Darkness

The Darkness series is fantasy following a very strict historical script, based on the Second World War. It is set in what is apparently a different planet, with a major continent (Derlavai) in which most of the action takes place.

Topics of interest:

Countries

 * Algarve is Nazi Germany
 * The Duchy of Bari is Austria
 * Forthweg is Poland
 * Gyongyos is Japan
 * Jelgava is Spain
 * Kuusamo is the United States
 * Lagoas is Britain
 * The Land of the Ice People is North Africa
 * Ortah is Switzerland
 * Sibiu is Norway
 * Siualia is Central Africa
 * Unkerlant is USSR
 * Valmiera is France
 * Yanina is Italy and the Balkans
 * Zuwayza is Finland

Holocaust
Kaunians represent the Roman Empire, and the Jews. However, unlike the Jews and Gentiles in Europe, Kaunians share the same beliefs as the other members of the nations they reside in (the "powers above" and the "powers below.") The only distinct difference between the two groups is that Kaunians are blonde and possess fairer skin.

Nonetheless Kaunians were treated with the same contempt within Algarve and Forthweg as Jews were by anti-Semites in Germany and Poland. As the Derlavai War progressed, the Algarvians began enclosing all Kaunians within their homeland and Forthweg into confined areas of towns and cities. Later, after Algarve invaded Unkerlant, a specific quota of Kaunians was taken from these areas on a regular basis, then shipped off to the west. These groups were temporarily held within concentration camps before they were killed to allow Algarvian mages to use their life energy against Unkerlant. (Unkerlant later adopted the same tactic using its own criminals and peasants in place of Kaunians.)

Technology

 * "Sticks" are used instead of guns. They operate on magical energy that only a mage can replenish.
 * "Eggs" are explosives. They are used as bombs, artillery shells, and land mines.
 * Dragons are aircraft. They drop explosive "eggs" as bombs and breathe fire in place of machine guns. Their hides are coated with silver to deflect beams from enemy sticks. Brimstone and quicksilver are used as their "fuel."
 * Behemoths are large rhinoceros-like animals used as tanks and artillery. Some use egg-tossers while others carry large sticks.
 * Leviathans are described as being a mix between a whale and a crocodile that serve as submarines. Using spells that allow the rider to breathe underwater, a leviathan rider can dive below the surface, stalk an enemy ship, and then plant an explosive egg along its hull.
 * Magic is the main source of energy instead of electricity. This energy may be found along "ley lines" that cover the land or by extracting the life energy from a human sacrifice.
 * Habakkuk is a giant iceberg combined with sawdust that was used as a dragon-carrier.

Books
The series has six volumes:


 * 1) Into the Darkness
 * 2) Darkness Descending
 * 3) Through the Darkness
 * 4) Rulers of the Darkness
 * 5) Jaws of Darkness
 * 6) Out of the Darkness

One of the most interesting features of this series is the complex equivalences between the participants in the Derlavaian War and their Second World War counterparts. The various cultural and political features of each Derlavaian kingdom, as well as the role it plays in the Derlavaian war, have different counterparts. The result is a quite amusing quilt, sometimes lovely, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes insipid.