Review: Night and Demons, by David Drake

Night and Demons is a collection of some of David Drake’s short stories. Each story has a brief introduction by the author, and though this is nowhere made explicit I gather from them that this is a collection of Drake’s early work. Whether that was the intent or no, it’s certainly a showcase of Drake’s influences, from H.P Lovecraft to Robert Howard to Fritz Leiber to L. Sprague de Camp to Manly Wade Wellman—and that list should give you a good notion of what you’re likely to find here.

Drake’s rather older than I am—he was fighting in Viet Nam when I was in kindergarten—but I find it interesting that I read and enjoyed all of the same things in my teens as he did. (I have to give credit to my older siblings, and especially my brother Chuck, who brought Lovecraft, Howard, Leiber, and all into the house.) I”m also surprised: although I’ve read quite a few of Drake’s novels, I had no idea that his early roots were in the Lovecraft/Howard/Leiber vein; but Drake’s first sales were to August Derleth at Arkham House, and he edited a number of collections of Howard’s work. He was also good friends with Wellman, which must have been a hoot.

Anyway, the collection is a bit of a grab bag; stories that work quite well, and stories that are a bit clunky, with pastiche and near-pastiche cheek-by-jowl with more original work, some based on Drake’s time in Viet Nam. One of the more interesting tales, “The Land Toward Sunset”, involves Robert Howard’s pirates Cormac Mac Art and Wulfhere Skullsplitter, but is not a pastiche; rather, it’s written in Drake’s own style.

In short, there’s nothing essential here; but if authors I’ve listed above bring a smile to your face, you might enjoy taking a stroll with Drake.