Book Review: 'Counting the Cost' by David Drake
'Counting the Cost' (267 pp.) first published in November, 1987 by Baen Books. The cover illustration is by Paul Alexander.
'Counting' is short, as novels go; this Baen Books edition uses larger font to pad its length to over 260 pages.
This is an entry in Drake's 'Hammer's Slammers' franchise. In my experience the Slammers titles usually merit a three star or above rating, but this particular novel was a disappointment.
The premise: the planet Bamberia has been colonized by contingents of Christians and Muslims. The co-existence of the two populations has become increasingly strained due to the Muslim's increasing control of the tobacco-growing operations that are the main source of Bamberia's revenue. In possession of the planet's major metropolitan center, the city of Bamberg, the Christian contingent has the financial wherewithal to mount a crusade against the Muslims. Leading the campaign will be the galaxy's most potent mercenary force: Hammer's Slammers.
As 'Counting' opens, Captain Tyl Koopman arrives at the spaceport in Bamberg, and is assisted in getting his bearings by United Defense Battery Lieutenant Charles Desoix. It seems that all is not well in Bamberg: led by Bishop Trimer, an insurgency within the Christian caucus has grown more bold in its demands for power. The government, led by President John Delcorio, is hesitant and unsure in its response.
When violent riots, involving thousands of angry citizens, roil the streets of Bamberg, despite their intentions to remain neutral, Koopman and Desoix find themselves obliged to act. Can they negotiate a solution to the conflict......... or will a massacre be imminent ?
I found 'Counting' to be mediocre. Author Drake seems to have been intent on making this novel a departure from his other Slammer's works, focusing more on characterization and setting than military action. Unfortunately this leads to a static narrative, one that is overly centered on passages dealing with political and personal conflicts and intrigues. Dialogue passages can be wooden, and the metaphors and similes awkward:
The pre-load burped out like an angry katydid.
I found the best part of 'Counting' to be the novel's Afterward, titled 'How They Got That Way', in which Drake relates his experiences in Vietnam. As an Army Intelligence staffer, he was assigned to an armored regiment and gained familiarity with tanks and an appreciation for the dilemmas associated with their use. Drake also discusses how his early efforts at submitting Slammers stories to the magazine market were unsuccessful, but with luck and perseverance, by the end of the 1970s he had demonstrated his qualities to editors and launched his career as a writer.
The verdict ? Even die-hard Hammer's Slammers fans are going to find this novel slowly paced, and I don't see non-fans liking it much, either.
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