Balefires [Paperback]

David Drake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009

Balefires is the long-awaited collection of David Drake's weird and fantastic fiction, featuring many stories set in the worlds of his fantasy novels (Ranks of Bronze, Lord of the Isles, etc.). More than just a collection of stories, Balefires features extensive story notes that chronicle the development of the writing career of one of science fiction's most popular writers, and provides detailed snapshots of the larger-than-life editors, publishers, and writers with whom Drake has worked with throughout his career.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known for his hard-hitting military SF, Drake (Some Golden Harbor) has also written some impressive fantasy and horror, as shown by this collection of 24 stories from all phases of his career. "Firefight" and "The Hunting Ground" are as gritty as any of the Hammer's Slammers series, while U.S. soldiers in Vietnam battle unexpected enemies in "Arclight," "Something Had to Be Done" and "Best of Luck." Fans of sword and sorcery will find "The False Prophet" as exciting as any adventure of Conan or Elric, but anchored by the realism evoked by the author's extensive classical scholarship. The controversial "Smokie Joe" is genuinely horrifying, while "Than Curse the Darkness" reveals why some humans worship Lovecraft's dark gods. Drake is perhaps at his best in tales like "The Red Leer" and "The Barrow Troll," which deal with the changes that violence brings about in its wielders. Illuminating introductory author notes explore each story's origins. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This collection efficiently rescues 24 of Drake's early short stories from the archives and out-of-print limbo. Drake's career began in fantasy and horror, with his first sale being to August Derleth of horror specialty publisher Arkham House, and he didn't entirely give up those genres after his Vietnam experience allowed him on-location research on the realities in which his military sf is based. His introductions to the separate stories are quite valuable, since they offer the closest thing to an autobiography yet from this distinguished and versatile writer. Readers can find samples of the distinction and the versatility in "The Red Leer," "Smokie Joe" (twice banned for its erotic content), "The Barrow Troll," "The Dancer in the Flames," "The Hunting Ground," and "The Automatic Rifleman," a classic of both horror and Vietnam's influence on Drake. Like much of Drake's later work, this stuff isn't for the weak of stomach or those averse to high body counts. It's high-quality storytelling, nonetheless. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books; Reprint edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597801321
• ISBN-13: 978-1597801324
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,849,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Drake, David

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable short-story collection from David Drake, May 31, 2007

By 

Woofdog (Miami) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Balefires (Hardcover)

If your exposure to David Drake has been limited to the Lord of the Isles series, which apparently maps the very same plot out with different names and places time and time again (drake actually describes this in an intro to a story in balefires), you should realize that once upon a time Drake wrote original stories with tight plots which often ended in a single book and weren't 600 pages long.

This collection includes stories published in other drake compliation volumes before as well as stories I had never seen by him. One story was re-written by August Derleth shortly before he died (Denkirch) and definitely reads like an August Derleth story (I always felt Derleth's Lovecraft-style stories were a little too transparently constructed compared to the originals, and this story is that way too). Many of his stories set in Vietnam are here, as well as other fantastic stories with varied settings.

I am very glad Night Shade published this title, and wish Mr. Drake still wrote stories like this.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BALEFIRES - good read, June 7, 2007

By 

Clyde W. Howard (Nacogdoches, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Balefires (Hardcover)

This book, one of a series of Dave Drake's works, is from Night Shade Press, a small press that seems to be turning out quite a number of excellent books of late.

First - just as a book, this is a very nice one. It feels good in your hands, solidly bound, on good paper and with good type selection. That is something that we don't get nearly often enough in recent years it seems to me. And it has a cover painting that fits the subject well. A book it will be a pleasure to own for its physical qualities as well as the content.

As a book of short stories, it is biased toward horror (where Drake stated his writing career - his first published story "Denkirche" is one here reprinted), and some very good horror stories there are.

It is a good buy - and it shows the evolution of a writer who is now one of the best craftsmen you'll find anywhere.

I am, personally, fonder of Drake's military science fiction, including the Hammer's Slammers series (also being collected and released by Night Shade and available though Amazon; first two volumes of a three volume set are now available) and the "Republic of Cinnabar Navy/Leary-Mundy" books modeled on the concept Patrick O'Brien used in his Aubrey-Maturin books, than the horror - but these stories are all worth reading and some are just as good as you'll find anyplace, from anybody. "Hunting Ground", for example. Or "Arc Light". Or "Dancer in the Flames'. Or "Red Leer" - now that's one that will make it hard to sleep after you read it...

Book I can recommend without reservations. But then - I guess I'm prejudiced by the fact that Dave Drake is not only a writer who has been giving me pleasure for a quarter century and a bit, but also a friend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Satisfactory, November 26, 2010

By 

bobthedog - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Balefires (Paperback)

This collection was exactly what I hoped for: an entertaining mix of David Drake's short stories many of which I hadn't read before. If you know Drake's work, you will enjoy this book. If you don't know his work, it's just as good a place to start as any (although, may I recommend 'Vettius And His Friends'?).