Customer Reviews

Hammer's Slammers

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is short stories, starting from when (and why) the Hammer's Slammers were formed to when Colonel Alois Hammer finally came home. These stories show us a little more than later stories of the Hammer himself, a man who is ruthless towards his enemy yet loyal towards his own men (and women). The stories are; But Loyal to His Own, The Butcher's Bill, Under the Hammer, Cultural Conflict, Caught in the Crossfire, Hangman and Standing Down. It also has tiny interludes inbetween the stories that explain a lot about the background of this universe and also has an introduction by Jerry Pournelle.

I first picked up this volume 20 years ago and it left an impression ever since. Drake has a brutal and realistic angle on why men kill for a living, and these stories convey so strongly the cost and responsibility of war, and the way that responsibility is used by competent leaders and abused by beasts and politicians. And most of all, how the soldiers pay the cost.

And it's rocking fun sci-fi too.

This is a collection of short stories that begin the almos t legendary Hammers Slammers series. It is must reading for any one who loves military science fiction. Mr. Drake has a deep understanding of his material. If any one wants to know the truth of combat and how one must behave to survive this is the book. Many of the technological aspects of his stories are very prescience, considering it was written between 1975 and 1979. His use of computers, digital communications links and instantaneous target aquisition is comming true today. I can't recommend anything better

I confess I expected more from this book. Drake is a veteran, so I came to the stories here thinking that he would say something thoughtful about war in his work. Unfortunately, what I got was a long description of futuristic weapons and how people using them do positively horrible things to each other and those unfortunates caught in the middle. But I already knew that weapons do horrible things to people, and so I can't say I gained much from reading "Hammer's Slammers."

The book, therefore, has the feel of fetish fiction-- violence for its own sake to give the reader a rush. For those who enjoy such things this may be fine, but nowhere does Drake deal with the deeper moral or psychological impact of that violence, and this is what ultimately derails this book. For example, when one of the heroes blows off the leg of a little girl in order to ensure her parents' cooperation ("Hangman"), there is a brief moment of displeasure on the part of Hammer, but the response is glossed over-- had Drake chosen to take us into the life of that little girl and her parents, he might have had a masterpiece, but instead he quickly returns to the action and bloodshed.

I give the book two stars for Drake's thoughtful worldbuilding, since he does take the time to make his weapons design thorough and consistent, but otherwise I can't say much to recommend this book. If you want to read about war as it really impacts human beings, I'd suggest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" instead.

Hammer's Slammers

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed David Drake's Hammer's Slammers until my wife picked up a copy for me in an antique shop. I started reading it and called my Brother to say that he ought to email the Publisher of Baen Books to put out a hardback version of these stories. It turns out I was a little late. Nightshade Books had already done so. I immediately ordered The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 ,and Volume 2 and pre-ordered volume 3.

Highly recommend for any one who has ever served in the military

Gunner July, 2009

A FEW GOOD MEN:

ROB JENNE - He was a good boy from a backwoods planet - until he met the recruiting officer from the Slammers.

DANNY PRITCHARD - A brilliant officer who had achieved command rank the hard way, through the ranks, he had one fetal flaw - a conscience.
SALLY SCHILLING - She was tough as any man - and far meaner then most.

JOACHIM STEUBEN - A Killer's Killer, some thought him not even human - he was Hammer's special tool.

COLONEL ALOIS HAMMER - He made the Slammers what they were - the meanest, toughest bunch of mercenaries who ever killed for a dollar, or wrecked a world for pay. No one could stand against them.

THIS IS THEIR STORY, THE STORY OF
HAMMER'S SLAMMERS

A collection of short stories with appendixes woven between each tale to flesh out the world and the Slammers. The fiction shows the Slammers' arc from their start as a ad hoc military force to a juggernaut which makes Hammer a powerful man, yet it is always tempered by a sense of the human cost accompanying the Slammers' actions. Highly recommended.

This has never appealed, I can never quite pin down why, and recently having delved into Fiends of the Eastern Front again, I have nothing against tank battles, or anything like that, in general, whether in prose or graphic novel form. Just one of those things, I guess.

The emotions of warfare are experienced, through narrative, without passing judgment upon the human tendency of waging war. The technical background of the stories is presented between the novelettes. This provides a context for the technical and social issues addressed without interferring with the dramatic flow of the story. I strongly recommend reading this book because Mr. Drake writes a great story. A good book for the traveler, especially during lunch or after supper. Speaking from personal experience. Don't loan this book to anybody, not even your best friend. You probably won't get it back. And it is out of print.

David Drake takes the struggle of warfare and the soldiers own feelings regarding war giving them life to the reader, while giving it a futuristic setting without loosing the the thrill of war and horror. I rate as a must read military sci-fi.