Dad got me this and the second volume for my birthday last year, and they were awesome. The books are about a future tank squadron which takes on mercenary jobs, none of which ever seem to be clean or simple. Along the way you end up learning that they're all just misfits who haven't managed to find any other job which is a better fit for them. Worse than that, I'm left with the impression that in the back of their minds they all realize that they're running on borrowed time. David Drake has a unique position to comment on what its like to fight in a war, given he is a Vietnam veteran. These stories are fantastic science fiction, and often leave you with a realization that war often isn't simple, or fair. I first encountered David's writing when I was a kid reading a remaindered anthology called "Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow", which was a collection of short war science fiction stories. Luckily for me 15 or so years after I first encountered them I still think they are great stories. These books are highly recommended.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/David_Dra... ( )

Volume 1 of 3, this is a collection of David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" stories. There are a few new stories in the series, and some artwork and other new details. Otherwise it's a collection of existing stories. A plausible exploration of mercenary ground combat in a 28th century. Instead of focusing on superhuman characters, the soldiers in these stories are much like people now, human, and trying to do the best job they can. ( )

"Strange" ( )