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Michael Still
mikal@stillhq.com

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These posts mostly relate to books I am reading or series I am collecting to read in order (I tend to collect the series and then read it in one block). You can see a see a list of the books I am currently seeking, as well as a list of all the books I've bothered to catalog if you're interested.


Mon, 09 Feb 2009



The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3




    ISBN: 9781892389800
    LibraryThing
    This book consists of three paperbacks combined into one volume, and follows in from Volume 1 and Volume 2. I'll cover each story separately:

    • The sharp end: this story is a little different from the other Hammer's Slammers stuff. To be honest, its a bit less grim. Normally the stories are about how war is in the end just a bunch of guys trying to not die (for the grunts at least), whereas this story is a little bit more hopeful than that. Then again, there is still plenty of the negative side of war in this story.
    • Paying the piper: I've seen other people complain that this book is disjointed, which is a fair comment. Concepts are reintroduced several times, even though they've already been covered. I wonder if this was originally a set of short stories in a series? Its a good read however.
    • The darkness: a much shorter story, which is a lot more like the ones in Volume 1 and Volume 2.


    Tags for this post: book(S) David_Drake(S)


posted at: 22:25 | path: /book/David_Drake | permanent link to this entry


Tue, 06 May 2008



The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 2




    ISBN: 1892389738
    Night Shade Books (2006), Hardcover, 500 pages
    LibraryThing
    This book is as good as The first volume. This book comes highly recommended.

    Tags for this post: book(S) David_Drake(S)


posted at: 19:22 | path: /book/David_Drake | permanent link to this entry


The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1




    ISBN: 189238969X
    Night Shade Books (2005), Hardcover, 500 pages
    LibraryThing
    It occurred to me over the weekend that it was odd that I was updating books I had recently read on a book site like goodreads, given that all I'm doing by entering data on their site is blogging someplace that not even I remember to read. I'm therefore going to move all of that stuff over to here, and then try to remember to blog about books I've read recently in the future. Don't worry though, I don't get much time to read in between work, study and kids, so it wont be too many posts.

    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.

    Tags for this post: book(S) David_Drake(S)


posted at: 19:21 | path: /book/David_Drake | permanent link to this entry