Rating: 
Summary: An outstanding shared-world anthology
Review: S. M. Stirling's Draka are one of alternate history's more memorable creations. Bloodchillingly nasty and utterly efficient, they are seen by all as either the most terrifying or the most ludicrously implausible of villains. But one thing is clear: the Draka are big business with an IngolfTech label. Stirling has asked many of his fellow writers to make their contributions to the Draka canon. This anthology, which includes stories by such big-name authors as Harry Turtledove and David Drake, is the result. And a worthwhile result it is, for every story is good in it's own right. The first two tell, in bloody detail, how George Custer and Chinese Gordon help the Draka conquer Africa. David Drake tells the tale of gritty, un-glorious military politics during the Eurasian War. Some of the most interesting stories, however, come later in the anthology. Perhaps the best are those that deal with trans-dimensional travel. This sub-genre may seem hopelessly tired, but these stories give it new life. John Barnes, for instance, pits the hero of his Timeline Wars novels against the Draka. In Anne Marie Talbott's "A Walk in the Park", a woman from our timeline swears that those tall, inexplicably charismatic strangers she sees in the park are just like something out of an SF series she once read. This is a good choice for any science fiction fan. Fans of the Draka series will understand the background better, but everyone will appreciate the high quality of the writing.
Rating:
Summary: a very pleasant surprise
Review: The original Draka books are in my opinion the best alternate history ever written, and I thus opened this volume of shared-world short stories with some anxiety; this sort of venture is almost always disappointing. Boy, was I wrong: these stories are almost all wonderful. To pick out a few particular successes at random: David Drake's story is truly chilling. Harry Turtledove's affords some small but very satisfying consolation for the wrenching conclusion of The Stone Dogs, the third volume of the original trilogy. Jane Lindskold has written a quietly hilarious homage to another series which does no irreprable violence to the original Marching Through Georgia. A few people, such as Lee Allred, were new to me, and very, very good. So if you know the originals, these are a must-buy.
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