<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

David Drake, author of the gritty Hammer's Slammers, a series of stories focusing on a high-tech mercenary regiment in a far-future interstellar civilization, is one of the leading writers in the military SF subgenre. Born in Dubuque, Iowa in September 1945, Drake graduated from the University of Iowa with a BA in both History and Latin. After graduation he entered Duke Law School until being drafted into the Army. Drake served with the Army in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971, at one point serving as an interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Drake’s wartime experiences later figured strongly in Hammer’s Slammers, evoking the terror and brutality of modern warfare from a soldier’s perspective – and often illustrating the bitter realities of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

After leaving the Army in 1971, Drake finished law school and worked for a time as Assistant Town Attorney of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His first novel, The Dragon Lord, was published in 1979.

Drake continues to be a popular author in the military SF subgenre, but military SF accounts for only about a third of his published work. He was written or co-written 56 books, including the Lord of the Isles fantasy series, the SF adventure Cross the Stars (essentially a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey set in the far future), and a space opera series chronicling the adventures of Lieutenant Leary, a naval officer in the traditions of C. S. Forrester’s Horatio Hornblower. During his career to date he has collaborated frequently with fellow Baen authors Eric Flint and S. M. Stirling, providing outlines for books and turning the actual writing over to his collaborator. These collaborations include the popular "Raj Whitehall" series (also known as "The General") written by Stirling and the "Belisarius" series written by Flint.