Customer Reviews

The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1

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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.

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.

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.

Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 of 3
(2006)
Volume One of this three volume set includes:

Introduction by Gene Wolfe

Foreword by David Drake


1. Under the Hammer
2. Supertanks
3. The Butcher's Bill
4. The Church of the Lord's Universe
5. But Loyal to His Own
6. Powerguns
7. Caught in the Crossfire
8. Backdrop to Chaos
9. Cultural Conflict
10. The Bonding Authority
11. Hangman
12. Table of Organization and Equipment, Hammer's Regiment
13. Standing Down
14. Code-Name Feirefitz
15. The Interrogation Team
16. The Tank Lords
17. Liberty Port
18. Night March
19. The Immovable Object
20. The Irresistible Force
21. A Death in Peacetime



Don't let your wife see this book without its dust jacket. Mine wanted it for a "decorator book".

I highly recommend this book for those who want a flavor of what war is about. Now if they could only add the sense of smell.

Gunner June, 2010.

Everyone who is a fan of David Drake's Hammer's Slammers will enjoy this collection.

I fondly recall reading the varied stories about the Slammer's, and always wishing that they could be consolidated into one or more books. Here they are, for all of us old Sci-Fi fans to read and enjoy again and again. Well worth getting the entire 3 part set and having the whole collection.