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This is the fourth, and so far the last, novel in SM Stirling’s Draka stories (there’s also a multi-author short story anthology, Drakas!). A fifth book, a sequel to this one, titled “Unto Us a Child” has apparently been planned, but Stirling has indicated that it now seems unlikely to be published.

Drakon’s plot is fairly simple, and arguably more science fiction than alternate history: Hundreds of years in the future, the Draka have conquered all of Earth, and indeed the solar system, although they are a remnant of the Alliance. for Democracy (see The Stone Dogs) escaped the Draka by fleeing to Alpha Centauri. As a result of an accident, a single Draka arrives in a parallel world: a late 20th century Earth that is almost exactly the same as our Earth (shrewd readers may notice minor differences such as the name of the actor who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels). Can Draka be stopped before he makes contact with his home timeline and allows this new Earth to be conquered?

Obviously, this story isn’t meant to be plausible, and you don’t even get the false plausibility devices seen in Marching Through Georgia, Under the Yoke, and The Stone Dogs. The book is written in a lighter tone than the previous novels, and the plot is also much more simplistic and action-oriented (I can imagine Drakon making a very good movie). Also, since the technology is effectively magical, it’s mostly used to set up the environment of the story, but then it takes a backseat to the action. Another notable thing is that this book is much less brutal and sadistic than the previous novels in the series (not that there aren’t some gruesome scenes in Drakon).

One criticism I would make is that (as seems to happen quite often in Stirling’s novels) people with environmental sympathies are positioned as common idiots, or even downright helpful to bad guys (other examples of this in Stirling’s work include his novels T2, and Island in the Sea of ​​Time). I found this disappointing: Even if you’re skeptical about many aspects of the green movement, there’s no reason to assume that wanting the human race exterminated (T2) or enslaved (Drakon) is a common sentiment among environmentalists.

My other main criticism is the ending. There are two actual endings, the first of which is reminiscent of Larry Niven’s All the Myriad Ways, except Stirling doesn’t wholeheartedly commit to that ending. I guess I didn’t want to leave readers feeling like they’ve worked through an entire novel only to end up with an ending that tells you it was all pointless. If that’s not enough, then we get a second ending as a sort of postscript, and this seems to be transparently inserted to allow for a sequel, which as there is no sequel, and may never be, I found quite frustrating!

I personally enjoyed this book, and if you have read and enjoyed Draka’s other works, I hope you will too. On the other hand, if you don’t want to read the previous three Draka novels, this book can also be read as a stand-alone science fiction novel.

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