The Sharp End

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Other books in the Hammer's Slammers by David Drake (8)

Cross the Stars

Cross the Stars

THE LONG WAY HOME Hammer's Slammer Don Slade is coming home to the planet Tethys, to his son and the woman he loves. But the space between is dark and cold. And the stars he must pass shine their light on planets which beckon to the weary traveler, planets which hold hidden dangers. And if Don Slade should ever reach Tethys ... that is when the real fighting starts. "-[Drake] has developed a following for his Slammers just short of cult proportions. -Rave Reviews the best in military science fiction.

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Other Times Than Peace

Other Times Than Peace

Heed the Slammers Battle Cry! A warrior's truth: "In the long run, everybody's dead. So screw the long run!" Patriotic hoo-ha may be well-and-good for recruitment parades, but David Drake's battle-hardened mercenaries know it takes tanks, guns and grit to win when the real fighting flares. Yet peace brings its own problems to old soldiers�for killing potential enemies in battle is self-limiting, but once the killing starts in peacetime, there may be no end to the madness. Two new "Hammer's Slammers" adventures crown this masterful collection of hard-hitting SF tales from legendary military SF action-master and best-seller, David Drake.

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Paying the Piper

Paying the Piper

Maybe the tariff dispute on Planner's World could've have been settled by arbitration, but when war broke out, the United Cities hired the best mercenaries money could buy: HAMMER'S SLAMMERS Lt. Arne Huber was old enough to be a veteran but still young enough to have principles. He commanded a platoon of combat cars, leading from the front because he was a Slammers officer and that's the only place you can lead. From Huber's first minutes on Plattner's World, he was in the middle of hot, flaming war. He knew that wasn't going to change until the Slammers either left the planet or his relatives back on Friesland got a coffin with a warning to bury it unopened.   FOR THE LOCALS, THE WAR WAS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE; TO THE SLAMMERS, IT WAS A PAYCHECK A score of separate states and factions fought to rule Plattner's World. That was bad enough, but the planet's great wealth had attracted not only mercenaries but a worse kind of looter: interstellar investors with no qualms about making a profit on blood, so long as the profit was high enough and the blood came from somebody else. From a weed-grown landing strip to the narrow corridors of a modern office building, Arne Huber's survival depended on quick reflexes and the blazing cyan hellfire of his gun. He and his troopers didn't like some of the choices they had to make—but they'd make them regardless, because they were the Slammers and it was their job. DECEIT AND BETRAYAL WERE THE ONLY CERTAINTIES Arne Huber and his platoon had to face government officials with private agendas, politicians with armies of street thugs, and a hostile armored division with the most powerful tanks on the planet. The climax would come as it always did, when the Slammers slugged it out with the best the enemy could throw at them. Tank cannon, automatic weapons, and the world-shattering thunder of massed artillery would turn the night into an inferno and a slaughterhouse. Arne Huber and his troopers knew they could die, because they'd watched friends die on every planet where they'd served. Maybe they could even be beaten— BUT NOBODY'D BEATEN THE SLAMMERS YET! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now bestselling author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his bestselling Hammer's Slammers books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets. In addition to his celebrated novels of Hammer's Slammers, his works for Baen include With the Lightnings and its sequel, Lt. Leary, Commanding, as well as Starliner, Ranks of Bronze, Redliners, the General series (with S.M. Stirling) and the Belisarius series (with Eric Flint), the latest of which is The Tide of Victory, and many more.

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The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 1

The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 1

With a veteran's eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of tank combat in his Hammer's Slammers fiction. The Slammers are neither cartoon heroes nor propaganda villains; rather they are competent professionals engaged in a deadly business. The inevitable conflicts between policy, necessity, and human nature make Drake's Slammers fiction instantly identifiable and utterly compelling. This is the first of a three volume set presenting for the first time the entire genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform trade paperback set, with new introductions by major SF figures and new afterwords by David Drake. Each volume will also include a Slammers story not collected in previous Slammer's books.  "Fans of Drake's edgy stories of a mercenary tank regiment in a future not all that different from our present will rejoice [at the publication of] the entire series in three volumes. Drake, a Vietnam vet who served in the Blackhorse Regiment, uses prose as cold and hard as the metal alloy of a tank to portray the men and women of Hammer's Regiment. . . .  In his depiction of combat, Drake rivals Crane and Remarque."—Publishers Weekly, reviewing the Night Shade hardcover edition About the Author David Drake was attending Duke University Law School when he was drafted. He served the next two years in the Army, spending 1970 as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th armored Cavalry in Viet Nam and Cambodia. Upon return he completed his law degree at Duke and was for eight years Assistant Town Attorney for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He has been a full-time freelance writer since 1981. Besides the best-selling Hammer's Slammers series, his books for Baen include the popular Leary of the RCN series, with seven volumes so far: With the Lightnings; Lt. Leary, Commanding; The Far Side of the Stars; The Way to Glory; Some Golden Harbor, When the Tide Rises and In the Stormy Red Sky. His "Lord of the Isles" fantasy novels for Tor are genre best sellers. Among his other Baen titles are Ranks of Bronze, All the Way to the Gallows, Redliners, and many more.  

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The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 2

The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 2

This Omni-trade paperback volume collects the first four novels in the series: At Any Price, Counting the Cost, Rolling Hot, and The Warrior-all have been out of print and unavailable for several years..  Neither stainless white knights nor bloodthirsty killers, the Slammers are competent professionals, with recognizable human flaws, engaged in a deadly business. Their internal conflicts, set against vivid scenes of battle, make their stories exciting and compelling.  This is the second of the three volume set presenting for the first time the entire genre-defining Slammers series in uniform Omni-trade paperback volumes, with new introductions by major SF figures and new afterwords by David Drake. Each volume will also include a Slammers story not collected in previous Slammer's books.

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The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 3

The Complete Hammer's Slammers: Volume 3

This three volume set presents for the first time the genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform hardcover set. This volume features the final two Slammers novels, The Sharp End and Paying the Piper, as well as an original novelette, The Darkness. This volume will feature an introduction by Barry Malzberg.

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The Tank Lords, Second Edition

The Tank Lords, Second Edition

Now with a new foreword by David Drake! THE SAGA OF THE SLAMMERS BEGINS! COLONEL ALOIS HAMMER: He welded five thousand individual killers into a weapon more deadly than any other in the human universe. When a planetary government faces unfriendly natives, guerrilla insurgents, or ruthless terrorists, they do the only thing that might save them— they hire Hammer's Slammers, the toughest, meanest bunch of mercs who ever wrecked a world for pay. Known throughout the galaxy for their cold, ruthless ferocity, the men of Colonel Hammer's indomitable armored brigade routinely accept impossible missions. Again and again, they go up against overwhelming forces, or fight a two-front war against ferocious opposition, all without atomizing their civilian employers. Can they keep doing it Not if they abide by the rules of civilized warfare...but nobody ever said the Hammers were nice. Even when their chances are not good—those who oppose them have no chance at all! Publisher's Note: THE TANK LORDS contains two full volume's worth of the Hammer's Slammer's saga, for the first time presented in chronological story sequence as determined by the author.

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The Warmasters

The Warmasters

The Warmasters Three Masters of Military Science Fiction Three Great Science Fiction Series: Honor Harrinqton Hammer's Slammers Belisarius Three Short Novels in One Volume Before she saved the galaxy, she was "Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington"— New York Times bestselling author David Weber reveals how Honor Harrington's long and brilliant career began with an encounter with "pirates" who turned out to be much more than they seemed.... Another day, another planet at war. But in David Drake's "Choosing Sides," Lieutenant Huber stepped off the starship right into an ambush. The attackers didn't survive, but neither did far too many of Huber's troops—and Slammers aren't supposed to get caught in ambushes. Now, to redeem himself, Huber is being sent on a special mission that may be his last. But even so, the enemy will learn the cost of killing even a single one of Colonel Hammer's Slammers. . . . If the enemy thought General Belisarius was tough, wait until they meet the wife of one of his soldiers in Eric Flint's "Island." She was wed just before her husband left with Belisarius to fight an evil from beyond time. Now her husband is wounded, and she is going to travel a thousand miles to reach his side—and few who get in her way will live to regret it. ...  ABOUT THE AUTHORS David Weber is the science fiction phenomenon of the decade. His Honor Harrington novels (The New York Times bestseller Ashes of Victory being the ninth and latest) can't come out fast enough for his devoted readers. With Steve White, he has co-authored a top-selling series of space adventures set in the Starfire game universe, The Shiva Option being the latest. Weber's science fiction novels, all for Baen, include Mutineers' Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, Heirs of Empire, and Path of the Fury—and of course the entire Honor Harrington series. He has also begun an epic fantasy series with Oath of Swords and its sequel, The War God's Own. He is married and lives in South Carolina. Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, and now famous author of the bestselling Hammer's Slammers novels and many more blockbuster novels, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His thousands of readers know that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them in the midst of battlefield action and face-to-face with the enemy. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the llth Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets. Eric Flint is a gifted new star of military and alternate history SE His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was picked by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His alternate history novel, 1632, sold out its first printing almost immediately and received lavish critical praise. With David Drake he has collaborated on five novels in the acclaimed "Belisarius" series. His latest novel for Baen is the fantasy adventure The Philosophical Strangles A longtime labor union activist with a degree (Phi Beta Kappa) in African history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

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More books by David Drake not in this series (88)

All the Way to the Gallows

All the Way to the Gallows

A collection of side-splitting science fiction shorts includes tales of paratrooper goblins, space cops and their politically correct alien supervisor, a band of mercenary elves, and a collaboration with Larry Niven.

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An Honorable Defense

An Honorable Defense

The Emperor is dead, leaving only a child as successor. Will the leaders of the empire rally behind the heir? If not, interstellar civilization will once again dissolve into civil war and slide into another long night of barbarism. Book 1 of the Crisis of Empire series.

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An Oblique Approach

An Oblique Approach

ALIEN MINDS BATTLE  FOR BYZANTIUM In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever know. . . .

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Balefires

Balefires

Balefires is the long awaited collection of David Drake's weird and fantastic fiction. Before Drake was a best-selling author of military science fiction, he was a prolific writer of horror and fantasy short fiction. Balefires collects some of his earliest professional sales (including his first sale to Arkham House). In addition Balefires brings together many stories set in the worlds of his fantasy novels (Ranks of Bronze, Lord of the Isles, etc). More than just a collection of stories, Balefires features extensive story notes that chronicles the development of the writing career of one of science fiction's most popular writers, and provides detailed snapshots of the larger-than-life editors, publishers, and writers with whom Drake has worked throughout his career. David Drake was born on September 24, 1945, in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1967 he graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in History and Latin. In the same year he was married and entered Duke Law School. Drake was drafted out of law school and served in the army from 1969-1971, spending most of 1970 as an interrogator with the 11th Armored Calvary Regiment, the Blackhorse, in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake returned from Vietnam and finished law school, after which he spent eight years as Assistant Town Attorney of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1980 he resigned and drove a city bus part-time for a year while doing more writing. He's been a full-time freelance writer since 1981. Drake sold his first story ( a Lovecraftian pastiche which on rereading isn't as bad as he thought it was) to August Derleth in 1966 while still an undergraduate. He continued to sell stories in law school, the army, and while working as an attorney. His first book was published in 1979 and he has had over 60 books published since then.

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Belisarius I: Thunder at Dawn

Belisarius I: Thunder at Dawn

Two complete novels in one volume— the beginning of the Belisarius saga. An Oblique Approach: In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever known. In the Heart of Darkness: Having conquered sixth century India, the Malwa Empire is forging the subcontinent's vast population into an invincible weapon of tyranny. Belisarius, the finest general of his age, must save the world. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. And when Belisarius leads the forces of good, only a fool would side with evil.

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Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide

Belisarius II: Storm at Noontide

Continuing the popular Belisarius saga, with two full-length novels in one volume. Destiny's Shield: Evil from beyond time: The Malwa Empire squats like a toad across sixth century India, commanded by ruthless men with depraved appetites. But the thing from the distant future that commands them is far worse. Those who oppose the purulent Hell the Malwa will make of Earth have sent a crystal, Aide, to halt their advance. Aide holds all human knowledge—but cannot act by himself. That requires Count Belisarius, the greatest general fo the age and perhaps of all ages, who must outwit the evil empire—and then, when there is no longer room to maneuver, to meet it sword-edge to sword-edge, lest evil beyond human conception rules the world forever. Fortune's Stroke: Link, the supercomputer from a future that should not, must not exist has used terror and gunpowder weapons to forge the Malwa Empire on the Indian subcontinent. Aide and Belisarius have led the armies of Byzantium and blunted the first assault of the Malwa hordes. Now he and his allies from all the world face overwhelming numbers in a ring that tightens about them. The armies of Good and Evil gathered on the fertile plains of Mesopotamia will decide the fate of the world—and the fate of all the future.

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Belisarius III: The Flames of Sunset

Belisarius III: The Flames of Sunset

Next Concluding the popular Belisarius saga, with two full-length novels in one volume: The Tide of Victory: The creators of the monster called Link once were human, but that was distant ages in their past. Now, from the far future, they have sent their creation back to rule the Malwa Empire, then to conquer and shape the world of the sixth century A.D. into the form that will make their own foul existence possible. Those in the future who never were human have sent their own messenger to the past: Aide, a gleaming jewel who has come to Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century and perhaps any century. Between them they have forged an alliance of all the world against the evil fro the far future—and an army that can be the spear through evil's heart. The Dance of Time: The Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again. Ruled by a monster from the future that is part computer and part demon, they prepare a fresh attack whose success will leave them rulers of the world—and the monster that guides the Malwa will rule the whole future. Guided by Aide, Belisarius has arrayed the forces of Mankind against the Malwa evil. There is no hope for Mankind if he fails—so he must not fail! The triumphant conclusion of the Belisarius saga.  About the Authors Eric Flint is the co-author of three New York Times best sellers in his "Ring of Fire" alternate history series. His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was picked by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His 1632, which launched the Ring of Fire series, won widespread critical praise, as from Publishers Weekly, which called him "an SF author of particular note, one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure." A longtime labor union activist with a master's degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.  David Drake is one of the grand masters of military science fiction, known for his best-selling Hammer's Slammers series and many other novels. A Vietnam veteran, he employs his first-hand experience with the military life and combat to give his work the vivid images and feel of battle that have won him a huge readership. He was attending Duke University Law School when he was drafted. Upon his return from the U.S. Army, he completed his law degree at Duke and was for eight years Assistant Town Attorney for Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A full-time writer since 1981, his other books for Baen include the RCN-Leary series, the latest being In the Stormy Red Sky, and the Belisarius series, written in collaboration with Eric Flint, the fourth and fifth novels of which are now combined in this volume.

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Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey

ALIEN FEROCITY vs ROMAN COURAGE AS THE EMPIRE DIES Rome, 262 A.D. It has been the capital of the greatest civilization on Earth. Now both city and civilization are dying. Germans flood across the borders from Britain to the Bosporus, leaving a trail of rape, carnage, and ashes. In the cities, mobs riot; in the countryside, cults seek salvation in dark rituals. Imperial unity has shattered into a mosaic of separatists and usurpers, squabbling among themselves as greater enemies gather to swallow them all. One man stands between humanity and the Long Night, matching savage determination against a hopeless future. He is Aulus Prennius, an Imperial secret agent as tough and ruthless as the age in which he lives. Until now, though, his enemies have all been human... "David Drake is one of the most gifted users of historical and military raw materials at work today."— Chicago Sun-Times

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Cluster Command

Cluster Command

THEIR FINEST HOUR, OR THEIR FINAL DAYS... The First Empire has entered what may very well be its last crisis: the Emperor is dead by assassination and has left an infant heir. Worse, the imperial mystique is but a fading memory: nobody believes in empire anymore. Indeed nobody believes in much of anything beyond the boundaries of self. There are exceptions, of course, and to those few falls the self-appointed duty of maintaining a military-civil order that is corrupt, despotic—and infinitely preferable to the barbarous chaos that will accompany its fall. One such is commander Anson Merikur. This is his story.

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Conqueror

Conqueror

ALL HAIL THE CONQUEROR! With the aid of a sentient battle computer from before the collapse of interstellar civilization, Raj Whitehall has come close to reuniting the entire planet of Bellevue. Because of his victories and because of the way he won them, Raj is loved by the people—and his army would follow him to Hell. Even those closest to him, his band of sworn companions and his wickedly subtle but utterly loyal wife, hold him in awe. And that's the problem. For though Raj battles only in the name of his emperor and has proven his loyalty again and again, still the half-mad jealousy and fear of Barholm Clerett is about to give Raj no choice but to revolt or face death by torture. Raj Whitehall, Hammer of the Barbarians, Sword of the Spirit of Man, has always been ready to bear any burden, pay any price for final victory. Now his fate is on him. ABOUT THE AUTHORS S.M. Stirling instantly became known as a talented new writer of military SF for his highly acclaimed, widely-read "Draka" series, which began with Marching Through Georgia. His collaborative novel with Anne McCaffrey, The City Who Fought, was a national bestseller. In addition to his popular General series, written in collaboration with David Drake, he has also collaborated with Jerry Pournelle on both the best-selling Man-Kzin Wars series and the Falkenberg's Legion series, recently collected in one volume as The Prince. His alternate history series which began with Island in the Sea of Time has also been very popular. He lives with his wife in Santa Fe, NM. Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now bestselling author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his best-selling "Hammer's Slammers" books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets.

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David Drake Collection

David Drake Collection

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Death's Bright Day

Death's Bright Day

A NEW NOVEL IN THE NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING RCN MILITARY SF SERIES!  Leary and Mundy are back in another military science fiction adventure as they undertake a mission to a distant but critical star system. IT'S JUST A REBELLION IN A DISTANT STAR CLUSTER. Captain Daniel Leary thinks that his marriage will allow him to slip into the quiet role of a naval officer in peacetime. His friend, the spy and cybrarian Adele Mundy, is content to be collating data in her library. But high officials of both superpowers are involved! Those who want Daniel and Adele to become involved in the Tarbell Stars claim that only they can prevent a war between the Republic of Cinnabar and its great rival, the Alliance of Free Stars. The conflict is political, but at the sharp end it means blazing warfare and cold-blooded murder. Daniel and Adele will be at the sharp end. The odds in ships and guns are badly in the enemy's favor. Daniel, Adele, and the crew of the Princess Cecile will do everything humanly possible, but that may not be enough against an enemy battleship. And even if Daniel and his companions succeed in battle, they can't be sure whether their employers really wanted them to win—or whether they even want them alive. All they can do is to race forward, hoping to come through into DEATH'S BRIGHT DAY.

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Destiny's Shield

Destiny's Shield

EVIL FROM BEYOND TIME The Malwa Empire squats like a toad across 6th century India, commanded by ruthless men with depraved appetites. The thing from the distant future that commands them is far worse. AN ADVISOR WITHOUT A BODY Those who oppose the purulent Hell the Malwa will make of Earth have sent a crystal, Aide, to halt their advance. Aide holds all human knowledge-but he cannot act by himself. A CHAMPION FOR ALL TIMES Count Belisarius, the greatest general of the age and perhaps of all ages, must outwit the evil empire — and then, when there is no longer room to maneuver, to meet it sword-edge to sword-edge, because, no matter what it costs EVIL CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO RULE MEN! "It isn't often you come across a book or series you recommend to everyone. This one is an exception. Buy all the Belisarius books. Read them. No! After all, misery, loves company, and I shouldn't have to be the only one waiting this hard for number four!" —David Drake "The battle scenes and strategies are as expert as expected in a book with Drake's name on it. . . " — Publishers Weekly

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Dinosaurs and a Dirigible

Dinosaurs and a Dirigible

Henry Vickers's job is to keep clients safe from the dinosaurs they're hunting. That's the easy part. The hard part is to keep the clients safe from themselves and each other. Men with enough money to go into the past to hunt the largest land animals of all time are powerful and self‑willed. Some make an effort to act like decent human beings, but more are selfish, stupid, sadistic‑‑or all three together. The few women are likely to be worse. Vickers doesn't expect rich people to understand the dangers of where they are and what they're doing; he doesn't expect them to be competent with the powerful rifles they carry; and he particularly doesn't expect them to be reasonable. He treats his clients' behavior as he does the rain and the baking heat‑‑the cost of having a life he loves and which he couldn't afford in any other way. But no matter how detached Vickers tries to be, eventually there are moral questions that he can't ignore. And when Henry Vickers starts to behave like a human being instead of a hunting guide, things get really dangerous. And in a complete change of pace: "Travellers."  An airship is crossing the United States in 1897 in search of the weird and the wonderful. The two teenagers aboard know that the airship's captain is a great scientist and inventor‑‑but they don't know how much more he is also. All five of David Drake's time travel stories collected for the first time. Listen to the author discuss the book here on the Baen Free Radio Hour.

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Foreign Legions

Foreign Legions

Lots of Soldiers Work for Civilians They don't Like, but these Romans had It Worse than Most— Their Commanders were Blue-Skinned Aliens! The guilds of star-traveling merchants had strict rules to prevent their technology from falling into the hands of the natives of planets they were exploiting: military operations had to be carried out with weaponry no more complex than swords and bows.             That was no handicap to merchant princes with a galaxy to scour for military slaves to do their fighting for them. Some came to Earth for soldiers and returned to the stars with the best the planet had to offer. For over two thousands years the aliens thought they'd succeeded brilliantly—but then things changed!             Set in the universe of Ranks of Bronze, masterful new novellas by:             David Drake                         Eric Flint                                     S. M. Stirling                                                 Mark L Van Name                                                             and David Weber explore the bleeding edge between human courage and the science of alien slavemasters. The right man with a sword is just as deadly as a technician with a laser—             And not all the blood spilled is red!  Yesterday they were the best infantry on Earth— Now they're going to take on the whole galaxy. ABOUT THE CREATOR Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and now famous author, David Drake tells a military story like no other. His readers recognize that he can take them where no one else can, with gut-wrenching description that puts them face-to-face with the enemy, and in the midst of the action right on the battlefield. He helped create the audience for mercenary military science fiction with his bestselling "Hammer's Slammers" books. Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and Cambodia. Drake has a wife, a son, and various pets. In addition to his celebrated novels of Hammer's Slammers, his works for Baen include With the Lightnings, the prequel to Lt. Leary, Commanding, as well  Starliner, Ranks of Bronze, Redliners, the "General" series (with S.M. Stirling) and the "Belisarius" series (with Eric Flint), the latest of which is Fortune's Stroke, and many more.

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Fortune's Stroke

Fortune's Stroke

EVIL FROM BEYOND TIME  RULES THE GREATEST  EMPIRE ON EARTH! Link, the supercomputer from a future that should not exist, has used terror and gunpowder weapons to forge the Malwa Empire: harnessing the vast manpower of the Indian subcontinent and using the barbarian races of the periphery to bind the whole together. No power on Earth in the 6th century could stand against Link's evil. Aide, a human soul embodied in a jewel, has come back to halt evil's progress. Aide has no power but that of truth, but truth is the only power that could move the greatest general of the age, Belisarius. With his sword, his paladins, and his genius, Belisarius has turned the armies of Byzantium into a weapon capable of blunting the first assault of the Malwa hordes. Now, supported by allies from all the world yet free, Belisarius, with his wife and co-commander Antonia, faces overwhelming Malwa numbers in a ring that tightens about them. There is no room for maneuver and no safety in defeat. The armies of Good and Evil gathered on the fertile plains of Mesopotamia will decide the fate of the world. And the fate of all the future!

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Free Nonfiction 2012

FREE

Free Nonfiction 2012

The Drugs of War by J.R. Dunn Putting the Science in Science Fiction by Tedd Roberts The Roads to the RCN Series by David Drake The Menace from Lydia: The Social Spider as Alien Invader by Robert E. Furey Rediscovering the Solar System by Les Johnson The Conquest of Planet Baen by Bob Kruger Indirectly Mistaken Decision Cycles by Tom Kratman Do Tanks Have a Future? by J.R. Dunn Getting Guns Right by Michael Z. Williamson Rediscovering the Universe by Les Johnson The Neuroscience of Darkships by Tedd Roberts Stars That Wander, Are You Bright: Are Stars Conscious? by Dr. Greg Matloff

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FREE

Free Nonfiction 2015

FREE

Free Nonfiction 2015

In February of 2011 we started posting free nonfiction we at Baen thought might be of interest to our readers. The first article was "The Size of it All" by Les Johnson, a Baen author and space scientist. As new nonfiction is made available, it will be posted on the main page, then added to this book (to save the Baen Barflies the trouble of doing it themselves). This is our compilation of nonfiction for 2015. As is usual with such copyrighted material from Baen, the contents may be copied and shared but NOT sold. All commercial rights are reserved to Baen Books. Our Worldship Broke! by Jim Beall A Translunar Laboratory . . . Hurrah! by Tedd Roberts The Incredibly Small Exploring the Cosmically Huge: Nanotechnology to Enable Future Space Probes by Joseph E. Meany The Distant Past: A Setting for Science Fiction by Michael Z. Williamson Using Missile Defense Against Terrorist Attack Israel’s Iron Dome and the Future of Rocket Shields by Alan Isom Remember to Remind Me. . . The Changing Science of Memory by Tedd Roberts Slaughtering Early Humans for Fun and (a Slight) Profit by Dave Drake Space Tethers and Elevators by Les Johnson Case Studies in Handwavium by Jim Beall Tomorrow's Math by Robert Dawson Will Hollywood Ever Get It Right? by Tedd Roberts The CubeSat Revolution by Les Johnson

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FREE

Free Short Stories 2013

FREE

Free Short Stories 2013

Eleutherios by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Seven Miles by T.C. McCarthy To Spec by Charles E. Gannon Skyspark by Ryk E. Spoor The Krumhorn and Misericorde by Dave Freer Pittsburgh Backyard and Garden by Wen Spencer Haunts of Guilty Minds by John Lambshead The Lamplighter Legacy by Patrick O'Sullivan Dog's Body by Sarah A. Hoyt The Sorcerer of Daigawa by Jon F. Merz Sweothi City by Larry Correia Out of True by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller Mars Farts by Ben Bova The Virgin of Hertogenbosch by David Drake Murder on the Hochflieger Ost by Frank Chadwick

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Free Stories 2016

FREE

Free Stories 2016

In January of 2011 we started posting free short stories we thought might be of interest to Baen readers. The first stories were "Space Hero" by Patrick Lundrigan, the winner of the 2010 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Contest, and "Tanya, Princess of Elves," by Larry Correia, author of Monster Hunter International and set in that universe. As new stories are made available, they will be posted on the main page, then added to this book (to save the Baen Barflies the trouble of doing it themselves). This is our compilation of short stories for 2016. As is usual with such copyrighted material from Baen, the contents may be copied and shared but NOT sold. All commercial rights are reserved to Baen Books. Adrift by Terry Burlison Training and Truth by Ryk E. Spoor Touchstone by Sonia Orin Lyris Trouble: The Changeling and the Phooka by Dave Freer Moonlet Sonata by William Ledbetter Cadet Cruise by David Drake 71 by David Brin Wise Child by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller Dear Ammi by Aimee Ogden Bringer of Fire by David Carrico Rock, Meet Hard Place (Part 1) by Peter Nealen Rock, Meet Hard Place (Part 2) by Mike Kupari The Lavender Paladin by Shawn Snider Starhome by Michael Z. Williamson Tethers by William Ledbetter The Trouble with Millennials by Robert Buettner

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