Hammer's Slammers
Hammer's Slammers is a 1979 collection of military science fiction short stories by author David Drake. It follows the career of a future mercenary tank regiment called Hammer's Slammers after their leader, Colonel Alois Hammer. This collection, and other novels and stories in the same setting, are collectively called the Hammer stories, and the setting is called the Slammers universe or the Hammerverse.
Stats for nerds
4recommend
7mentions
6people
2014–2025years
71% recommend29% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I have enjoyed those (I have a complete Hammer's Slammers collection).... also definitely check out the Lt. Leary RCN series, starting with the novel "With the Lightnings"... my favorite series of his work.
- If the article's thesis is resonant, consider a David Drake novel or two. Rolling Hot comes immediately to mind, but Hammer's Slammers started the series.
Drake served in armored cavalry in Vietnam -- many of his science-fiction books imagine a universe of higher technology that is no less human.
- I didn't really care for Old Man's War. It's a fun read, but it's popcorn. It was a bit too juvenile nanotech wankfest for me.
Nominally it looks at subjects like long life, implanted AIs, etc., but it doesn't really do anything with them other than go "squeeeee look at the tooyyyyyys".
EDIT:
If you want to just bask in the sheer glory of superior firepower and gallows humor, and maybe even occasionally see something with a little bit more to say about politics and men who fight, I'd suggest the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake. Future tank company modeled loosely off of the Foreign Legion just after WW2, the most mercenary of mercenaries, probably the coolest and most reasonable command-and-control for ground forces I've ever seen in a scifi book not set in the near future, and so forth.
- I'd second the Hammer's Slammers rec. Don't be put off by the lurid pictures of ZOMG TANKS!!! on the covers of some editions; it's a lot more nuanced than the name and artwork imply.
I'd also recommend his Redliners, which deals in large part with the need to re-establish empathy between soldiers and the civilians they fight for. Some elements of the plot get a bit silly, but Drake was exorcising some serious personal ghosts in that one, and his conviction really shines through.
- Seconding this... Forever War is probably some of the most readable, non-America-Fuck-Yeah military sci-fi I've read--another good one is Armor.
If you want more military sci-fi, check out the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake (tank company in spaaaaaace, but not the stupid Bolo stuff); he also had one anthology that was very nearly solid cyberpunk surveillance dystopia, Lacy and His Friends.
- Disagree. You're assuming nothing upsets the balance. I'm thinking of the Hammer's Slammers books. For those who haven't read them: a reasonable extrapolation of future tech with one big change: Cartridge-based energy guns. They are lightspeed weapons, no leading your target or the like. Center it in the optics and you'll hit it. The skies are nobody's friend, no aircraft, ballistic weapons are generally not of much use. The only combat rockets are ultra high acceleration short range stuff that's based on getting through before it can be tracked and engaged by the defense mounts. While nukes exist they don't get used because they're just going to be picked off. Against missiles you can make your warheads salvage fuse (messes up the tracking against the next missile), but you can't detect a lightspeed weapon until it hits.
