The Voyage

Hammer's Slammers #8

by David Drake

Embarking on a suicide mission that places her at the head of a crew of tough mercenaries and brilliant specialists, Lissea Doorman travels through a cluster of strange worlds that lead to the Lost Colony. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Adventure, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite of all D. Drake's novels and among my top 50-100 books of all time - read it a few times across the years and enjoyed it every time; a future re-imaging of the Argonauts story in the Hammer's Slammers universe (though can be read as a standalone and I haven;t read other universe stories as they didn't really interest me) with monsters, heroes/heroines, villains, adventure and discovery

[Stuart Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason and the Argonauts go to space. Don Slade's nephew Edward, called Ned, signs on with an expedition of mercenaries to the lost colony of Colchis to bring back the special thing. On the way they land on Cyzicus twice, frolic with the women of Lemnos, free Phineas from the Harpies, pass the impassable Symplegades, and finally reach their destination. There the king won't let them have the special thing unless they defeat the mechanical guardians. With the help of Medea they defeat the guardians which awakens the dragon, and they barely escape with the thing. The king sends warships and his prince to chase after Ned, but he gets away with a bit of convenient murder. Then they all go home and blow things up.

Mercenaries in the Hammer's Slammers Universe, but only a small twenty man team on a search and recover mission instead of the regular planetary battle. It's a travel story where the guys go and get into trouble and get out in different ways each time. Surprisingly there's a limit to the violence. For a while, at least. There's some real character development, and interesting scenery. There's still the normal splosions and heads flying off, so it's all good. This would have gotten 4 stars but there are some ginormous plot holes that can't be overlooked.

About Edward called Nedward:
The Kennedys had three sons.
They named their sons John, Robert, and Edward.
They called their sons Jack, Bobby, and Teddy.
And why did they call John Jack?
For short.

[Michael Rutkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of continuous Military Sci Fi action ! The story held your attention through out !

[Casey Price · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had a lot of potential, but the writing was clunky and disorganized which made this book hard to enjoy.

[Brian Lassiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a retelling of Jason and the Argonauts in space.

[Jose C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, usual Drake story, gleans from history, adds the sci-fi element.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book in the “Hammer's Slammers” series. Military science fiction is an acquired taste and this one is pretty good.

As merchant families control planets, they often find it more efficient to hire mercenaries than maintaining standing forces. (As I have usually found in prior novels, Hammer himself is not intrinsic to the stories but looms over the situations like Marlon Brando’s “The Godfather” character.) Drake makes the reader understand – and believe – what the future will be like. The weapons are not the ‘ray guns’ of Flash Gordon but instead sound like something on today’s drawing boards. (I am reminded of the soldier in the movie "Aliens".) The inevitable confrontations – both militarily and political – arise as the powerful families/rulers seek information and truth about their own past. I enjoyed the amazing futuristic technology, imaginings of life on other planets and the stops at various colonies resulting in cultural situations, challenges of authority and, of course, combat with aliens.

This single book is better than the all six of the “Lost Fleet series” – and cover (better) about the same stuff. It’s my favorite of this series so far.

[Buzz Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. This retelling of Jason & the Argonauts is much better, in my opinion, than its sister novel Cross The Stars (a retelling of the Odyssey)

Strong 4 stars and for me, the last of Slammerverse novels & stories. What a fun ride. Thank you David Drake!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was a good book. It was based on the old Greek myth about Jason and the Golden Fleece, and the author did a nice job adapting it into the story format he told. It starts off a little slow, and the 'pace' is choppy throughout the book. The 'chapters' come across as individual short stories put together to make up the novel; the chapters each have their own unique length. I am not sure how I would describe the character development throughout the course of the story; I guess I would characterize it as a type of 'coming of age' story, where the 'main character' is the nephew of one of Hammer's retired Slammers. The violence, when it occurs, gets a little gritty. 'Stuff happens' without any background information necessarily being given, but that is okay as it still works in the structure of the story.

The craziest chapter is the one involving the two 'ancient alien super tanks' and the alien spacecraft buried in a lake full of lava. That was nuts! I was wondering how the 'heroes' were going to defeat the tanks, and then out of a cavern in the lava comes this monster alien vessel. So would the alien vessel have merely left the planet in peace and flown away? Would it have destroyed the entire planet before moving on to destroy other planets? We are never told why the super tanks kept the alien space craft imprisoned "underground" and Ned automatically assumes the alien spacecraft is 'bad' or 'the enemy' before it starts attacking. It was crazy how the tanks were able to destroy the alien vessel; it is even crazier that the alien vessel waited five hundred years or more underground for the tanks to be incapacitated in order for it to try and escape! Perhaps Skynet had finally made it to another world? heheheh It was a crazy chapter, that is for sure.

I did not actually know it was based on a Greek myth until halfway through the book. Then I read the author's comments at the back and discovered the 'history' behind the story. Knowing that helped explain why some of the storyline seemed so familiar such as the old man who's food kept getting stolen which, for some reason, also reminded me from the scene in the old 1960s movie Jason and the Argonauts, where they trap those flying creatures on behalf of the old man in order to convince him to help them in their quest.

I'd been musing whether or not to read it for some time, now, so I am glad I finally got around to reading it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in volume titled VOYAGE ACROSS THE STARS, with CROSS THE STARS. Loosely based on tales of Jason and the Argonauts, about Ned Slade and other hired mercenaries taking on all sorts of violent adversaries to help Lissea Doorman get back her vanished uncle and blast her way to ownership of her powerful family's interests. Good action scenes, seems a little long because there are a lot of stops along the way.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Voyage is an excellent re-imagining of the classic tale of Jason and the Argonauts. It follows the theme and pace of the original, with many stops along the way, and also shows the return and the consequences of the actions and decisions that have been made through the course of the tale. Though nominally set in the Hammers Slammers universe, it's a timeless story and this book can be enjoyed on its own.

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid.

Good read. Easy read. Entertaining and creative, but true to the Hammer's Slammers genre without simply rechurning a proven formula.

Decent sci-fi. Almost adventure vignettes, but well-connected through an overarching plotline which serves its purpose well, and also lays a solid foundation for a satisfying and appropriate conclusion, with just enough crack in the door for follow up works.

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty straightforward, classic science fiction. The first part of the story, where the crew hops from planet to planet having different adventures, is very entertaining. However, the end is basically one long shoot-em-up. If you enjoy military science fiction, you'll like this book. And if you don't, the first 3/4 of the story is still worth reading.

[Chronicles Of · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a nice read with few cons.

[Robert Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never noticed it when I was younger, but now I find it a little problematical that many of his female characters, no matter how tough and capable, end up as just a reward for some guy.

[Steven Vaughan-Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, but not great, retelling of Jason and the Argonauts in Drake's Hammer's Slammers universe.

[James Willey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read Homer's Illiad first. Would make it more fun.