David Drake

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For other people named David Drake, see David Drake (disambiguation).

David Drake
Born(1945-09-24)September 24, 1945
Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
DiedDecember 10, 2023(2023-12-10) (aged 78)
Silk Hope, North Carolina, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
Alma mater
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
Notable worksHammer's Slammers, RCN Series
Website
david-drake.com

David A. Drake (September 24, 1945 – December 10, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran, he worked as a lawyer before becoming a writer in the military science fiction genre.

Biography

Drake graduated

Black Horse Regiment) in Vietnam and Cambodia.[1][2] After the war, from 1972 to 1980 he worked as the assistant town attorney in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[3] In 1981 he transitioned to full-time writing of science fiction literature.[3] With Karl Edward Wagner and Jim Groce, he was one of the initiators of Carcosa, a small press company. He lived in Pittsboro, North Carolina
.

On November 17, 2021 he announced he was retiring from writing novels, due to unspecified cognitive health problems.[4] Drake died on December 10, 2023, at the age of 78.[5]

Works

His best-known solo work is the

Lord of the Isles, using elements of Sumerian
religion and medieval technology. In 2007, Drake finished the series with its ninth volume.

Drake co-authored novels with authors such as

S.M. Stirling, and Eric Flint. Typically Drake provided plot outlines (5,000–15,000 words) and the co-author did "the real work of developing the outline into a novel".[6] He did not "consider [his] involvement to be that of a real co-author."[6] Drake also contributed to the Heroes in Hell
series.

Drake's plots often use history, literature, and mythology; in his foreword to The Lord of the Isles, Drake explained that while he had an academic background in history, he regarded himself as an antiquarian rather than a historian and that this perspective informed his approach to writing. Starting with Northworld in 1990,[7] he generally explained the background of each book in an afterword or preface. Additionally, Drake's plots frequently involve a contest of political systems.[citation needed]

John Clute stated in the entry on Drake in the 1993 edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, "Today there seems very little to stop [Drake] from writing exactly what he wishes to write."

Some of Drake's works are available for free download in the Baen Free Library.

Bibliography

Main article: David Drake bibliography

Adaptations

  • Mayfair Games produced the licensed Hammer's Slammers board game (1984) based on David Drake's novel Hammer's Slammers.[8]: 167 
  • Mongoose Publishing adapted Drake's novel as the licensed setting Hammer's Slammers (2009) for the Traveller role-playing game.[8]: 401 
  • John Treadaway has adapted Hammer's Slammers into a wargame, of which several editions have been published.[9] The game utilizes various miniatures from companies such as Brigade Models, Old Crow Models, and Ground Zero Games.[10]

References

  1. ^ David Drake (January 2, 2018). "Hawkeye Distinguished Veteran Award".
  2. ^ "UI honors 6 with Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Memorial Awards". University of Iowa. November 8, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "SFE: Drake, David A". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Drake, Dave (November 17, 2021). "Newsletter #123 – the last one". David Drake — Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "December 10, 2023: I'm very sad to report that Dave has peacefully passed away". david-drake.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Novel Plot Outlines, David Drake, May 26, 2010
  7. ^ Northworld, Vengeance, and Justice, David Drake, May 15, 2000
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7
    .
  9. ^ "The Hammer's Slammers Official Website". www.hammers-slammers.com.
  10. ^ "Buying Detachments" (PDF). January 11, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Drake.
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