Drakas! is an anthology of short stories written against the background of S.
M.
Stirling's Draka universe.
Each story stands on its own, and they are set at various times and places from the 19th century to the 21st and beyond.
Towards the end of the book, we also see the same kind of cross-time travel that featured in Drakon.
Contributors to the anthology include a wide range of authors, some of whom are very well-known (including Harry Turtledove and David Drake).
The quality of the stories themselves is variable - many are excellent, but there are a couple of weaker ones.
My other main issue with this book, and I guess with the type of anthology where other authors enter an existing universe, is what is the status of the stories? Are they cannon? How do you reconcile inconsistencies? For example, in John J.
Miller's story, "Hewn in Pieces for the Lord", Charles Gordon is quoted as saying "Besides, neither China or the Ottoman Empire hardly exists any more.
They've both been swallowed by your Domination" - yet according to the timeline in Marching Through Georgia, the Domination is at this time known as the "Dominion of Draka", most of the Ottoman Empire is still intact until World War I, and the Draka are nowhere near China until about 1918 or 1919.
Criticisms aside, there is a lot in this book that I think will captivate readers' interest, especially if you enjoyed the previous Draka books.
It's also interesting to see authors other than S.
M.
Stirling offering their perspective on the Draka.