Vedran Draženović
Vedran Draženović | |
|---|---|
 Draženović in 2018 | |
| Born | 14 December 1971 Moddra, Scitaria |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Citizenship | Syaran |
| Notable awards | Syaran Science Fiction Writer of the Year (2014) |
| 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".
The Ballad of the Black Tigress (2002)
The novel is written to resemble an elderly Kiều Thạc Nhu recalling her campaigns and rule, but reveals shortly after her ascension to the position of Empress she encountered a traveler from the Liúşai League, who while in the midst of torture refuses to recant his faith in Concordianism. This impresses Nhu enough that she converts to the faith, and it is implied this caused her to preserve her mental stability rather than descend into meglomania as what historically occurred.
Nhu describes her invasion of the Rideva Empire in 1288 which meets with even more success than the historial version, allowing her to conquer all of Tennai by 1295. Nhu then pivots south and proceeds to absorb Gylias and Knichus in largely bloodless campaigns, before she turns her attention north to deal with the Acrean Empire's presence in north-east Siduri, which she conquers in two years. With the Arkoennites absorbed conquering the Makedonian Empire, Nhu turns east and invades Lirinya and later Cacerta. In 1306 she proceeds to invade Arkoenn and quickly conqueres the steppe empire, proceeding west until she has conquered Syara before swinging south to defeat the Ruwwadid Sultanate. With all of Siduri under her control, Nhu launches two invasions into Eracura. She establishes footholds in Akashi which forces the Acreans to focus on while Nhu's forces in west Eracura seize Shalum and Æþurheim. The Acreans fight hard but are unable to stop Nhu from conquering Meᵹelan, Delliria, Kosdrea, and Delkora Nhu invades Acrea proper and captures Acre, forcing the surrender of the Kingdom. Subsequent campaigns against Silua, Nordkrusen, Alemmar, and Sivina are succesful. Just before an invasion of Ossoria is to be launched, the High Kingdom voluntarily submits rather than face the seemingly unstoppable armies of the Kiếm Hoà Dynasty. Nhu, having conquered the world, retires to an estate in Van Lao.
The final page of the novel, however, casts doubt on the veracity of Nhu's recollection, implying she is in fact insane and is rambling to herself. It is left unclear whether Nhu actually accomplished the conquest of tyran, or it it was just a fantasy.
The Ossorian War (2004)
During the Ossorian war crisis, King Nevan III does not veto the Ossorian declaration of war, leading the Royal Ossorian Navy to dispatch a fleet to overthrow the Aén Ďanez government. Despite intentions not to spark a greater war, and the decision of the Gylian Self-Defense Forces not to resist, the arrival of the Ossorian task force leads to incident where miscommunication causes the Ossorians to inadvertently sink two Gylian vessels and bombard Gylian public buildings. The incident causes the GSDF to assume the Ossorians intend to completely overhaul Gylias' unique social and political structure, and the GSDF begins resisting the Ossorians. The outbreak of fighting causes the Common Sphere, specifically Cacerta, to intervene. A battle breaks out between the RON and the Cacertian Royal Navy. The incident provokes a wider war which expands into the Refusal War, prompting the Royal Ossorian Army to deploy to back the Royalists directly. The Cacertians respond with direct support for the Wardens. Acrea, unwilling to get involved in a protracted conflict, withdraws from the fighting. The Syaran Civil War ends up stalemating and remains so until a ceasefire is aggreed to that divides Syara into an Ossorian-oriented North and a Cacertian-oriented South. The outcome prompts Filomena Pinheiro to wryly comment "What a wrestling ground we have helped make for the Ossorians and Cacertians".
Nordic Dominion (2006)
The Acrean Empire does not fall, but instead re-asserts control over western Eracura after defeating the Makedonian Empire in north-east Siduri. A rebellion in Delkora is put down, allowing the Acreans to retain control over most of the Nordic population of Eracura, despite continued unrest in Æþurheim. The rebellion of the proto-Sivinian population results in a harsh crackdown and a reorganization of the Empire along increasingly autocratic principles. The defeat of the Makedonian Empire by the Arkoennites convince Acrea to expand Acrean influence in Siduri, leading to war with Arkoenn and later the Kiếm Hoà Dynasty. Acrea succeeds in keeping north-east Siduri under control, but over the course of a few centuries rising discontent over the monarchy leads to rebellions and revolts in the Empire's extremeties. A revolution overthrows the monarchy in the 1700s and causes the empire to fracture under ethnic lines. Eracura remains in a state of flux and conflict between the various states until pan-Nordic sentiment leads to the rise of the Nordic Dominion, which unites the various Nordic peoples across Eracura. Driven by nationalist sentiment, the Dominion proceeds to wage successful campaigns against Sivinia and Silua, following it up with driving Ossoria out of the Arzells. The rising Cacertian Empire attempts to push the Dominion out of Siduri with the support of Quenmin, but the Dominion retains control despite heavy losses at sea. Over the 20th Century the Dominion steadily modernizes and becomes the premier power in Tyran, entering the new millennia ranging from Delkora to the Arzells.
Conquest of the Commonality (2008)
Following the Imerti Conflict, Syara falls under the control of an increasingly nationalist leadership that provokes a war over Zemplen with Ruvelka. The Syaran Commonality Armed Forces quickly overrun and defeat the Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka, annexing all of Ruvelka west of the Kurillas and deporting the population eastward. The victory proceeds to fuel increasingly ultra-nationalist rhetoric within Syara, leading to regional wariness over Syaran intentions. Syara becomes increasingly totaltarian in the years afterwards, with civil rights curtailed and a massive state security apparatus formed. Syara's increasingly belligerent stance on the international stage leads to sanctions and comdenation from foreign powers, which begins to cripple the Syaran economy. Worried that a steadily tightening economic situation will bring about the end of the Commonality, Syara invades and seizes the rest of Ruvelka, which prompts the OTN to organize a massive intervention force staged out of Arkoeen and Mansuriyyah. After a prolonged aerial and naval campaign, the OTN forces invade. The ensuing conflict is a year long bloodbath before the OTN finally captures Zovahr, after which the international community agrees to break up Syara into it's four Realms, undoing Syaran unification.
The novel, written in 2007 and published just three months before the start of the Zemplen War, has been described by one critic as "the height of pessimistic irony".
Sabria Eterna (2011)
The Sabrian Empire succesfully defeats the Acrean Empire during their conflict and retains control over parts of south-east Eracura. During the Quenminese Anarchy the Sabrians take a stronger stance in the warring states period and succesfully form an alliance of Quenminese client-states, giving the Sabrians the necessary power to resist Deinokrates III and secure victory over the Makedonian Empire in the Sabrian Wars. With most of Knichus, Lirinya, Quenmin, and Akashi under their control, the Sabrians dominate eastern Siduri for centuries. The Sabrians are unable to stop the Arkoennites from conquering much of Siduri, but their presence prevents the rise of Xevden by assisting the Liúşai League to victory in the Colonisation War. Although Akashi is lost to a resurgent Acrean Empire in the late 1700s, the Acreans are unable to challenge the Sabrians at sea and fail to cross the Sundering Sea into Siduri.
Owing to their vast merchantile nature and free exchange of information, Sabria becomes the epicenter of the Industrial revolution and rapidly becomes the most powerful state in Tyran. Since the Cacertian Empire never forms, the Divide War and Siduri War never occur. The Great War instead breaks out in Eracura and draws in many Siduri powers, but not Sabria, which emerges from the post-war period the undisputed superpower.
Golden Waves (2013)
The Darnan Cyras government makes a conscious effort to export the Golden Revolution across Tyran, and it succeeds in taking hold in Delkora, Knichus, and the Republic of Syara thanks to Marija Kostova. The success turns the Common Sphere into a major international power with significant influence in the global economy, countering the growth of the other major powers. Over the decades the CS becomes the predominant political and economic power bloc, leading to no wretched decade or FedCom Civil War. The success of the CS however inspires like-minded ideological uprisings in more traditionalist states such as Shalum and Æþurheim. Beginning in the 21st Century a cold war develops between the conservative monarchist nations and the CS, despite the Common Sphere's efforts to avoid a military confrontation and arms race. A massive epsionage and counter-intelligience campaign begins on both sides, with frequent entaglements and confrontations in what neutral states remain. The cold war goes increasingly digital, switch cybersecurity and social media becoming the "battlegrounds" of the conflict. The apex of the novel deals with the development of the first "quantum computer" created in Quenmin, and the resulting efforts by both sides to secure it's secrets.
Golden Waves resulted in Draženović winning Syaran Science Fiction Writer of the Year in 2014.
The Empire That Never Was (2015)
Orestes II dies in childhood, and thus the Makedonian Empire never forms. Western Siduri becomes dominated by the Seyhad League and the Chalna Empire , while the Erani re-assert themselves in the central Siduri Steppe to become a powerful confederation. The Hannashka Empire never forms as a result of the lack of Turkic migration to western Siduri due to the strong Erani presence, which eventually extends into eastern Siduri. The Rideva Empire adopts many Erani cultural traits as a result, while Quenmin develops into a major counter to Erani influence in central Siduri. The Sabrian Empire retains influence over eastern Siduri and never collapses; eventually Knichus and later the Liúşai League comes under Sabrian influence. The Neo-Erani Empire expands into western Siduri and absorbs much of Ruvelka and Mansuriyyah, and Syara becomes colonized by the Bosrei. The Arkoennites rise, but are heavily influenced by the Erani, resulting in an Erani-Turkic Confederation from north-east Siduri to Mansuriyyah. The Kingdom of Dragovita later expands south and absorbs most of Syara and parts of Ruvelka, creating a Slavic nation that dominates the western Sundering Sea. The Acrean Empire remains intact in eastern Eracura, but Dragovita extends westward and absorbs Shalum and Æþurheim. Ossoria conquers the Arzells outright, leaving Eracura dominated by Slavic, Celtic, and Nordic empires. Siduri settles into a pan-Turkic/Erani confederation, with Quenmin, the Tennaiites, and Sabrians holding onto southern and eastern Siduri.
Reception
Draženović's work has been met with major commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. Critically his works have been met with more mixed reactions, with some criticism leveled towards an inclination towards "pop history" rather than "honest retrospection into possible alternate history scenarios". Ruvelkan historian and literary critic Henrik Kelemen summarized a common view among historians regarding Draženović's writing:
From a technical standpoint, there is little to critique about [Draženović's] writing; it is straight to the point and competently administered. Characters are portrayed thoroughly and dialouge is neither overly verbose nor too simplistic. Draženović's prose is not by itself exceptional; few readers will be taken back or astounded by his command of written language. This is possibly the reason why his work has found international success, although it must surely also be based partially in the inherent nationalist appeal in many of his postulated scenario. It would be misleading, however, to ascribe to Draženović the makings of a genius; his delves into alternate history begin with a premise he imagines first then puts to paper, with research following after or at best during. Very few of his scenarios and stories can be said to be truly realistic in his interpretation of how events might unfold; they are burdered with blanket assumptions and topical understandings of foreign culture. This is perhaps ultimately why Draženović enjoys the success he does; he writes what an average person might imagine would happen had historical events gone differently, rather than an indepth study into potential consequences of a "course change" in the path of history.
Kelemen nevertheless gave a positive review to Draženović's books, stating that "[Draženović] makes people think about history in more than just memorizing dates and names". Draženović has also been credited with popularizing the genre of alternate history both in Syara and abroad.