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.

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"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

Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now bestselling author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his best-selling "Hammer's Slammers" books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets.

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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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About the Author

David 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.