Drakas!

Draka #5

by S.M. Stirling

The Domination of the Draka begins as a British possession in Africa, but soon becomes far more. Absorbing refugees after the American Revolution, and later the CivilWar, the Draka become a people bred to rule with an iron fist. They permanently enslave the peoples of Africa, when they do not simply kill them.

But this does not slake the Draka thirst for power. Sweeping across the world, the Draka empire engulfs nation after nation, shackling into servitude all who are not Draka. Europe, Asia, and finally all the Earth and its colonies throughout the Solar System fall before the might of the Draka.

But empires are not faceless monoliths; they are made of individuals, complex humans with their own hopes and dreams. And so one might ask: who are the Draka? What sort of people does the Domination rule? The Draka would have many different answers...

...and this is their story.

Genres: Science Fiction, Alternate History, Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.

MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)

I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Reviews

[Mark Henwick]

I was really upset when I read this.

S. M. Stirling's Draka books are brilliant. I suspect he got p***ed off at the criticism that has been handed to him for writing a dystopian alternate history using the bad guys as MCs. I have heard he started to say that he finds the Draka 'boring' now, and I can understand that it would be difficult (but not impossible) to continue the stories as the Draka are so strong. That's not an excuse for this book...

All of which is me just winding up to say that this book is treason. An entire book, sold under his own name, written by all sorts of people, 75% dedicated to parody of the Draka was unpalatable. I tossed it. I didn't give it to a charity shop or the local hospital, I tossed it. Not something I do with many books.

[Mike Glaser]

There is something about the Draka that just seems to shake you. How can a people be so evil and not realize it. Since this is an anthology, it not fills in some of the Draka history but gives you a chance to see how other authors handle the subject. The one interesting thing that I noticed is that as the Draka evolve and become less human, they are not as scary as they were in the earlier books. As they lose they become more superhuman it is easier to see them as the monsters they are.

[Sam]

Mix of so-so to good stories, scattered across the Draka timeline. Most are written from the perspective of non-Draka characters, which makes things appear clearly good and evil, unlike the more blurred lines in the previous novels.

[John Smith]

Anthology of short stories. I like it. It runs the spectrum from small-scale action to larger scale conflicts, including spy action. A variety.

[Steven]

I broadly do not like short story collections, and this collection suffers from all the usual problems: uneven quality and stories too short to get into.

Most of the ones that take the Drakon path (Drakas in "our world") are pretty dull. The ones set during the earlier books are better. Unsurprisingly, the ones whose authors I knew were much better written.

[Andreas]

This anthology features short stories set in Stirling’s Draka universe. Twelve authors contribute. There are some real gems here, but you probably won’t appreciate them if you haven’t read the Draka series first.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1368

[Mitchell Friedman]

short story collection and a bit uneven. certainly in generally wasn't as good as the original book but enjoyable enough. I just wish they had pushed further into what it meant to be a draka earlier rather than the superhuman draka. 3.5 of 5.

[Redsteve]

As is usual with short stories, a few good, a few bad, most OK. I was very disappointed with one author's attempt to do a Flashman/Draka fusion piece.

[Bill]

Most of the stories complemented the original series.

[john knie]

Good read

I enjoyed this book, it gives a new insight into the mind set of the draka impact on the world. Read on.