After spending more than a decade on this site, I've inevitably heard a lot about SM Stirling's evil slavocrat empire of edgy pseudo-Nietzschean Nazi-Confederate-Afrikaners that everyone loves to hate. What I want to know is if the series of novels they come from are well-writen/entertaining/thought-provoking enough to be worth seeking out for myself?
Are the Draka books worth reading?
- Thread starter Victor Hatherley
- Start date
I think so. As long as you take it in the spirit that Stirling was supposed to have written it in. He said that he wrote it in reaction to the euphoria at the end of the cold war when th USSR fell apart. Its also helpful if you read the timeline before the first novel.
I would recommend it, if only because it is a superb troll work - I write more about it here
Ramontxo
Donor
Thanks for the tip. I have skipped over the TL it is not really of my liking. Maybe the books would be better (of the kind you enjoy hating)
Short version: No.
Long version: Only reason to read the series is to snark about it. It's not very well-written, the timeline is some of the worst AH ever put to paper, and the author is a narcissistic egomaniac who's OK with genocide.
Long version: Only reason to read the series is to snark about it. It's not very well-written, the timeline is some of the worst AH ever put to paper, and the author is a narcissistic egomaniac who's OK with genocide.
MaxGerke01
Banned
The premise of the books is interesting enough but look around this board and you see it could be done better with the current Rise and Fall of the Draka https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-draka.520380/ being a notable example.Reading the books is worth it if you want to have the backstory down to be able to fully appreciate where those fanfics go which as stated is often an improvement on the original material.
Vince
Monthly Donor
Yeah there are several good Draka TLs on here and other sites that try to be a bit more based in reality than whatever Stirling wrote. Hell, there's even a Mass Effect/Draka fic that's very good.
There were 2 goats in a paddock 1 day & they came across a 35mm film in it's container. They broke open the container with their hooves & ate the film.
I enjoyed that, said one, Did you?
No, replied the other, the book was better.
I enjoyed that, said one, Did you?
No, replied the other, the book was better.
I caught the first one on audible after avoiding the series like the plague and I must say that it is decent enough, much better than I expected.
It's fine as something pulpy (Nietzchean Afrikaner supermen! Baboon-human hybrids! The entire human race engineered to be sexually aroused by being slaves!) but for a better structured and more rigorous take on the concept check out EBR's Separated at Birth.
Good luck finding full texts of each book without resorting to piracy.
I find the series very entertaining.
And if you read the books, you'll be able to appreciate the fabulous Draka fanfics on this website. (Add winking emoji haw haw haw nudge nudge ahem)
I find the series very entertaining.
And if you read the books, you'll be able to appreciate the fabulous Draka fanfics on this website. (Add winking emoji haw haw haw nudge nudge ahem)
Its Stirling. Nothing he writes is well-written or thought-provoking.
It's not, like, The Eye of Argon kind of bad, it's just "this is mediocre schlock whose author acts like it's a Significant Work of Literature" kinda bad.
Back after finishing Under the Yoke and half of Stone Dogs on Audible
Things I like: The tonnes of worldbuilding that he does, having characters that are serfs and members of the Alliance, he can get into the headspace of his characters well so they are somewhat believebale in the context of the fictional universe, the fact that the stories are largely a family tale of the von Shrakenberg Clan
Things I don't like: He can go into pages of very descriptive lesbian sex without any warning or care for pacing. One page, we're in a deep dialogue between an OSS agent and a nun that has gone through hell in occupied Europe as they discuss their philosophical reasons for what they do and plan a mission to save a scientist and escape into the US. The next, Mistress Tanya is playing her serf like a harp. Unfortunately, the lesbian sex is also written by a primarily fantasy/sci-fi writer, making it excessively cringe both in regards to the details that he chooses to focus on and the dialogue. Nobody speaks like that, Mr Stirling. Also the first part of the Stone Dogs, a story about the final war between the Draka and the Free World... is a story about two bi-curious fifteen year olds that go for naked swims with their friends, pounce on each other at every opportunity and fuck in barns with a dash of serf killing before we go to a serious espionage tale of a man that has to kill his traitorous friend. It's like you've been promised a season of the Boys but first you're forced to go through half of a Season of Euphoria.
TL;DR If he controls his worst impulses, we're good.
Under the Yoke is my favorite so far, it gave a good mix of everything and the story was engaging, the plot was moving and not getting stuck in Myfanwy's "liquid metal muscles, red hair and freckles, oh my uwu"
Things I like: The tonnes of worldbuilding that he does, having characters that are serfs and members of the Alliance, he can get into the headspace of his characters well so they are somewhat believebale in the context of the fictional universe, the fact that the stories are largely a family tale of the von Shrakenberg Clan
Things I don't like: He can go into pages of very descriptive lesbian sex without any warning or care for pacing. One page, we're in a deep dialogue between an OSS agent and a nun that has gone through hell in occupied Europe as they discuss their philosophical reasons for what they do and plan a mission to save a scientist and escape into the US. The next, Mistress Tanya is playing her serf like a harp. Unfortunately, the lesbian sex is also written by a primarily fantasy/sci-fi writer, making it excessively cringe both in regards to the details that he chooses to focus on and the dialogue. Nobody speaks like that, Mr Stirling. Also the first part of the Stone Dogs, a story about the final war between the Draka and the Free World... is a story about two bi-curious fifteen year olds that go for naked swims with their friends, pounce on each other at every opportunity and fuck in barns with a dash of serf killing before we go to a serious espionage tale of a man that has to kill his traitorous friend. It's like you've been promised a season of the Boys but first you're forced to go through half of a Season of Euphoria.
TL;DR If he controls his worst impulses, we're good.
Under the Yoke is my favorite so far, it gave a good mix of everything and the story was engaging, the plot was moving and not getting stuck in Myfanwy's "liquid metal muscles, red hair and freckles, oh my uwu"
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My primary issue with the lesbianism - aside from him clearly writing one-handed - was that only villains are Teh Gay/Bi. While the heroes are nice, clean-cut white straight people who use words like ‘pansy’… Real classy, Steve, real classy…
EDIT: To expand. Not only are the only queer characters in the series evil, they're also all predatory rapists. Seriously, the series' depiction of LGBT characters is basically on a par with the kind of stuff Anita Bryant and her ilk used to come out with.
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