Grimmer Than Hell
YOU
DON'T NEED SAINTS TO FACE
RUTHLESS ENEMIES—YOU NEED HEROES!
THE FLEET
The Khalians are weasel shaped and weasel vicious; their main concern
with humanity is the way humans taste. Behind the Khalians are others:
stronger, smarter, and more vicious still.
Captain Miklos Kowacs and the men and women of Marine Reaction Company
121, the Headhunters, have faced the Khalians on the front lines: now
they're taking the war to the enemy, freeing captured planets from their
bestial conquerors and penetrating even the Khalian horneworld.
But the worst dangers to Kowacs and his Headhunters come from traitors
who wear the same uniform!
BATTLESTATION
The only chance of defeating the Ichtons is to capture one one alive.
No human battlefleet could hope to do that—but just maybe a lone scout
like Sergeant Dresser could.
Anyway, he has to try. The Ichtons don't conquer their enemies: they
destroy them utterly.
LACEY
In the not-too-distant future, government cameras watch every soul in
North America. Only the most cunning and powerful imagine they can commit
a crime and escape punishment, and they become the prey of hunters like
Jed Lacey.
Lacey has neither hopes nor fears, and he has no mercy at ad. There's
never been anybody better at what he does.
WARRIORS ALL
There've always been men and women willing to stand between humanity
and the worst the universe has to offer. The trouble is, they can't stay
human and do their jobs—and they must do their jobs.
Fourteen stones of vivid conflict, including one never before published
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David
Drake is a Vietnam veteran, former lawyer, former bus driver, and
bestselling author of many different types of science fiction and fantasy.
Drake graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa, majoring in
history (with honors) and Latin. His stint at Duke University Law School
was interrupted for two years by the U.S. Army, where he served as an
enlisted interrogator with the 11th Armored Cavalry in Vietnam and
Cambodia. Drake, his wife, and various pets live in Chatham County, NC,
where he writes every day.
Illustration by Stephen Hickman
Cover design by Jennie Paries
Author photograph by Jonathan Drake
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Hardcover
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and
events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real
people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, February 2003
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Drake, David.
Grimmer than hell / by David Drake. p. cm. ISBN 0-7434-3590-7 1. Science fiction, American. 2. Life on other planetsFiction. I. Title.
PS3554.R196 G75 2003 813'.0876208dc21 2002034194
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ISBN: 0-7434-3590-7
Copyright © 2003 by David Drake. "Introduction: Coming Home By the Long Way" copyright © 2003 by David Drake. "Rescue Mission" copyright © 1988 by David Drake; first printed in The Fleet. "When the Devil Drives" copyright © 1988 by David Drake; first printed in Counterattack. "Team Effort" copyright © 1989 by David Drake; first printed in Breakthrough. "The End" copyright © 1990 by David Drake; first printed in Sword Allies. "Smash and Grab" copyright © 1990 by David Drake; first printed in Total War. "Mission Accomplished" copyright © 1991 by David Drake; first printed in Crisis. "Facing the Enemy" copyright © 1992 by David Drake; first printed in Battlestation. "Failure Mode" copyright © 1993 by David Drake; first printed in Vanguard. "The Tradesmen" copyright © 2000 by David Drake; first printed in Drakas! "Coming Up Against It" copyright © 2003 by David Drake; original to this volume. "With the Sword He Must Be Slain" copyright © 1998 by David Drake; first printed in Armageddon. "Nation Without Walls" copyright © 1977 by The Conde Nast Publications, Inc.; first printed in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, July 1977. "The Predators" copyright © 1979 by David Drake; first printed in Destinies, Vol. 1, No. 5 (Oct.–Dec. 1979). "Underground" copyright © 1980 by David Drake; first printed in Destinies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Feb.–March 1980).
All rights reserved, including the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com
Production by Windhaven Press Auburn, NH
Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com
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For Edmund D. Livingston, Sr.
Ed was proud to have served as a Marine rifleman on Okinawa
and been part of the unit which landed in Yokosuka
without ammunition
two days before the Japanese surrender.
I'm equally proud to have been his friend in later years.
BAEN BOOKS by DAVID DRAKE
Hammer's Slammers
The Tank Lords Caught in the Crossfire The Butcher's Bill The Sharp End Paying the Piper
RCN series
With the Lightnings Lt. Leary, Commanding
Independent Novels and Collections
Seas of Venus Foreign Legions, edited by David Drake Ranks of Bronze Cross the Stars The Dragon Lord Birds of Prey Northworld Trilogy Redliners Starliner All the Way to the Gallows Grimmer Than Hell The Undesired Princess and The Enchanted Bunny (with L. Sprague de Camp)
Lest Darkness Fall and To Bring the Light (with L. Sprague de Camp)
Armageddon (edited with Billie Sue Mosiman)
Killer (with Karl Edward Wagner)
The General series: Warlord with S.M. Stirling (omnibus) Conqueror with S.M. Stirling (forthcoming) The Forge, with S.M. Stirling The Chosen, with S.M. Stirling The Reformer, with S.M. Stirling The Tyrant, with Eric Flint
The Belisarius series: (with Eric Flint)
An Oblique Approach In the Heart of Darkness Destiny's Shield Fortune's Stroke The Tide of Victory
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