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From the Heart of Darkness
FROM THE HEART OF DARKNESS come no gentle wraiths, no pastel fantasies of bittersweet, seductive evil. This horror slams like a muzzle blast into its victim's awareness, carves its image with razor claws of violence as vivid as graphic as uncensored imagination. This horror comes from the center of the man soul, FROM THE HEART OF DARKNESS.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
David Drake
318 books888 followersDavid 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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 8, 2015
Drake is best known for his military science fiction like the Hammer's Slammers stories, and his terrific space operas like the RCN novels, and his classic high-fantasy novels like the Isles series, but this early collection proves that he has a mastery of the short horror form as well. Many of these would be at home in collections with the best from Weird Tales. Karl Edward Wagner provided a nice introduction to this volume.
June 12, 2009
A collection of David Drake's earlier stories. Some are fantasy, some horror, some more SF, but they are all truly excellent. It was this collection that made me a David Drake fan. I love these stories.
November 18, 2012
I've always been a fan of David Drake's Hammer's Slammers, as he has a wonderful way of incorporating his real life experiences into the fantasy worlds of fiction. When I spotted this anthology resting in a lonely way on a bookshelf in northern Minnesota, I had to pick it up. I was intrigued by the idea of David Drake writing horror stories and the like.
Not surprisingly, the stories in here which revolve around battlefields (more) current and future work the best, even if they are not too surprising in the final outcome. "Something Had to Be Done" has an ending which does surprise, shocking but still within the rules of the story. "Than Curse the Darkness" is a very mean, very horrific story which wisely marries Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" with a more modern view of colonial work.
I was least fond of the Vettius stories. I can see the appeal, however, they combine his knowledge of men at war with a sword and sandal milieu with plenty of horror elements to keep things dark. "The Shortest Way" was the best, while the others felt too pulpy for my tastes. "The Dancer in the Flames" didn't work as well as it could have, but is a finely layered story which offers a bit more depth than the action pieces. "The Hunting Ground" works on the same level, presenting us with a few more fleshed out characters and a situation with less clear solutions. I think it is also the most honest, as it peels adventure away from violence and lets us see the aftermath.
I will read some of his later horror fiction to get an idea where this style is going for him. On the one hand I wonder if these stories were written to feed another market, but there is enough good work in here that I believe he takes this genre as seriously as military science fiction.
Not surprisingly, the stories in here which revolve around battlefields (more) current and future work the best, even if they are not too surprising in the final outcome. "Something Had to Be Done" has an ending which does surprise, shocking but still within the rules of the story. "Than Curse the Darkness" is a very mean, very horrific story which wisely marries Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" with a more modern view of colonial work.
I was least fond of the Vettius stories. I can see the appeal, however, they combine his knowledge of men at war with a sword and sandal milieu with plenty of horror elements to keep things dark. "The Shortest Way" was the best, while the others felt too pulpy for my tastes. "The Dancer in the Flames" didn't work as well as it could have, but is a finely layered story which offers a bit more depth than the action pieces. "The Hunting Ground" works on the same level, presenting us with a few more fleshed out characters and a situation with less clear solutions. I think it is also the most honest, as it peels adventure away from violence and lets us see the aftermath.
I will read some of his later horror fiction to get an idea where this style is going for him. On the one hand I wonder if these stories were written to feed another market, but there is enough good work in here that I believe he takes this genre as seriously as military science fiction.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews