# New idea....Dragons and WW2 --- Can it work?!?!



## Druico (Jul 11, 2014)

Hi guys,

Been a while since I've posted on here, life has a way of taking over everything, time included! Anyways back to the very basic idea, just want to know what people think of it and if they would read it should they come across it in a store, online, on a forum etc!

My two favourite writing focuses are Dragons and WW2. One is a sense of the fantastical and the just plain awesome, whilst the other is a massive military and historical event. What I want to do is basically put them together in a new story I have been debating for some time now. 

Basically the idea of the story is that the same events take place as they did historically, only with an additional element of fantasy. Essentially the war begun because of Hitler's strive for power in the form of Dragons, to take over Europe and the world etc etc.

Dragons are bred for both military and civillian roles, whether they are used as dragon riders in the Airforces, tanks on ground, or even in the Navy. 

I've got a load planned and thought out, just wanted to see what the general opinion on the idea of the story was before I went into more detail. After speaking to a few writer friends of mine about the idea, they pointed me towards the 'Temeraire' series by Naomi Novik and whilst a little dissapointed that an idea with the same principle had been created, at least gave me some hope it could work.

Any help or suggestions would be awesome 

Thanks guys,
Dan


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## A_Jones (Jul 11, 2014)

I think it is absolutly brilliant.  The panzer dragoon!!! Literally!!!  Love it do it and post it for me to read!


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## Druico (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm really considering it! Just wondering if enough people would want to read that sort of thing


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## sassy_pants (Jul 11, 2014)

I think it's a great idea. Personally, I could not be less interested in war stories, but I know several people who love them. I also know several people who love scifi, dragons, etc. The idea of re-imagining such a well-known piece of our history to include such a drastic game-changer... dude, I would read this. I'd love to see how you'd use dragons to win the war, or the war is set aside entirely to deal with the dragon threat. OR HOLY CRAP THE DRAGONS ARE FROM OUTER SPACE!!!! 

...sorry. My point is, this is a very cool idea. Make it happen.


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## Deafmute (Jul 11, 2014)

You can make anything work. Its all about execution. If you write it well, you could make the story about oh I don't know something crazy like Tiny green leprechauns exploring the inside of a coffee machine, and it will still be amazing... I mean they could colonize it and... and call it Folgers Castle.... and then they could go to war with a rival group of gnomes who live in the toaster oven, yea, that's it.

Wait what were we talking about again?


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## T.S.Bowman (Jul 11, 2014)

Druico said:


> I'm really considering it! Just wondering if enough people would want to read that sort of thing



You need to take that line of thought...put it in a box...and BURY it.

It sounds to me like you feel like you would have a blast writing it. So it doesn't matter in the slightest how many people would read it. You have to write for you. 

If you think you can make it work (and they did the Fantasy element thing with Hellboy, remember) then do it!


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## Grizzly (Jul 11, 2014)

You know, when I first read the title, I was like "naw, man. That's wack." But after reading more into it, I think it can (ha) fly. 
I think it's an interesting idea and would be a fun read. And I could definitely see myself getting wrapped in a book like that. It's sort of fantasy/steam-punk, right? I can dig that. So, in short, do it dude. I'd like to read it.


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## BeastlyBeast (Jul 11, 2014)

Sounds like a ww2-esque GoT. LOL! Countries fighting over power and one of them's got mudda-effin dragons! I'm sure it could work. The only thing I'd imagine would be tough is creating the idea that Hitler could still lose ww2 with dragons. It was a surprise he lost _without_ them! I think you'd need to kinda limit the dragons, give them a couple different weaknesses, like they hate ice, and the Americans develop ice-guns (reverse flamethrowers, basically) That could be one idea, or perhaps, the dragons have morals and see Hitler as a monster after a certain point, and the dragons turn on him in the end, or something like that! That would be cool and probably hilarious! Or perhaps you could make an alternate history book where Germany wins on account of finding the dragons. Either way, sounds like an interesting concept. Hope it goes well if you decide to work with it.

Even a potential title sounds cool... 
_Die Germanische Drache_


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## Kyle R (Jul 11, 2014)

Druico said:


> My two favourite writing focuses are Dragons and WW2. One is a sense of the fantastical and the just plain awesome, whilst the other is a massive military and historical event. What I want to do is basically put them together in a new story I have been debating for some time now.
> 
> Basically the idea of the story is that the same events take place as they did historically, only with an additional element of fantasy. Essentially the war begun because of Hitler's strive for power in the form of Dragons, to take over Europe and the world etc etc.
> 
> ...



Sounds great to me!

But, it's not a story yet. For it to be a story, you need a main character. Otherwise, it's just a time period with a fantasy element added into it. 

It's like saying, "Picture the middle ages ... but with hovercrafts!" 

The concept is definitely cool, but there has to be a character, someone who is trying to accomplish something. Their journey is where the story lies. :encouragement:


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## TWErvin2 (Jul 11, 2014)

You might check out The Darkness Series by Harry Turtledove. While it's not exactly what you described, there are some similarities. 

What caught my attention was the title to this post. If you look closely at the cover to my first novel, you might see why (see below). 

In any case, again, the spin I took on Dragons and WW II is vastly different from what you're planning. Mine isn't alternate history (which is a form of what you're considering) but more post apocalyptic fantasy. In the end, there is a market for good fantasy and alternate history novels. 

Good luck!


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## Jeko (Jul 12, 2014)

Sounds like a great anime I've never watched.


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## Nickleby (Jul 12, 2014)

Dude! I had this idea for dieselpunk dragons, but no time to develop it. Stop talking about it and start writing it!!!


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## Schrody (Jul 12, 2014)

I honestly think any idea is good enough if it's written well. Go for it!


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## dale (Jul 12, 2014)

Schrody said:


> I honestly think any idea is good enough if it's written well. Go for it!



this i agree with. ideas are as common as fingerprints. actually, ideas are more common. because i only have 10 fingerprints, but i have an unlimited supply of ideas.
ideas are like a trash pile, with scattered jewels scattered here and there, waiting to be plucked and polished.


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## aj47 (Jul 12, 2014)

No, the question isn't, "Can it work?"  The question is, "How do I make it work?"  If you have the answer (and it appears that you do) go for it.


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## thepancreas11 (Jul 12, 2014)

In case you haven't gotten the message: write something. We'll help you make it into something awesome.


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## T.S.Bowman (Jul 13, 2014)

thepancreas11 said:


> In case you haven't gotten the message: write something. We'll help you make it into something awesome.



+1 ^This


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## dale (Jul 13, 2014)

thepancreas11 said:


> In case you haven't gotten the message: write something. We'll help you make it into something awesome.



who the hell is "we"? you got a mouse or two in your pockets? ha ha


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## Schrody (Jul 13, 2014)

Dale, play nice


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## thepancreas11 (Jul 13, 2014)

Dale you don't have to be a part of the we if you don't want to.


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## Morkonan (Jul 13, 2014)

Druico said:


> ...
> Any help or suggestions would be awesome
> 
> Thanks guys,
> Dan




Orson Scott Card, Weber and friends, and a few other notable fiction writers have delved into this weird alternate-history-fantasy sub-genre.

In other words - Yes, it can be done because it already has been done, several times. But, just because it has already been done, doesn't mean you can't continue on with your idea! Everything has already been written, anyway, so there's' no use trying to fish around for unique ideas that will "Win the game" with just one stroke.


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## Druico (Jul 14, 2014)

Cheers guys, thanks for all the help and advice! Didn't expect there would be this much positive support for just an idea, let's hope it can turn into a decent story!

It was a toss up between classic fantasy dragon/dragon rider story or the WW2 mix up!

Just a thought on the holocaust issue, I had a few ideas. Obviously I could just leave it out completely or I could rework the idea to perhaps represent an alternative reason behind it. Any thoughts?


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## Greimour (Jul 14, 2014)

Druico said:


> just want to know what people think of it and if they would read it



I agree with Bowman, bury all thoughts like that one. If you enjoy writing it or the idea excites you - do it.

Seeing as the subject is largely covered; my personal view:

If you manage to accurately depict WW2 as one might learn it through years of study in history classes - only with the fantasy element such as Dragons. I would definitely read it. This is not purely because I am a fantasy loving nut, but because I would be incredibly interested in seeing how you go about doing it. Seeing what is changed and how; what difference(s) it makes - my interest in it would be the writing and execution first, story second. If you manage to get a good story to work without much deviation from actual history... I might just decide that you are one of my favourite writers of all time.

History makes for a great story anyway, but changing history and putting in myth, legend, half truths, fantasy, etc. The disaster factor can be huge. 
Historical fiction writers though (the successful ones) are many among my list of favourite writers. 

Kev.


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## Morkonan (Jul 15, 2014)

Druico said:


> ... Obviously I could just leave it out completely or I could rework the idea to perhaps represent an alternative reason behind it. Any thoughts?



It's tough to go there. Some authors, not very well regarded btw, have worked that theme into similar stories and have been universally panned, both for writing horribly and by choosing so sensitive a subject for certain thin-skinned masses....

If you wish to use it, I say go for it! If you feel that it needs to be brought out into the light and dissected, using your knife, then you should write it in, no question! 

How hard is it to find someone to persecute? I mean, come on, there's all sorts of ways you can do that. Invent a race to persecute or create a culture to torture. Establish a religion that is persecuted and its members murdered or enslaved. Heck, all you have to do is to create a people that are viewed by some others as "not like us" and you've got an ideal situation, ripe for persecution.


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## CyberWar (Jul 23, 2014)

The idea seems great to me.

If you gave the story a science fiction edge, those dragons could be explained as recently-extinct relatives of dinosaurs that survived to the Middle Ages before their extirpation by humans (making all the legends of knights slaying dragons in fact being accounts of historical encounters with the last of these ancient reptiles), a few preserved eggs being found frozen in, say, an Alpine glacial cave by Nazi scientists and successfuly incubated for a revolutionary weapons program, which is later replicated by Allied scientists as well (say, after an Allied commando raid on a Nazi dragon hatchery manages to bring back a few eggs).

Not that dragons could be overly successful against the firepower of modern weaponry, but surely, the psychological factor could make them of some use, at least in the beginning, when people who don't even believe in the existence of dragons suddenly face giant flying armor-plated serpents (preferably with swastikas prominently painted on their wings) bearing down from the sky on them, breathing fire and devouring everyone dumb enough to get in their way.


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## Morkonan (Jul 23, 2014)

CyberWar said:


> ...Not that dragons could be overly successful against the firepower of modern weaponry...



How hard is dragonscale? To me, there's sort of a progression of armor types, moving from simple bronze armors, through steel, composites, modern fiber/ceramics, reactives/absorbers and then through things like plasteel, unobtainium and, finally... dragonscale. 



> ..giant flying armor-plated serpents...



With 88's mounted on their flanks and Stuka sirens strapped to their legs!


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