Dogs of War: Ten Classic Stories of Men and Machines in War

by David Drake (editor)

Military authors have entered the mainstream science fiction genre and continue to leave their mark. David Drake pays homage to his own sub-genre by collecting ten classic stories of men-at-arms by top writers including himself.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Ebooks, Anthologies

302 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

David Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.

Reviews

[William]

Entertaining war listening 🎧🎶

This kindle novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account

This is a ten story novel by ten different authors. Each story is different with interesting characters lots of action, misdirection, and violence leading to each conclusion.

I would recommend this novel to readers looking for something different. 2024

[James]

A mostly-good mixed bag. Some of the stories in this anthology are very dated and haven't aged well, because of aspects like Cold War demonization of the "reds", obsolete scientific speculation (oceans on Venus?), or characterization that's crude by today's standards. Most, though, are more timeless. I thought that the editor's brief commentaries at the stories' ends about the tales and the authors were a good addition, and was disappointed that he didn't cover them all in the section about the authors that wraps up the book. Recommended for fans of military science fiction and military history.

[Al Lock]

Collection of somewhat dated military science-fiction (only one of which I had previously read). Some are pretty good. Some are not.

[Shaun]

This is a collection of short military-themed SFF fiction assembled by and including work from Drake, a Vietnam veteran. Of these, my favorite was probably Gene Wolfe’s Straw, which had a clever twist. Other heavy hitters include Joe Haldeman, Richard Matheson (of I Am Legend fame) and pioneering female SF author C.L. Moore. Everything was well-written, the writing style of some pieces is definitely dated. All in all, though, a strong vintage collection.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY]

One classic after another.

Some typos. A roll call of award winning authors writing about futuristic military action. Some of these I have read before of course. Some are from dead authors.

[Bruce Carter]

A good collection

A nice collection of combat stories. I particularly enjoyed seeing a Bolomstory in the mix. I just love those big guys. Definitely worth a read, but remember the stories are short in this collection. You’ll no doubt finish it wanting more.

[Matthew Morris]

An excellent compilation

This collection of short stories written over a span of 60+ years by a how of talented writers is a must read.

[Doug Murphy]

A decent collection of military science fiction short stories

[Nicholas Cavalier]

Though some are dated this is an enjoyable selection of Sci-Fi war stories by authors who can be considered masters of their craft.

[Steven Delaney]

Disappointing that I had already read several in of these stories

In other collections. There are some nice, New to me, stories. Most of these new to me stories are earlier sifi.

[Carl Palmateer]

Fun collection of short stories, many are older, which I tend to prefer.

[Joe]

A good mix

I primarily chose this book because it has a Hammer’s Slammers story. But most of the other stories are older, yet still good quality examples of military Sci-fi stories from authors who rightfully have been known (& respected) for their body of work in the genre.

Despite their somewhat antiquated descriptions of the “high tech” of the future they hold up well in all of the aspects that truly matter. They simply had the misfortune of being written just before the technology world changed at a rate so swiftly that it frankly exploded. Things speculated upon as science fiction rapidly became fact, then it too was outmoded by obsolescence.

The authors here understood that the technology may change but the human USING the technology makes the difference between success and failure.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Selwyn]

Fairly lame choices with a social conscience about war as presented by sci seemingly from the mid-20th Century.

[Gail]

Interesting stories. Some were good, some were okay, and some I didn't like at all, mostly because they showed their age. All but one of the authors were men--which is understandable, since these are stories about war and the people who fight it. But in the older stories, those written from 1940 to 1960 or so, the archaic attitudes really showed. The 1943 story talked about the end of war altogether, which I doubt, though large-scale war between nations seems to be diminished. It also knew nothing about radar or how atomic power really works--and I know little about that but I know more than the authors of that story. That was interesting. In some ways, the stories were a look into the past, rather than the future.

The one I really didn't like was "Witch War," because it demonized young girls. I think the author--who writes mostly horror--was trying to show the horror of war through contrast, but ... it seemed to me to be a little like Humbert Humbert blaming his sins on the little girl. But I liked "Liberty Port" and "Transstar." Though I'm not sure I got the message "Transstar" was trying to convey. Overall, I liked the anthology.

[Yev]

OK
Transstar - Raymond E. Banks
Witch War - Richard Matheson

MEH
Straw - Gene Wolfe Dogs of War
Clash by Night - Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore Dogs of War
Tomb Tapper - James Blish Dogs of War
Time Piece - Joe Haldeman Dogs of War
A Relic of War - Keith Laumer Dogs of War

BLAH
Liberty Port - David Drake
Or Battle's Sound - Harry Harrison
Basic Training - Mark L. Van Name

[Stewart]

classic

[Alex Rogers]

Mixed bag, as with most sci fi anthologies. Some absolute crackers, some unreadable. Worthwhile for the most part.

[Richard]

This is an excellent anthology of military science fiction.
I wish the newer authors here had more published.
A good read.