The Domination [Hardcover]

S.M. Stirling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1999

Originally published as three separate volumes, S.M. Stirling's masterly alternate history tells of the rise to power of the Domination of the Draka and its long struggle with the American-led Alliance for Democracy. Beginning in the rich subcontinent of South Africa, the people calling themselves the Draka - disaffected refugees from the American Revolution - first forged an empire of inconceivable wealth and savagery, founded on conquest and slavery. Spanning the whole of the African continent, the Great War of the early twentieth century gave it much of Asia as well. Then in the Eurasian War, Germany and the Soviet Union exhausted one another and the Draka stepped in, leaving the Domination triumphant from the English Channel to the China Sea. Only America and its allies stands between the Draka and their dream of an enslaved planet. By the 1990s the Draka commanded the stuff of life itself, mastering biotechnology until they could create new species at will - and transform themselves into the Master Race of their savage dreams. Meanwhile the Alliance for Democracy travelled another path, into the mysteries of the physical universe and the knowledge to be gained there. The final confrontation would settle which was the more powerful ...or it would leave the earth a lifeless rock on which nothing human remained but bones.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's about time! No more scouring used-book stores for tattered copies to replace the ones you loaned your friends: the first two installments of S.M. Stirling's superlative military-SF/alternate-history Draka trilogy are back in print, bound along with the third installment in hardcover. The only downside to this collection--which spans Marching Through Georgia, Under the Yoke, and The Stone Dogs--is the disappointing omission of the helpful maps, glossary, and so on that appeared in the original editions. But as some consolation, we at least get a bit of new backstory for the pseudo-sequel to Stone Dogs, Drakon, in the form of a prologue and a few interspersed paragraphs bookending each title.

The Draka series (dubbed The Domination in this collection) still requires a strong stomach--you'll find no shortage of blood and bullets or sex and violence here. But it's prudish to argue with Stirling's choices. A skilled writer and rigorous thinker, he's spun a compelling--not to mention plausible and well-researched--alternate history for earth: in this timeline, the Loyalists losers in the American Revolution set up shop in South Africa and then proceed to subjugate and industrialize the continent, eventually exporting their brutal system of slavery and conquest through WWI, WWII, and beyond to cover the better part of the globe. Page-turning, blood-pumping, realistic, and masterfully written combat SF, The Domination is part of the genre's canon. --Paul Hughes

Review

"[Stirling is] a writer to be reckoned with".

-- Wilson Library Bulletin

Product Details

• Hardcover: 784 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1St Edition edition (May 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671577948
• ISBN-13: 978-0671577940
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Standard Texts of modern AH, July 4, 2000

By 

Jeph Gord - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Domination (Hardcover)

If you've ever looked at an alternate history wep site or discussion group, you've no doubt noticed numerous references to the Draka books. Some say they're great works of alternate history, some say they're unrealistic garbage. Either way, these books seem to inspire a great deal of emotion. So what's the buzz about? Find out in this volume, which contains all of the original Draka trilogy (Marching through Georgia, Under the Yoke, and the Stone Dogs).

This series has a somewhat unusual point of divergence. It came in the 1770s, when Britain conquered South Africa. After the American Revolution, many of the defeated British loyalists moved to this fledgling colony, where they went about building a new nation, which eventually came to be called the Draka Domination. This energetic, militaristic slave-holding society rapidly spread across the continent of Africa, becoming a power in its own right. At this point, the timeline gets somewhat improbable. Despite the presence of this large, powerful, economically influential political entity, the rest of the world develops much as it did in real life (although the USA successfully conquers Canada, Mexico, and central America during the course of the 19th century). It seems that the Draka should have a much bigger impact on history.

Dispite the problem of plausibility, however, this volume makes for a very compelling read. The Draka are in the unique position of being both fascinating protagonists and terrifying villains. Throughout the course of the (one-volume) trilogy, most of the viewpoint characters are Draka. We are given an in-depth look at their society, which places great emphasis on both military prowess and artistic talent. However, we also see the dark side of this society. The Draka oversee huge masses of slaves, who are brutally exploited and violently (often fatally) punished for the smallest offense. They have no respect for the laws of war, for all captured enemies join the ranks of these slaves. The Draka, who take this nightmarish system for granted, are a truly chilling creation.

The stories themselves are exciting and well-written. Each book in the trilogy is very different from the others in tone and setting, but all are very effective.

Marching through Georgia is a straight war novel, set in the early 1940s. The Draka Domination has gone to war against Hitler's Third Reich, and the two nations are heading towards a showdown in the Caucasus. The protagonist leads a small but highly trained and well equipped force of Draka paratroopers against the Waffen SS in a series of violent, graphic, blood-drenced battles. There is a stronger emphasis on bullets than on brains, but it's a very enjoyable military adventure.

Under the Yoke is set several years later, during this world's Cold War. The Draka have overrun all of continental Europe and most of Asia. They are opposed by a US-led coalition of free nations (the Alliance for Democracy) containing all of the Americas plus Britain, Japan, India, and Indochina, and Australia. Part of the plot follows a US secret agent who is slipped into Northern Europe, while the other part deals with recently-enslaved Europeans, who must learn to live in a world without freedom, hope, or diginity. The two plotlines converge as the Alliance for Democracy struggles, with the help of European resistance fighters, to maintain its lead in nuclear technology. A satisying, if unusually gory, espionage thriller.

The Stone Dogs continues this alternate Cold War as both the Alliance and the Domination continue to build their strength. The Draka perfect genetic engineering, while the free nations make great leaps in the physical and computer sciences, and both blocs establish their presence throughout the solar system. This book is bigger in scope and therefore a little less focused than the other two, ranging from espionage in France to military action in India to various intrigues throughout the Solar System. Still, it provides an enthralling picture of a far more intense Cold War against an utterly implacable foe.

Good reads throughout, but not for people with weak stomaches. There is a huge amount of unusually graphic violence, unusually nasty executions, and unusually sadistic torture. There is also a great deal of sex, much of it lesbian (the Draka seem to be universally bisexual). For those who can handle this sort of thing, however, this is a very worthwhile AH/SF tale.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Alternative History, Ever. Period., November 3, 2000

By 

McKinneyTexas (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Domination (Hardcover)

This review comes well after the publication of The Domination and the primary purpose is to address some of the negative reviews that might otherwise disuade a potential reader. Most of the criticism is grounded on what the critics assert is an implausibly high level of technology in the Draka time line. Two points: First, if the negative reviewers had been afforded the original novels with their extremely detailed appendices, they would be fully up to speed on why technology advanced quicker in Stirling's alternative world than it did in our own. Second, no one can credibly claim that, given different historical stimuli, our technological level could not be more or less advanced depending on circumstances that, as Stirling did, can only be imagined.

The point is, the first time reader should really read the original novels, then read Drakon AND then read The Domination. And, actually, the only reason to read The Domination is the teasers about the post-Drakon world that, with any luck at all, we will see in book form in the not to distant future.

On the general subject of Alternate History, Stirling and Turtledove are both masters of detail and authenticity, and thus the leaders of this genre. I give Stirling the slight edge for one simple reason: he links, or at least gives himself the option to link, his books even beyond what his fans might first perceive.

Consider this: His two most widely read and discussed solo series, the Draka series and Nantucket series, have a cross-time event as the central plot device. The similarities between the the cross-time mechanisms in these two seemingly unrelated series are not accidental, in my opinion. As a big fan, my hope is that we might someday be treated to a connection between these two series.

If you are reading this review and have not read the referenced series, or Turtledove's alternate World War I series, all are really first rate reads. In this genre, they just don't get any better. Pay no attention to those who demand perfection--it doesn't exist anyway. Finally, these two authors like to have fun and they are very likely good friends. As one example, one of Stirling's principle characters in the the Nantucket series is almost certainly based on Turtledove.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Domination (Hardcover)

Hm, the reviewers below seem kind of nitpicky. They may not realize this, but in history, even a small twist of fate can have huge impact on the timeline.

Sure, the Draka have more advanced technology, but why is this so improbable? If you had gone back 5-600 years and told someone that western Europe would significantly outstrip China in technology and power in couple of hundred years, you would have been laughed at. Or if you had told someone a hundred years ago that China will vastly outsrip the U.S. in technology and power in couple of hundred years, you would have been laughed at again. Yet this is what happened, and almost certainly will happen.

Technical progress is a direct function of social environment and chance. Nothing Stirling writes is implausible as our own timeline.

By the way, let's not be so chauvanistic about the Revolution and the Civil War. Loyalists lost because there weren't as many of them, and the South lost because they had less industry. It had nothing to do with the people's character.

Finally, that Janissaries fought well is not farfetched. Didn't Indians and African Americans show great courage in WWII, even though they were so severely oppressed? Didn't Rome have many former enemies and second class citizens not fight well for them?

This is a great book, written by a man who is incredibly perceptive and well informed. This is not a book for an intellectual lightweight or a those with a closed mind. It is a very intellectually honest book, and I would say, perhap the greatest science fiction I have ever read.