David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

literature. A

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

genre.

Biography

Drake graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, majoring in history (with honors) and Latin. His studies at

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit ...

were interrupted for two years when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted interrogator with the

11th Armored Cavalry The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...

(the

Black Horse Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a mult ...

) in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. After the war, from 1972 to 1980 he worked as the Assistant Town Attorney in

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

, North Carolina. Since 1981 he transitioned to full time writing of science fiction literature. With Karl Edward Wagner and Jim Groce, he was one of the initiators of Carcosa, a small press company. He now lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina. On 17 November 2021 he announced he is retiring from writing novels, due to unspecified health problems.

Works

His best-known solo work is the Hammer's Slammers series of military science fiction. His newer Republic of Cinnabar Navy series are space operas inspired by the Aubrey–Maturin novels. During 1997, Drake began his largest fantasy series, '' Lord of the Isles'', using elements of Sumerian religion and medieval technology. During 2007, Drake finished the series with its ninth volume. Drake has co-authored novels with authors such as Karl Edward Wagner,

S.M. Stirling Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and his later time travel/alternate his ...

, and

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed ...

. Typically Drake provides plot outlines (5,000–15,000 words) and the co-author does "the real work of developing the outline into a novel".Novel Plot Outlines
David Drake, May 26, 2010 He does not "consider isinvolvement to be that of a real co-author." Drake also contributed to the ''

Heroes in Hell ''Heroes in Hell'' is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others. The first 12 books in the series were published b ...

'' series. Drake's plots often use history, literature, and mythology. Starting with ''Northworld'' in 1990,Northworld, Vengeance, and Justice
David Drake, May 15, 2000 he has generally explained the background of each book in an afterword or preface. Additionally, Drake's plots frequently involve a contest of political systems.

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

stated in the entry on Drake in the 1993 edition of ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, contin ...

'', "Today there seems very little to stop

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

from writing exactly what he wishes to write." Some of Drake's works are available for free download in the

Baen Free Library The Baen Free Library is a digital library of the science fiction and fantasy publishing house Baen Books where 61 e-books as of June 2016 (112 e-books as of December 2008) can be downloaded free in a number of formats, without copy protection. ...

Bibliography

Adaptations

* Mayfair Games produced the licensed '' Hammer's Slammers'' board game (1984) based on David Drake's novel '' Hammer's Slammers''. * Mongoose Publishing adapted Drake's novel as the licensed setting ''Hammer's Slammers'' (2009) for the ''

Traveller Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel *Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources *Nomad, a member of a community withou ...

'' role-playing game.

References

External links

David Drake's web site
*

"Drake, David A"
at ''

'', Third Edition {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, David 1945 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American alternate history writers American fantasy writers American male novelists United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American science fiction writers Duke University School of Law alumni Forteana Military science fiction writers People from Pittsboro, North Carolina University of Iowa alumni United States Army soldiers World Fantasy Award-winning writers Novelists from Iowa Novelists from North Carolina American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers