Vedran Draženović

Vedran Draženović
Draženović in 2015
Born	14 December 1971 Moddra, Scitaria
Occupation	Writer
Citizenship	Syaran
Notable awards	Syaran Science Fiction Writer of the Year (2015)
Children	3

Vedran Draženović is a Syaran author best known for his prolific series of Alternate history works covering a wide variety of alternate scenarios and outcomes in the history of Tyran. Since beginning in 1993 at the age of 22 Draženović has published more than thirty novels, mostly within the realm of alternate history and occasionally science fiction. While his works have been met with mixed receptions among historians and critics, they have been major commercial successes and have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Biography

Draženović was born in Moddra in 1971. He took a keen interest in literature at a young age and took up writing at the encouragement of his mother. His plans for receiving a college education were interrupted by the Refusal War, but graduated from the University of Moddra in 1994 with a degree in writing and literature study. While at college he met his future wife Sandra; they married in 1997 and have three children. Draženović currently resides in Zovahr along with his family.

Works

Most of Draženović's books focus on alternate "what-if" scenarios where specific events do not occur or certain nations and empires do not emerge/fall. Most of these stories are told through the perspective of a handful of major characters, usually political or military officials, with occasional interludes by minor characters, usually lower-class, who provide a more "interpersonal" look into the scenario. The chronology of the story usually takes place over several decades or centuries, often with historical characters given new roles in the altered timeline.

Pax Makedonia (1993)

Written while he was still in college, Pax Makedonia was Draženović's first novel to be published. Its original production run of 500 copies was quickly depleted, becoming the most purchased book in Syara in 1993. Pax Makedonia presents an alternate timeline where the Burning Plague never occurs, and thus the Makedonian Empire doesn't go into decline. The untarnished Empire proceeds to put down the Âu Lạc Rebellion with minimal losses, and a century later defeats and conquers the Rideva Empire. With Makedon's territory secure the Arkoennite Empire never forms, leaving Makedon with uncontested rule over Siduri. In 1305, the same year the real-life Empire was defeated at the Battle of Nemaro, the Makedonians instead invade and conquer the Cacertian Isles. Makedon establishes further inroads into western Eracura, absorbing much of Æþurheim and Shalum. The novel ends on the eve of a major war with the remaining Eracuran powers, which would assure Makedonian global dominance if victorious.

Pax Makedonia became a best-seller in Syara and was met with major commercial success. The novel was met with mixed reactions from historians, many of which argued the path towards Makedonian dominion was unrealistic. Ruvelkan historian Henrik Kelemen argued that the Makedonian Empire would not have survived the onset of nationalism and the rise of nation-states in the early modern era due to the lack of any overarching civic nationalist movement within Makedon. The book nevertheless was well received by Syaran audiences and it remains Draženović's most popular book.

World of the Reds (1994)

World of the Reds takes place in an alternate history where the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic emerges victorious in the Ruvelkan-Makedonian War, causing the Kingdom of Makedon to collapse into socialist revolution. The Ruvelkan Red Army proceeds to conquer the remainders of the Syaran Successor States, and afterwards invades and conquers Mansuriyyah to form the People's Republic of Siduri. The combined population and resource base of western Siduri allows the People's Republic to decisively defeat Acrea in the Kunhegyes Conflict, and afterwards seizes upon Arkoennite rebellions against the Cacertian Empire to invade Arkoenn. The rapid success of the People's Republic of Siduri prompts international communist-inspired uprisings across Tyran, toppling the governments of Tennai, Quenmin, Xevden, Delkora, Shalum, and Æþurheim by the 1930s. With the remaining powers of Ossoria, Cacerta, and Acrea cowed, the People's Republic of Siduri enjoys decades of peace, only for it to be broken by anti-statist rebellions in Gylias, which in turn prompt a steady downward spiral of internal conflict within the People's Republic. The book ends with a news report that a massive combined force of Acrean, Cacertian, and Ossorian fleets and armies are preparing to overrun communist holdings in Eracura.

Rideva Eternal (1996)

In Rideva Eternal, the Rideva Empire survives past the 14th century and successfully defeats the Arkoennites, uniting nearly all of south-Siduri under the Ridevan banner. The Ridevans later intervene to prevent the rise of Xevden before incorporating Quenmin into the Empire as a protectorate. A second war with the Arkoennites breaks apart the Arkoennite rule over central and western Siduri, but leads to conflict with the Rioni Union and the Rawwadid Sultunate. The Ridevans conquer Mansuriyyah but the fight against the Union proves difficult owing to the defenses of the Matra and Kurilla Mountains. Unable to defeat the Union outright, the Ridevans swing east and conquer the Northern and Southern Dyansties. The Ridevans form an alliance with the Padovan Empire, who provide the Ridevans with the ships necessary to sail north and defeat the Rioni Union and invade western Syara, forcing the Union to surrender. The Ridevan Empire survives for several more centuries before peacefully transitioning to the Ridevan Commonwealth while staying out of the affairs of Eracura.

The Vigilant on the Seas (1998)

In 1918, the Cacertian Empire succeeds in capturing Zovahr at the climax of the Desopya Campaign, forcing the surrender of the Republic of Syara and winning the Divide War. The subsequent end of the Ruvelkan Civil War allows the Cacertian monarchy to forge a marriage alliance with the Imperial Separatists, granting Cacerta a virtually unassailable presence in Siduri. Bolstered by its victories, the Cacertian Empire proceeds to compel much of Siduri to join a Cacertian dominated economic bloc. The Cacertians proceed to solidify their control over Siduri by invading Xevden. Growing concerns over Cacertian imperialism force Ossoria and Acrea to form a joint defense pact meant to counter Cacertian influence. The Empire counters by forming a mutual defense pact with Æþurheim, and begins a major naval buildup in the Sanguine Sea. The Ossorian-Acrean alliance, with support from Shalum, launches a pre-emptive strike against the Cacertian and Æþurian forces but fails to completely destroy them. In response Cacerta and Æþurheim invade Shalum, and—with Silua and Sivinia neutral—Acrea is unable to challenge the action on land. The Royal Ossorian Navy engages in a running battle with the Cacertian Royal Navy along the Nuandan Ocean but is unable to score a decisive victory, while a trans-Siduri railroad allows Cacerta to ship weapons and troops through Quenmin, Arkoenn, Ruvelka, and eventually to Syara to be shipped over to Æþurheim. Shalum surrenders after three years of fighting and cedes most of its southern territory to Æþurheim while agreeing to allow Cacertian forces to garrison Shalumite islands off the coast. Acrea negotiates a separate peace with Cacerta, and the High Kingdom is left alone to prepare for the inevitable Cacertian invasion.

The Great War (2000)

After launching the invasion of Ruvelka, the Inner Sphere opts to consolidate its position rather than expand the Siduri War. The Common Axis is still formed by the Cacertian Empire, Quenmin, Tennai and Mansuriyyah, but without the immediate threat of invasion the Axis is unable to come to an agreement as to how to respond the fall of Ruvelka and the situation in Siduri remains tense but static. The Inner Sphere proceeds to forge strong ties with Æþurheim and Sivinia, who join the alliance. In 1937 they commence the invasion of Shalum, and with Syaran and Arkoennite assistance are able to conquer it before either Acrea or Ossoria intervene. In response the two nations join the Common Axis, and a cold war settles between the two alliances with the Republic of Syara, Arkoenn, Sivinia, and Æþurheim in the Inner Sphere, and Cacerta, Mansuriyyah, Quenmin, Tennai, Acrea, Ossoria, and the governments-in-exile of Ruvelka and Shalum.

A three year period of constant tension are broken by a border clash over the Æþurian occupied Arzells with Ossoria, spiraling into a wider war that involves all the major powers. The Cacertian and Ossorian navies attempt to defeat the Navy of the Syaran Republic and the Kriegsmarine in a massive battle in the Malian Sea, but are unable to force a strategic victory. The front in Eracura grinds into a stalemate as the Acrean Army is forced to attack on a narrow front against Sivinia where it struggles to make progress. The Common Axis manages to convince Silua to join the war, opening up another front against Sivinia, but in Siduri the Syarans are able to overrun and conquer Mansuriyyah, annihilating a large detachment of the Royal Ossorian Army. The Acrean and Cacertian navies attempt to cripple Inner Sphere activity in the Sundering Sea with a protracted raiding and submarine campaign which costs thousands of lives and hundreds of ships on both sides.

In Eracura, the combined Siluan and Acrean offensive pushes Sivinia back and threatens to collapse the Inner Sphere's front. In Siduri the combined Quenminese-Cacertian-Tennaiite forces manage to launch a counter-invasion into Arkoenn, forcing the country out of the war. The Syarans pull back to occupied Ruvelka and Mansurriyah and force the Common Axis to fight through the Kurillas and Matra Mountains to finish them off before Syara surrenders. In Eracura, Æþurheim refuses to surrender and continues to fight against the Common Axis even as Shalum is liberated; it is only after Æþurheim itself is invaded that its government surrenders. The war ends up claiming over 10% of the population of Tyran, the most destructive conflict in history, with most of Ruvelka, Shalum, Mansurriyah, Sivinia, and Arkoenn devastated, and with all three remaining superpowers exhausted. The book ends with "Let future generations known that a spark started in Zemplen burnt the whole world down".