The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 [Hardcover]

David Drake (Author), Vincent di Fate (Author)

Book Description

Series: Complete Hammer's Slammers | Publication Date: March 14, 2006

This three volume set presents for the first time the genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform hardcover set. This volume features all of the Hammer's Slammer short fiction, as well as all of the interstitial material from the original Slammers collection, as well as new artwork, and an original Slammers story, "A Death in Peacetime." The first volume will feature an introduction by Gene Wolfe, and cover art by Vincent Di Fate.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Fans of Drake's edgy stories of a mercenary tank regiment in a future not all that different from our present will rejoice that Night Shade is issuing 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 as neither cartoon heroes nor propaganda villains but as competent professionals trying to survive in a deadly business. His bad guys are typically the politicians and extremists who think that war can be desirable and positive when it's merely sadly necessary. In "The Butcher's Bill," we see how every line trooper makes policy regardless of higher wishes, while "Hangman" shows the ethical dilemmas facing a soldier of conscience. If the 21 stories collected here present an episodic account of the Slammers' history, that's because this is the way that the line soldier experiences a campaign. In his depiction of combat, Drake (The Way to Glory) rivals Crane and Remarque. (Feb.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books (March 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189238969X
• ISBN-13: 978-1892389695
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Compendium of Early Hammer's Slammers Tales, October 14, 2006

By 

Stewart Teaze (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 (Hardcover)

HAMMER'S SLAMMERS are a mercenary Army regiment, operating in the 28th Century, who sell their services to the highest bidders on the diverse outlying human colonies, most of which are in constant conflict... sort of like futuristic Hessian mercenary soldiers of the 18th Century.

Here are brief reviews of the more substantial stories (mostly short stories, except where noted) from THE COMPLETE HAMMER'S SLAMMERS (VOLUME ONE):

*** UNDER THE HAMMER (1974) - Details a newbie Rob Jenne's first day among Hammer's Slammers - and he ends up having to learn fast.

**** THE BUTCHER'S BILL (1974) - If you hire the Slammers to get the job done, don't expect them or Sergeant-Commander Pritchard to play around when things get tough.

*** BUT LOYAL TO HIS OWN (1975) - Tells how the Slammers regiment got their start, and introduces Joachim Stueben, Colonel Hammer's smallish personal bodyguard - who has a prediliction for killing.

*** CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE (1978) - A young lady has to learn to kill quickly, and then chooses to join up with the Slammers, rather than go back with her now-husbandless villagemates.

***** CULTURAL CONFLICT (1979) - A remotely stationed platoon of Slammers meets up with an intelligent race of dense forest tree-dwellers, which leeds to a different kind of conflict with immense ramifications to all parties.

*** 1/2 HANGMAN (1979) Novellete - Danny Pritchard is now a Captain, and highly-trusted element of the Slammers. He doesn't approve of the casual voilence of Stueben, but will get the job done when called upon.

*** CODE-NAME FEIREFITZ (1985) - A Captain is assigned to dig out a horde of rebels from an underground bunker complex (eerily predictive of Tora Bora situation in Afghanistan, occurring 17 years later); but, he must also deal with his ex-Slammer born-again Christian brother, who has ties with the rebels.

***** THE TANK LORDS (1987) - Novellete - This story plays out on a despot lord's manor on an off-world Kingdom; it is an excellent little tale about a young page, who worships the tanks and "the tank lords" who are visiting his lord's manor - and how he comes to transform himself into one of them. Much political and sexual intrigue, along with some decently exciting moments. Not the typical Drake tank lords story of mayhem and gore, although there is some at the end.

**** LIBERTY PORT (1987) Novella - Everything goes haywire when a company of Slammers, who have recently been in terrible combat, are let loose in a entertainment district with heartless cyborg females, which turn out to cause more problems than human females.

*** NIGHT MARCH (1997) - A strange case of mistaken identity ensues when communications on a night march get fouled up beyond all recognition.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Slammers Complete, February 24, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 (Hardcover)

The first in a proposed three volume compendium of Dave Drake's HAMMERS SLAMMERS material, this one will be convenient to have. It is likely that the buyers will, at least in many cases, have already read what it contains, but having the tales together, in a hard-back format, will be a good thing.

The Slammers are, as Dave once said himself, "the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment with ray-guns", and are notably inspired by what Dave saw and heard while he was with the Blackhorse Cav in Vietnam and Cambodia some few years ago. Some of the best tales available to bring the violence, confusion and sometimes ambiguity of who the "good guys" are in combat to the reader.

If you have read Dave's Slammers material before, you'll enjoy having it pulled together into this anthology and will want the book. If you haven't, you owe yourself the pleasure of getting this book of tightly written, fast moving stories of what combat does to those who have the "privelege" of experiencing it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Part one of a comprehensive collection of the Hammers Slammers Works, November 3, 2006

By 

MrBooks (Southern Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 (Hardcover)

This is a book I've been waiting over ten years for. As a fan of mister Drakes writtings, in particular the Hammers Slammers series, I have always had a hard time tracking down some of his stories... this book, and its companion, offer the complete collection of his works (a must for any fan). It will also replace my paperbacks, which have become quite dog-eared over the years since I first discovered the Hammers Slammers.

For those not familiar with the Hammers Slammers... These stories represent some of the best Military Sci-Fi of the previous century, and remain among my top picks to this day. As Mr. Drake quite frequently points out his stories are not about super-hero type soldiers; rather they are about ordinary men and women whos chosen profession is soldering. His characters have flaws, and they often times lose a lot... but they always get the job done. Though his stories are based of of his experiences in Vietnam it is quite easy to see how the lessons apply to todays world (perhapse more so in some respects).

If you enjoy gritty military fiction then I'm sure that you'll enjoy the trials and tribulations of the Hammers Slammers.