Glen Cook : Novel : Passage At Arms

In a desperate galactic war, they are the confederation's only hope -- and the fiercest fighting fleet ever known.

In The War For The Human Race...
The Confederation calls them "climbers." Stripped-down tin cans that bristle with weapons, they hit and run, ducking when they must into the frightful void of Null space before emerging to strike again -- or die in an overpowering barrage of enemy fire.

Crewed by hardened and hard-living fliers trying to stay alive, they're engaged in a brutal, do-or-die struggle. For across the frontier of known space, an army billion of soldiers strong implacably advances towards the Confederation's worlds. And its mission? The total enslavement of all mankind...