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4.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag, but a good starting point..., Jul 26 1998
I agree that this is a good place to start if you aren't familiar with Drake. However, some of Drake's stories strike a very familiar tone. For several years I considered all of his novels to be only moderately different takes on the same basic themes: amoral military personel (gunmen at times), the horrors of war, and the lasting effects of PTSD. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that per se, for various reasons those are precisely the kind of themes which can make for very interesting reading on a number of levels.The problem lies with the middle period in which some of these stories were written. Some of Drake's laster work such as the end of the Igniting the Reaches saga, and the Voyage have been extremely well done. At the same time many of his early stories had a raw and stunning intensity. (One line from an early story is still etched in my memory, "Have you ever seen a Sheridan burn?") A few of these stories falter only slightly. "! ;Counting the Cost" is one of the most problematic. The characters are believable, and the details ring true, up to a point. While I realize that it is based on a historical incident, some of the reactions do not always ring true with the brutality found in some of Drake's other work. Notably, the noblewoman still places herself in the arms of the AAA unit commander, lacking enough of the revulsion to make things ring true. But perhaps at that point Drake couldn't bear to be totally hard hearted. My other quibbles are very minor. Drake knows his hardware fairly well. A careful reading of his books reveals a man who knows not only ancient history, but guns, Fortean phenomena (origin of Powerguns...), and something about human nature. Still, his experience of armored warfare stems from the Vietnam era of Sheridans, M48s, and ACAVs. Careful readers will note a slam on the original Bradley concept of portholes in one of the stories, but never the less, his combat car! s remain ACAVs. Thus they expose the crew to more fire, an! d the top is open... Airburst shells anyone? I'd like to see Hammer's men get some IFVs which would protect the crew, and could use turret mounted weapons with heaver missles. In closing I'm reminded of an article in a recent issue of SOF. It was about the possible future privatization of war. I believe it was in either the July or August 1998 issue. One of the mercenaries quoted stated that private forces could go into situations with a flexibility the big boys lacked. He derided the U.N. as ineffective and stated that six BMPs at the right place and time could have stopped the killing in Rawanda. Perhaps Drake's view of the future wasn't so far off after all, even without IFVs. (Although, six BMPs from another side...)
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