Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating premise but failed to stay on track
Review: I regret to say that Drakon didn't live up to the other three Draka novels. Stirling's previous stories portrayed a race of warriors, like many in science fiction, from the Dorsai to the Klingons, and looked with grim realism at the cultural pattern that such a race would generate and at their impact on the ordinary human beings who surrounded them. Drakon promised such a confrontation in the most primal form, with a single Draka falling into present-day New York, beginning a career of murder and piracy aimed at world domination, and being noticed and eventually pursued by the ordinary human beings of our world. Then he brought in a rival superman, one whose abilities came from cybernetics rather than genetics, and turned the novel into a war of rival gods or supermen in which human beings were just pawns--and most of the interest went out of it for me. The other Draka books didn't make this mistake and are brilliant political monster stories; this book could have been an equally brilliant story about one monster, had Stirling not lost faith in the ability of ordinary human beings to struggle against monsters.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts Very Strong But Goes Downhill
Review: In this follow-up to the fascinating "Domination of the Draka" series, Stirling lets them cross over into our universe. The sheer surprise value ( which, sadly has just been spoiled for you ) is a major part of the books appeal. The story itself is rather simple, though it has many good moments. I absolutely disliked the ending which is just a big shoot-em-up with an even more hollywood-like epilogue. The Draka did not deserve that. If you have liked the first three books, you should read it, otherwise try those first.
Rating: 
Summary: Wolf in the fold
Review: Part four in Stirling's nightmarish alternative history epic of the Domination of the Draka, "Drakon" reads more like a thriller (and bears a suspicious resemblance to a certain James Cameron movie. You know the one I mean) than a military sf novel, but this was a nice surprise. The least brutal out of the four novels, it still contains plenty of violence, but it lacks the all-pervasive oppressive atmosphere of the previous books, mainly because the action is set not on the Domination's timeline, but in 'our' (well, almost) New York of the late '90s. More engaging than both "Marching Through Georgia" and "Under the Yoke", not quite as splendid as the monumental "The Stone Dogs", "Drakon" is a fast and highly entertaining read. Oh, and I agree with the reviewer who said that Nicole Kidman would be the perfect choice to play Gwen Ingolfsson if ever this was turned into a major motion picture (and it should!).
Rating: 
Summary: A+, best of the Draka books
Review: Reread, and it's as good as ever: A+, best of the Draka books, and makes my personal Top 20 Ever list. Still Stirling's best book, imo. Compulsively readable, and highly recommended.
Gwen Ingolffson, the titular Drakon, is dumped alone into (almost, [1]) OTL in a failed wormhole experiment. A good Drakon superwoman, she makes First Contact with a mass-murder, and moves smoothly on towards World Domination. Gwen is SF's best female antihero, truly a lovely monster.
The ending is perfunctory [2], with a nice leadin to the planned sequel, _Unto Us a Child_. Which, unfortunately, was never finished: (I'd give you the URL, but Amazon would likely censor it. So Google. Hint: drakasequels.html)
DRAKON is the only standalone Draka book,the sexiest, and the least gory[3], so if you haven't tried the Drakaverse, this is the place to start.
[Pause to read a bunch of old Usenet Drakon discussions. The standout is Jo Walton's thoughtful review; Google Groups.]
Anyway, I can see the point of the various nitpicks, especially the one that sees DRAKON as a Draka fanfic, written by the author -- but none of them mattered, while I was reading or rereading the book. Drakon pushed all my right buttons, and, since this isn't a formal review, I don't have to analyze the book, nyah nyah. It's *terrific*, and I look forward to rereading it again sometime in the 2010's.
Happy reading!
Pete Tillman
[1] The only argument I came across for this not being OTL, was a comment someone made that all the VN-era fighting was in Cambodia. Note, however, that both the NVA and Viet Cong are specifically mentioned. Did I miss another POD?
[2] --but includes a neat reference to Niven's "All the Myriad Ways".
[3] Even so, there are parts that are not for the squeamish.
Rating:
Summary: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Review: Stirling left me depressed but captivated with his first three Draka novels. Rarely has anyone in the alternative history field created so thoroughly consistent and awful a society as that of the Domination. In Drakon, he explores some of their vulnerabilities while continuing to elaborate on their incredible powers and evolutionary track, manifested in the traditional parallel universe/wormhole framework. His Gwen Ingolfsson is a fascinating monster, combination of Ilse Koch, Nicole Kidman (who could play her in a film version quite well, not that any studio would ever touch this series), Ripley from the Alien movies, and the momma Alien herself, with a little of the Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster and a dram of Dr. Strangelove and Michael Milken thrown in for good measure. A very highly developed and repulsively fascinating character, and I thought Stirling did a good job with the human and cyber-human characters as well. He does not let you wonder where he stands, but does make you think about what it means to be human, what freedom is, the price of order, comfort, intellect, gardening, and the like. And he tweaks a few relatively recent human celebrities for fun along the way as toadies of the Draka (I will not identify them; if you can't figure it out, you've been deaf and blind for the last twenty years.) I have become a real fan of Stirling's, for this series and his Island in the Sea of Time trilogy as well. Which means I am deeply disturbed, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Draka crosses parallel universes into modern day NYC
Review: The previous 3 books in this series left us with the comforting thought that, chilling as they were, they all took place in an alternate universe - leving us perfectly safe as spectators. WRONG!! - in Drakon, Stirling strips away that safe barrier by dumping an advanced Draka into 1995 NYC via a runaway physics experiment. Her automatic response is the same as a starved wolf turned loose amongst a flock of lambs - 'fresh meat'. We're a delicious opportunity to do what Draka love to do best but haven't been able to do for the past 400 years - conquer and subjugate people. The Draka loose in our world has 2 priorities - carve out a nice little fiefdom to master, and contact her home universe to call in Draka help enslaving and brand new Earth
Rating:
Summary: The totally baddass chick who fell to earth.
Review: This is a sort of Predator meets Terminator meets Barbarella meets The Man Who Fell to Earth meets..... well, you get the idea. Gwen, one of the Draka (The Master Race of their own universe) accidently gets flung to an alternate universe, ours, and decides to call it home. She uses her advanced scientific knowledge to build a financial empire in order to bankroll the research she needs done to build the components of a machine that will someday allow the rest of the Draka to join her on this world of easy prey. An agent of the alternate universe's version of the U.S. is sent to stop her. A N.Y. Police detective gets caught in the middle, mayhem insues. A good romp. Worth readin
Rating:
Summary: Different,but interesting follow-up to the first three books
Review: This one actually has a relatively happy ending. The Draka do NOT win, but not for lack of trying. I enjoy the fast paced story line of the whole series, and this book did not let me down. A very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Aside from an accuracy problem, nice.
Review: This was a fast-paced and intense book. You either loved it or hated it.My only complaint was that the author obviously never held a Glock...which he tried to talk intelligently about. He described it as having only a metal firing pin, everything else being plastic...uh, last I looked at mine, the slide, barrell, and some other parts were metal. A cop would definitely known better (his character) when he thought about the weapon. Despite the lack of firearms knowledge, the book was rather well written. I never read the other books in the series and had little problem at all following this novel.
Rating:
Summary: A home run by Stirling!!!
Review: To really enjoy and understand this blockbuster of an alternate history/military sci-fi novel, one MUST have read, or be familiar with Stirling's three previous "Draka" novels...one of the most innovative series in the genre!!! The story is set in a different time line than the trilogy, but drops out of hyperspace (sic) with a sonic boom. It concerns a warrior female of the Draka, who is accidentally shifted from her time to present day North America. She looks upon modern men as little more than servants, created to do her bidding. When confronted by modern man's stubborness, all Hell breaks loose. You MUST read this book. To reveal more would be a disservice to all who
intend to do so. Get it!! Devour it!!
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