The Warrior (Review)
The Warrior (Review)
he Warrior is a David Drake novel, following along in the tank tracks (not correct, since they are hovertanks) of the feared and respected Hammers Slammers, a mercenary tank battalion in the far future.
I’ve mentioned a couple of novels from this series, including the titular Hammers Slammers. The thing is, the author is a combat veteran and it shows in the novels. People don’t question, don’t ponder life’s strange events, they simply act. And the tanks they act in are the largest and most dangerous machines in the galaxy.
As witness in the three short stories that make up the central body of The Warrior. The main character, Slick Des Grieux, is simply a man cast in the image of war. He is not alive in any other moment then when he’s in his tank. And when he’s in his tank, there is nothing for him but advancing in blitzkrieg fashion, not stopping, firing and blasting until the battle is over. And certainly nothing can stop him, not the enemy, and equally not the direct orders from his superiors. And so he is a literal bull in a china shop, unstoppable, unmanageable, and somewhat crazed. So what do you do when you have a man like that in your command – someone who shuts off his radio and plows ahead. His direct commander, Luke Brogie tries, even spares him a battlefield execution, and earns Des Grieux’s personal rage and animosity.I’m my long life, I’ve experienced that too. Not everyone can be helped.
There is also a follow-up story, Liberty Port, concerning a commander of the port who is involved in an secondary way with the Slammers (and all the other mercs who use his port of call). The fact that the man lost his legs to the Slammers in some pre-story battle adds to the possible conflicts to follow.I really liked this one – it had interesting situations, interesting tech, and a storyline that wasn’t just about more tankers.
Anyway, this was a great collection I found in my “saved” box of paperbacks (one of fifteen boxes). Great to read it again after thirty-five years.