Title: Emergence
Author: Brasc
Rating: T
Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
DLP Category: Other Fandoms
Pairing: None Yet
Status: WIP; 14 Chapters/39,914 Words
Summary: When a survey team for the Domination of the Draka discovers alien ruins on Mars, Earth - and the galaxy at large - will never be the same.

This one is really, really well done. The writing is solid, and the style is very close to Stirling's; so much so that it's nearly indistiguishable at times. Brasc has managed to merge two very different universes almost seamlessly.

The effect of the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars on the Balance of power in the Sol System between the Domination and the Alliance for Democracy is very well thought out and believably done, as is the effect it has on the timing and outcome of the Final War.

This one is a must read for fans of either series.

 

Although I`m a BIG fan of Stirlings other works, I don't get the "Draka" fandom at all. I couldn't get through the opening chapters of "Marching through Georgia" without throwing up in my mouth. WTF is it about those slaveholding fascist pigs that fascinates anyone into writing fanfiction about them? Only book in the series I finished was "Drakon", and that was because the evil bastards got a kick in the balls there.

BTW, do you know of any completed "Island in the sea of time" fanfiction?

 

I think what fascinates fans of the series is the fact that they are slave holding fascist pigs, but they are portrayed not as pure evil, but as human beings who believe in that "pure evil" as the way things should be. They are some of the most truly vicious, racist, and just plain evil villains ever imagined, but they are shown without the all-too-common sugar coating of "They are inhuman monsters, therefore us humans are surely incapable of such evil." It takes people outside their moral comfort zone by showing them that human beings, who laugh and love and aspire to be better people, can simultaneously be as evil as they come.

Nope, sorry. You'd probably have more luck if you posted that question in the story search section.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like some darkness in my fiction- but the "Draka" novels were just too much. In "1984" or "Brave new world", two of the most famous dystopias of literature, you have at least some (rather hopeless) "good" protagonists. "Draka" is filled with scum and I refuse to read three novels of those bastards conquering the world. While I DO get Stirlings point of showing his readers the worst possible history, making it believable and shocking, I just can't enjoy those books.

Stirling left himself some very intriguing and promising story threads open for a sequel... it's rather disappointing that no fanfiction writer of any standing has taken him up on that.

 

My big problem with the series is that the entire plot of the books requires everyone who's not a Draka to be pants-on-head-retarded and stay that way. I'll give this a shot, but if it's all accurate to Stirling's writing I have a feeling my rating is going to be very low.

EDIT: Okay, a real review.

Let's see. Draka bragging incessantly about how they've solved a problem in twenty or thirty years compared to the real world (which hasn't quite solved the problems with scramjets even today), just because they're Draka and they're awesome like that...check. Well, we're off to an accurate start anyway. I won't say it's a good one because that's a damn dirty lie.

This is also pretty accurate to the series. Yes, Drakaverse scientists really do think the very concept of transmitting data over phone lines is horrifying and strange. No, I have no idea how they're supposed to have technology several decades to centuries ahead of what they should and computers that basically still use punchcards. I'm not making that part up either.

tl;dr - if you don't know what you're talking about, please don't go into technical detail when you write sci-fi. It's okay to gloss over stuff! Remember when Han Solo went into exhaustive detail about how the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive worked? No? Exactly.

Did he just lampshade the fact that the entire series runs on author's fiat? :awesome

Your hyper-competent world-conquering bad guys at work, ladies and gentlemen. Fresh out of a Jackie Chan movie. Okay, that's enough picking on the Draka. From an actual story-telling perspective, it reads very dry. Do we need the constant technical bits and historical footnotes taking the place of actual description?

I dunno if I want to rate this just yet, honestly. It's been focusing so heavily on the Draka side of the story that I don't know if it's going to improve now that more Mass Effect is coming in. So far I'd probably have to give it a 2/5 (being honest with myself) or 3/5 (it is remarkably accurate Draka fanfiction). That can easily shoot to 4 or 5 if krogan end up stomping through Archona.

 

Fair enough, but the fact that it's true to the character of the Draka is kind of a draw for me. Yes, they're overconfident; arrogant even, in their attitude toward their place in the universe. However, it is less Draka centric than the original series. The books basically end with "The bad guys win, while the good guys are reduced to a pitiful remnant that'll be safely out of the way for a few centuries." This is looking to be a bit more balanced. There are hints that the Draka may face serious political opposition on the Citadel for the practice of slavery, and possibly the use of outlawed weapons during the Final War (not to mention their rather extensive use of genetic engineering, which is restricted by citadel law), which will probably only get worse for them once the Alliance remnant gets involved.

It looks to me like the author is trying to shift the balance out of the Draka's favor, while still staying true to the source material, which is bound to take time. It seems pretty clear that this is not a Draka curbstomp fic, and I think you would do it a disservice by dismissing it as such. So far, we've only had one chapter with any interaction with ME characters/governments (outside of mutual killing), and that was minimal, at best, and didn't end favorably for the Draka. We're only just getting to the meat of the story, so try giving it a few more chapters before rendering a final veridict.

 

Right, that's why I said I was waffling. I suspect that the author is trying to go somewhere in a hurry, so I might end up giving it a higher rating later.

I just hope he slows down when he gets to the story he wants to tell. Fourteen chapters of what feels like an extended prologue is kind of insane. Seriously, he covers one war in around three chapters, and a second in a single chapter.

 

I give it a 3/5, I might increase it later.

 

New chapter. I'll admit I literally LOL'ed when the Asari ambassador (no spoilers in this post) lampshaded the elevator rides from the first game:

 

I think the alliance don't really seem to suffer any losses against the pirates, I would like it if he fleshed out that part of the story more.
Or is that just me?