitch together a picture of Hammer's Slammers, a mercenary tank unit that travels the galaxy crushing whoever they have been paid to crush. A different type of military sci-fi than what I have read before, gritty and violent with a focus on the men themselves rather than the big picture.
November 6, 2022
Hammer Time
I have been aware of Hammer's Slammers for some time. When the opportunity to pick up the three volume complete set of stories, I decided to dive in. I wasn't disappointed. There are characters that weave throughout the short stories. The variety of settings and plots is impressive and engaging. A must for any fan of military science fiction.
I have been aware of Hammer's Slammers for some time. When the opportunity to pick up the three volume complete set of stories, I decided to dive in. I wasn't disappointed. There are characters that weave throughout the short stories. The variety of settings and plots is impressive and engaging. A must for any fan of military science fiction.
June 4, 2018
Like an old friend
I can't even remember how many times, I've read these stories. In other collections and in this one. I own it in print and digital. Only problem is short stories. Some characters return some don't.
I can't even remember how many times, I've read these stories. In other collections and in this one. I own it in print and digital. Only problem is short stories. Some characters return some don't.
August 5, 2019
Reading again for the first time
I first read Drake's work in the 1980s. His is, one of a very author's work that remains in my pysche. Perhaps because Drake and I some heritage in common. Superbly written.
I first read Drake's work in the 1980s. His is, one of a very author's work that remains in my pysche. Perhaps because Drake and I some heritage in common. Superbly written.
March 11, 2020
Classic Mil Sci Fi at its best
It’s been a while since I read a Hammer short story, so decided to pick up volume one of the collected stories. Definitely enjoyed them, and going to pick up the next volume.
It’s been a while since I read a Hammer short story, so decided to pick up volume one of the collected stories. Definitely enjoyed them, and going to pick up the next volume.
August 13, 2020
I love big books and I cannot lie. ;-) Not only are there a lot of short stories, there are pics of various vehicles before every story after the first. This is an omnibus edition so the book is a known quantity. None of the stories are dull.
August 17, 2022
I'm amazed people think so highly of this book. Disjointed timeline, unlikeable characters, grammar so bad it was difficult to understand what was happening, and inferring through adverbs is a pain the rear (doesn't make reading this book enjoyable).
December 3, 2022
Military science fiction, helped to define the genre.
Several stories in one volume. Quite economical if you are replacing a bunch of raggedy paperbacks. The last story is oddly sad. The violence is commonplace.
Several stories in one volume. Quite economical if you are replacing a bunch of raggedy paperbacks. The last story is oddly sad. The violence is commonplace.
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