moves Stirling's Draka onto British territory;
shows them in their true and full horror;
unexpectedly shows them suffering a local defeat;
presents philosophical/theological discussion of the superman and God.
That is quite a lot. I have three more Drakas! stories to read and have also started to reread Stirling's Conquistador. By the very nature of the premise, these characters from different Earths could meet in any new volume - but only if that generates a worthwhile narrative.
We read these works both on their own merits and for their place in an sf tradition. Thus, Robert Heinlein has showed up in Drakas! and Poul Anderson in The Stone Dogs.
6 comments:
Kaor ,Paul!
At least I did catch on right away in "The Last Word" that "Anson MacDonald" was Robert Heinlein! And I still kick myself over how I MISSED that the Captain Anderson we see near the end of THE STONE DOGS was a homage to Poul Anderson.
And I'm starting to reread some of the stories in DRAKAS!, Such as John Barnes "Upon Their Backs, To Bite 'Em."
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I did some checking up on the Channel Islands. Legally, they are not part of the UK, rather they are remnants of the old Duchy of Normandy which are now dependencies of the British Crown. And the Loyal Toast at formal occasions is: "The Queen, our Duke."
Sean
Sean,
So the Monarch is the Duke of the Channel Isles as well as of Lancaster.
Paul.
Kaor ,Paul!
Yes, I thought as well of how the Queen is also Duke of Lancaster. Which still seems a bit odd to me! (Smiles)
Btw, the Lord or Seigneur of Sark, one of the Channel Islands, seems to be the last FUNCTIONING feudal baron in all Europe.
Sean
Sean,
The Queen can bestow our Dukedom on any worthy citizen if she wants to.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
True, tho it seems unlikely that will happen. The old Duchy of Lancaster has been "merged" with the Crown since Henry IV's time. Probably because it used to be too rich and powerful for any monarch to feel safe in entrusting it to anyone else hands except his own.
Sean
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