"The duty of science fiction is to tell us not what will be, but what might be, what the future may hold, what human reactions to it are likely, and what results are apt to ensue—socially, economically, militarily, romantically, and in every other department of life.

More and better than any other writer, David Drake does this for the wars of the future and the men and women who will fight them." -- Gene Wolfe, one of the greatest writers of the last fifty years and a Korean War veteran

Today marks the diamond jubilee of David Drake's birth. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm damned glad ol' Dave still walks amongst us. He has consistently created quality horror and SFF fiction for fifty years. Drake's also been a notable publisher and editor when he's found some time away from writing his own tales. A full-time writer since 1980, Dave has maintained an almost pulp level of output ever since.

I first encountered David Drake's name in the front of a used copy of Legion from the Shadows. Therein, Karl Edward Wagner thanked David for determining the timespan within which Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn yarns had to have taken place, according to clues in the texts. Since my inclinations tend to run in similar directions, Mr. Drake sounded like a cool guy to me.

Not that long after, I read "The Mantichore" in Swords Against Darkness III. It was a story of Vettius, Drake's flagship S&S protagonist. I still consider it one of the better sword and sorcery tales written in the 1970s. I certainly wanted to read more from this "Drake" fellow.

Fate threw me a curveball at that point. I'd pretty well gotten over my preteen infatuation with science fiction. I still loved old school SF authors like Poul Anderson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Murray Leinster and Andre Norton. However, I had been consistently underwhelmed--if not repulsed--by the jaded, nihilistic, navel-gazing, ass-dragging SF from the "new and exciting" authors being foisted upon me. So, here comes the same classmate who loaned me his copy of Anderson's The Broken Sword. He tells me he just bought a new "novel"--it was more of a collection of short stories, but what the hell--by David Drake. It was about space mercenaries who kick ass in supertanks. Did I want to borrow it? Hell to the yeah.

Reading Hammer's Slammers made me a Drake fan for life. Here was a Vietnam vet writing tales of war set in the future. I'd grown up around a few 'Nam vets, so I knew that modern warfare wasn't all glory and roses. I also knew that the average soldier wasn't a monster, which was often what the new non-Drake sci-fi I'd been reading seemed to imply or stated explicitly. David Drake wrote about men who did what they had to do in order to get the job done and survive. In his Slammers books—as with almost everything Drake wrote before and after—no punches were pulled when it came to depictions of violence. Dave had seen war up close and personal.

From there, I went on to buy From the Heart of Darkness. To me, this is the Drake equivalent to Skull-Face and Others. Some of his S&S tales sandwiched between some of his best horror work. All that, plus an excellent intro by Karl Edward Wagner.

Drake fandom confirmed.

So, who is this "David Drake" dude? Where did he come from?

I'll just let Dave tell you himself:

"I was born on September 24, 1945, in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1967 I graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in History (with honors) and Latin; married my wife Jo (one son, Jonathan, born 1973); and entered Duke Law School. I was drafted out of law school and served in the army 1969-71, spending most of 1970 as an interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse, in Vietnam and Cambodia.

I returned, finished law school, and spent eight years as Assistant Town Attorney of Chapel Hill, NC. In 1980 I resigned and drove a city bus part-time for a year while I did more writing. Since 1981 I’ve been a fulltime freelance writer.

I sold my first story (a really bad Lovecraftian pastiche) to August Derleth of Arkham House in 1966 while I was an undergraduate. I continued to sell stories in law school, the army, and while working as an attorney. In 1979 my first book, the military SF collection Hammer’s Slammers, and my first novel, The Dragon Lord (a swords and sorcery piece) were published."

Drake was rollin' hot from then on. He became one of the star authors at Ace Books…and was subsequently lured away to Tor Books by Tom Docherty and Dave's buddy, Jim Baen. When Jim Baen went on to wildcat his own operation with Baen Books, Jim's business plan was based—at least partly—around selling David Drake books to a hungry audience of SFF fans. That plan worked. 

It worked so well that Jim Baen--a hardcore SF guy not particularly interested in fantasy fiction--okayed Drake projects like Vettius and His Friends, along with Cthulhu: The Mythos and Kindred Horrors. That collection of Robert E. Howard horror yarns moved enough units that Dave--a huge Howard fan--talked Baen into publishing an entire library of REH volumes during the Howardian literary desert that was the 1990s. Drake was doing Crom's work and every Howard fan owes him a debt of gratitude.

Dave didn't rest on his laurels with the Slammers series. Some authors might’ve just cranked out cookie-cutter books with "Hammer's Slammers" stamped on 'em. Instead, he created two brand-new MilSF series in the '90s. His “The General/Raj Whitehall” series--plotted by Drake and written by S.M. Stirling--began in 1991. The "Reaches" series of novels launched in 1994. I have to say that I find both of those series perhaps slightly better than the Slammers books. Sorta like how I love the Kull yarns but love the Conan tales even more.

I must admit that I find Dave's "Lord of the Isles" series uneven. There's some typical--for epic fantasy--slogging in there, but also quite a bit of gritty, hardcore stuff as well. Drake takes care to acknowledge particular inspirations for each volume. Clark Ashton Smith and E.R. Eddison both get prominent shout-outs. I hope the readers of this blog realize that neither of those authors is suffering from over-exposure in this current literary climate. David Drake knows how to give the honor due his forefathers in fantasy.

Finally, while Drake’s “Isles” series might be a little uneven, I’ve found his “RCN” space opera novels consistently entertaining. Here’s what Dave had to say when the first RCN novel, With the Lightnings, came out:

“Some reviews have referred to my Leary/Mundy [RCN] series as an SF version of Hornblower. That’s not correct; I did an SF version of the Aubrey/Maturin series, Patrick O’Brian’s superb knockoff of Forester’s Hornblower. I write a lot of military SF. With the Lightnings is something quite different: space opera. When I was 13 I encountered Poul Anderson’s Flandry series which started in the pulps. Those tales and not, say, Starship Troopers and Dorsai! stood as godparents to With the Lightnings.”

Time is running short if I want to get this post in under the actual birthday wire. I hope that I've enlightened a few of you and pointed the way toward some worthy fiction. I may be mistaken, but it strikes me that David Drake's body of work has something for just about every reader of the DMR Blog.

Check out Dave's website here.