• Counting the Cost & The Warrior

  • Hammer's Slammers Series
  • By: David Drake
  • Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
  • Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (340 ratings)

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Counting the Cost & The Warrior  By  cover art

Counting the Cost & The Warrior

By: David Drake
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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Publisher's summary

Here are two action-packed novels from David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" series, which set the standard for military science fiction.

In Counting the Cost, the hottest science-fiction mercenaries are back, so why count the cost? The other guy is going to pay for it! Hammer's Slammers must win a two-front war while maintaining the civilian power structure against hordes of religious fanatics.

In The Warrior, Colonel Alois Hammer, Luke Broglie, Tess Kuykendall, and Slick Des Grieux - cogs in a killing machine - find themselves at the center of a potential bloodbath.

©1987, 1989 David Drake (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Counting the Cost & The Warrior

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hammers Slammers always the best.

Let me start out by saying I love the stories. For me, David Drake was the beginning of military science fiction. Having read all the stories several times years ago, and now listening to them. My only critique is that David Drake can be a bit wordy. for example, instead of tarpaulin, just say tarp. We all know what it means. some of his action sequence get bogged down in the words he uses to describe them. but by all means read it and expand your vocabulary.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Book - Poor Reader

This audiobook contains two Hammers Slammers Novellas by David Drake. Hammers Slammers are a mercenary group in a SF future. The books are quite good if you like military SF.

But the reader speaks in a very deep monotone. The monotone is so pronounced that it is difficult to determine which character he is speaking for unless you are paying very careful attention. I've read the books, but I had difficulty following parts of the story while doing normal driving due to the reader. The reader enunciates well, but the enjoyment of the books is hampered by the narration.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Dark

These two books accurately reflect the dark side of David Drake’s writing. Soldiers know soldiers and there are many types of soldiers to know. You meet two very different soldiers in two very different situations in these books. Few people are understand decisions made under stress and few know how they will handle them when it happens to them.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hammer’s Well.

Great overall. If you liked Lamour you will enjoy Drake. Great storyline. Would have made a great tabletop game.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good for treating ptsd

Interesting stories but to much introspection as characters walk through their personal issues. Good for thoughtful reflection on the toll that war has on humanity.

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Gaz

David Drake’s Slammers stories are real and frightening (and fun).

War is hell and he puts in the middle of it!!!

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    3 out of 5 stars

Two more Slammers

Counting the Cost and The Warrior are another two installments in David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series. The Slammers are a futuristic mercenary unit. Counting the Cost finds the Slammers on a world with religious fanatics and follows the tricky navigating skills necessary to bring the fighting to an end. The Warrior has a skilled tactician who can't seem to follow orders, but simply wants to do battle.

Drake offers some of the most realistic futuristic warfare scenarios, while at the same time staying true to the timeless constants like politics, officer / grunt relations, and bureaucratic organizations. The action is nearly non-stop and the tidbits of sci-fi injected display a prescience for how technology will evolve modern warfare.

The narration is excellent with good character distinction and smooth pacing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Very good!

If you like military Science Fiction, you will probably enjoy this one. David Drake is one of the top writers in the field...and Stefan Rudicki is one of the best narrators for such stories out there. Enjoy!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

hammer slammer series

Bang Bang Boom Boom pretty much sums it up. I am finishing the last of the series. No perceivable plot. Just listening to the series at night to put me to sleep. A very forgettable set of stories. I tried to like it, but so far its just reload, shoot, reload shoot. I am disappointed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Drake does it again!

I've read these stories in print a dozen times, but hearing them in the narrator's incredible voice brings the experience to a whole new high. Drake's work is beautifully accurate. Cathartic for many vets and informative for most civilians. "I need them to remind me that I was THE BEST..."

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