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'The Domination' is a dystopian alternate history series by S. M. Stirling. It comprises a main trilogy of novels as well as one crossover novel set after the original (which also links back to the earths original timeline) and a book of short stories.
The Draka books were written and published shortly after Apartheid South Africa succumbed to intensive international pressure and was forced to adapt itself to the rest of the world's current norms of democracy and racial equality. Though Stirling never made an explicit connection in any public statement, what the series clearly depicts is a diametrically opposite scenario - implausible in the view of many critics - whereby a "Super South Africa", founded upon manifest, utter inequality, eventually succeeds in imposing its own norms on the rest of the world and extinguishing the very concepts of democracy and equality.
The first three books chronicle the Draka expansion. The conquest of the Middle-East, Central Asia, half of China and a chunk of the Balkans in the First World War means that, by then, the Draka have long since shifted from treating Blacks as slaves (Serfs, in the novels) to treating everybody but themselves as slaves. Up to the outbreak of World War II, the European part of the alternate history is pretty much unchanged - which some critics found improbable, with Europeans giving all their attention to the fight between Fascism and Communism while such a major threat to everybody lurks at the wings. World War II culminates with the Drakas' invasion and conquest of Europe, the making of all Europeans without exception into chattel slaves sold in newly-erected slave markets, and the killing by prolonged and excruciating torture of anybody who tries to resist in any way whatsoever. From there it leads into a cold war/covert war scenario where they face off against an American-led 'Alliance for Democracy'. The final book (''The Stone Dogs'') takes this war into space (and thereby into Science Fiction), and describes the final, apocalyptic nuclear battle between the two antagonist factions.
★ ''Marching Through Georgia'' (1988, ISBN 0-671-72069-4)
★ ''Under the Yoke'' (1989, ISBN 0-671-69843-5)
★ ''The Stone Dogs'' (1990, ISBN 0-671-72009-0)
★ ''Drakon'' (1995, ISBN 0-671-87711-9; a Draka from the future in a world much like ours)
★ ''The Domination'' (2000, ISBN 0-671-57794-8; Omnibus edition of first 3 works)
★ ''Drakas!'' (2000, ISBN 0-671-31946-9; Anthology edited by Stirling)
The series has been criticized for giving the Draka an impossibly fast-spreading and technologically advancing society, as well as stating that the British would not have tolerated the Draka's harsh slavery tactics (see External links). Also, the Domination is never attacked and no alliances are made against it throughout its history (until the midst of the 20th century); rather, the threatened countries prefer to fight each other. This could be put down, as one reviewer suggests, to Stirling simply being too fond of his creation, no matter how evil.
Stirling's use of the Draka as point-of-view characters has led to accusations that he has some sympathy with them (for example, in his entry in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''), to his dismay. He describes the ''Draka'' series as dystopias based on "suppos[ing that] everything had turned out as ''badly'' as possible, these last few centuries."[1] The title page of his non-Draka novel ''Conquistador'' has the quotation "There is a technical term for someone who confuses the opinions of a character in a book with those of the author. That term is 'idiot'."
★ ''Marching Through Georgia''
★ ''Under the Yoke''
★ ''The Stone Dogs''
1. [1]
★ Historical Timeline of the Domination
★ A criticism of the Draka series
★ A somewhat more realistic timeline based on the above criticism
| Contents |
| Historical background |
| Books |
| Criticism |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Historical background
The Draka books were written and published shortly after Apartheid South Africa succumbed to intensive international pressure and was forced to adapt itself to the rest of the world's current norms of democracy and racial equality. Though Stirling never made an explicit connection in any public statement, what the series clearly depicts is a diametrically opposite scenario - implausible in the view of many critics - whereby a "Super South Africa", founded upon manifest, utter inequality, eventually succeeds in imposing its own norms on the rest of the world and extinguishing the very concepts of democracy and equality.
Books
The first three books chronicle the Draka expansion. The conquest of the Middle-East, Central Asia, half of China and a chunk of the Balkans in the First World War means that, by then, the Draka have long since shifted from treating Blacks as slaves (Serfs, in the novels) to treating everybody but themselves as slaves. Up to the outbreak of World War II, the European part of the alternate history is pretty much unchanged - which some critics found improbable, with Europeans giving all their attention to the fight between Fascism and Communism while such a major threat to everybody lurks at the wings. World War II culminates with the Drakas' invasion and conquest of Europe, the making of all Europeans without exception into chattel slaves sold in newly-erected slave markets, and the killing by prolonged and excruciating torture of anybody who tries to resist in any way whatsoever. From there it leads into a cold war/covert war scenario where they face off against an American-led 'Alliance for Democracy'. The final book (''The Stone Dogs'') takes this war into space (and thereby into Science Fiction), and describes the final, apocalyptic nuclear battle between the two antagonist factions.
★ ''Marching Through Georgia'' (1988, ISBN 0-671-72069-4)
★ ''Under the Yoke'' (1989, ISBN 0-671-69843-5)
★ ''The Stone Dogs'' (1990, ISBN 0-671-72009-0)
★ ''Drakon'' (1995, ISBN 0-671-87711-9; a Draka from the future in a world much like ours)
★ ''The Domination'' (2000, ISBN 0-671-57794-8; Omnibus edition of first 3 works)
★ ''Drakas!'' (2000, ISBN 0-671-31946-9; Anthology edited by Stirling)
Criticism
The series has been criticized for giving the Draka an impossibly fast-spreading and technologically advancing society, as well as stating that the British would not have tolerated the Draka's harsh slavery tactics (see External links). Also, the Domination is never attacked and no alliances are made against it throughout its history (until the midst of the 20th century); rather, the threatened countries prefer to fight each other. This could be put down, as one reviewer suggests, to Stirling simply being too fond of his creation, no matter how evil.
Stirling's use of the Draka as point-of-view characters has led to accusations that he has some sympathy with them (for example, in his entry in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''), to his dismay. He describes the ''Draka'' series as dystopias based on "suppos[ing that] everything had turned out as ''badly'' as possible, these last few centuries."[1] The title page of his non-Draka novel ''Conquistador'' has the quotation "There is a technical term for someone who confuses the opinions of a character in a book with those of the author. That term is 'idiot'."
See also
★ ''Marching Through Georgia''
★ ''Under the Yoke''
★ ''The Stone Dogs''
References
1. [1]
External links
★ Historical Timeline of the Domination
★ A criticism of the Draka series
★ A somewhat more realistic timeline based on the above criticism
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