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FREEDOM AND JUSTICE -- AMERICAN STYLE
1632 And in northern Germany things couldn't get much worse. Famine. Disease. Religous war laying waste the cities. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy.
2000 Things are going OK in Grantville, West Virginia, and everybody attending the wedding of Mike Stearn's sister (including the entire local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America, which Mike leads) is having a good time.
THEN, EVERYTHING CHANGED....
When the dust settles, Mike leads a group of armed miners to find out what happened and finds the road into town is cut, as with a sword. On the other side, a scene out of Hell: a man nailed to a farmhouse door, his wife and daughter attacked by men in steel vests. Faced with this, Mike and his friends don't have to ask who to shoot. At that moment Freedom and Justice, American style, are introduced to the middle of the Thirty Years' War.
Comprehensive Teacher's Guide available.
1632 And in northern Germany things couldn't get much worse. Famine. Disease. Religous war laying waste the cities. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy.
2000 Things are going OK in Grantville, West Virginia, and everybody attending the wedding of Mike Stearn's sister (including the entire local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America, which Mike leads) is having a good time.
THEN, EVERYTHING CHANGED....
When the dust settles, Mike leads a group of armed miners to find out what happened and finds the road into town is cut, as with a sword. On the other side, a scene out of Hell: a man nailed to a farmhouse door, his wife and daughter attacked by men in steel vests. Faced with this, Mike and his friends don't have to ask who to shoot. At that moment Freedom and Justice, American style, are introduced to the middle of the Thirty Years' War.
Comprehensive Teacher's Guide available.
597 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
875 people are currently reading
7,480 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
281Ìýbooks869ÌýfollowersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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January 17, 2008
So, I finished reading Eric Flint's 1632 recently. The premise of the book is a modern-day West Virginia miner town is thrown backward in time to the middle of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War.
The Good: It's established in the introduction to the book that when the town is sent back in time -- due to some aliens monkeying with space-time as a form of "art" -- another universe splits off. So it is possible for the 20th century people in the town to change the timeline. This pleases me, as I am tired of time travel fiction where it works out oh-so-clever so that the timeline doesn't actually change.
So, in a sense, this is less a time travel book as a very strange alternate history book.
The historical research is good. The author captures the good side of what it's like to live in a small blue-collar town in West Virginia, and a good sense of what it was like to live during the 17th century, especially the grand political issues as well as what it was like to be a "little person" during 1632.
It's a very realistic "what if" scenario, all around, with all the appropriate concerns -- like the fact they don't have the tools to replace worn parts in their current machine shops.
The Bad: The author seems a little enthusiastic about violence as a tool for justice, IMHO. Actually, I understate that -- he's VERY enthusiastic, beyond even an action-adventure kind of way. I know it was a very violent time, but it's the Americans acting that way. Heavy use of sniper rifles and slaughtering primitively-armed horsemen doesn't seem to bug him at all... We're supposed to cheer.
Similarly, I think the author is a touch naive about how quickly non-nobles would embrace an American-style republic. Remember, peasants used to honestly believe that the King would protect them against the aristocracy. It was quite some time before they were disabused of this notion. There is no sign of this in the book. The book is very rah-rah American, which is okay, it's just it would be nice to see the darker side of things as well.
In fact, I get the idea from the afterward that it's the superiority of American democracy that makes the slaughter okay. Sure, I'm not propotent of feudal authoritarianism, and I know most nobles did horrible, horrible things, but I think the author is a little too gleeful about judging people raised in a very different environment by modern standards.
Similarly, there is NOTHING about the darker side of living in a small town. The author says he's tired of such a "cynical" attitude in literature regarding the middle and lower classes, but having grown up in a similar environment I have to say that things are quite whitewashed. (In fact, sometimes the randomly exceptional characters that just happen to be in that town make me think of a PC group in an RPG, both for good and for ill...)
While the introduction establishes that a time paradox isn't possible, it's not like the characters have access to that information. It would be nice if SOMEONE worried about what they're doing to history, rather than jumping headfirst and enthusiastically into the process of establishing a new United States of America over a century early in the middle of Europe, backed by modern hunting rifles and home-made troop carriers.
The Ugly: This book is part of a series, so it just... stops. It doesn't really so much as end as "run out of time," ready to bleed into the next book.
In a lot of ways, this book's concept is better than the actual writing. It's not bad... but one is left feeling it could be a lot better, a lot more fleshed out. I'm going to read the next book in the series, as I'm curious what happens, so that says something, at least.
I enjoyed the book immensely despite my reservations, but potential readers should be aware of what they're getting into.
The Good: It's established in the introduction to the book that when the town is sent back in time -- due to some aliens monkeying with space-time as a form of "art" -- another universe splits off. So it is possible for the 20th century people in the town to change the timeline. This pleases me, as I am tired of time travel fiction where it works out oh-so-clever so that the timeline doesn't actually change.
So, in a sense, this is less a time travel book as a very strange alternate history book.
The historical research is good. The author captures the good side of what it's like to live in a small blue-collar town in West Virginia, and a good sense of what it was like to live during the 17th century, especially the grand political issues as well as what it was like to be a "little person" during 1632.
It's a very realistic "what if" scenario, all around, with all the appropriate concerns -- like the fact they don't have the tools to replace worn parts in their current machine shops.
The Bad: The author seems a little enthusiastic about violence as a tool for justice, IMHO. Actually, I understate that -- he's VERY enthusiastic, beyond even an action-adventure kind of way. I know it was a very violent time, but it's the Americans acting that way. Heavy use of sniper rifles and slaughtering primitively-armed horsemen doesn't seem to bug him at all... We're supposed to cheer.
Similarly, I think the author is a touch naive about how quickly non-nobles would embrace an American-style republic. Remember, peasants used to honestly believe that the King would protect them against the aristocracy. It was quite some time before they were disabused of this notion. There is no sign of this in the book. The book is very rah-rah American, which is okay, it's just it would be nice to see the darker side of things as well.
In fact, I get the idea from the afterward that it's the superiority of American democracy that makes the slaughter okay. Sure, I'm not propotent of feudal authoritarianism, and I know most nobles did horrible, horrible things, but I think the author is a little too gleeful about judging people raised in a very different environment by modern standards.
Similarly, there is NOTHING about the darker side of living in a small town. The author says he's tired of such a "cynical" attitude in literature regarding the middle and lower classes, but having grown up in a similar environment I have to say that things are quite whitewashed. (In fact, sometimes the randomly exceptional characters that just happen to be in that town make me think of a PC group in an RPG, both for good and for ill...)
While the introduction establishes that a time paradox isn't possible, it's not like the characters have access to that information. It would be nice if SOMEONE worried about what they're doing to history, rather than jumping headfirst and enthusiastically into the process of establishing a new United States of America over a century early in the middle of Europe, backed by modern hunting rifles and home-made troop carriers.
The Ugly: This book is part of a series, so it just... stops. It doesn't really so much as end as "run out of time," ready to bleed into the next book.
In a lot of ways, this book's concept is better than the actual writing. It's not bad... but one is left feeling it could be a lot better, a lot more fleshed out. I'm going to read the next book in the series, as I'm curious what happens, so that says something, at least.
I enjoyed the book immensely despite my reservations, but potential readers should be aware of what they're getting into.
December 12, 2011
This is a pleasant, well-researched exercise in wish fulfillment.
The author did an immense amount of research (some of which will be poured into your head via chapter long info-dumps). It's an underserved time period that is inherently interesting. The characters are heart-warming, each with their own Crowning Moment of Awesome. It's a fun, sweet romp.
There is absolutely no narrative tension whatsoever.
At no point does any character experience a real setback or any frustration more than momentary. Only minor characters die and one major character receives an injury we never get the confirmation of the seriousness of. Only one bad judgement call is made, and the other characters hasten to reassure the person who makes the mistake that it was the only thing he could have done. (And almost no damage is caused because of it.) Possible conflicts are repeatedly set up (challengers to leadership, accusations of witchcraft, unrest between union and non union members, racism, sexism, etc) and dispelled immediately, usually on the same page. No one has legitimate differences of opinion on anything that truly matters that can't be resolved in a page and a half (usually by saying they argued a lot but eventually came around, without showing the argument).
Each major character is essentially a Mary Sue. The union leader is the Best Leader Ever. The Jewish doctor's daughter is the Smartest Person Ever. The spunky cheerleader is the Best Sniper Ever, the newcomer to town is the Best Leader of Germany Infantry Ever, the nerd is the Best Warleader Ever, his sweetheart is the Best Hooker With a Heart of Gold Ever. The actual historical King was the BEST MONARCH OF ALL TIME, NO REALLY. (In fact, I suspect the book may have been written in the first place because the author loves this historical figure and wanted him to have a better ending than his actual death.)
Everyone falls in love in the second quarter of the book, mostly improbably, and everyone immediately has a happy marriage with no culture shock, despite differences in time period, religion, and language spoken. No one longs after an impossible object, there are no misunderstandings, no unrequited affection, no disapproving relatives. Girl meets guy, both fall in love in the first 30 seconds, and all barriers are blown down as soon as they come up.
The author has an afterword in which he rather defensively explains that he wanted to write a "sunny" book featuring decent, working class heroes. He justifies his nerd who falls for an ex-prostitute with similar stories from WWII. I do not require justifications to feature well-meaning, hardworking, decent people instead of angsty antiheroes, nor do I challenge the likelihood of a young man rescuing a woman from being a forced camp follower and it coming out well. It's ok to want to write a book with a mostly positive outlook. But I think that he took it too far--happy endings do not require everything to turn out well for the protagonists at every single stage with no setbacks, and not every attraction turns into a stable marriage. These people have been ripped from their time period never to return, many losing family in the process. They can expect to die earlier than they would have otherwise, their children's futures will be entirely different, their fundamental assumptions of the world have to be changed. The natives they encounter have been brutalized, oppressed, starved, raped, tortured, and more. I'm not asking for wallowing, but I think a certain amount of respect for the amount of trauma this plot device has caused is called for. A magical orgasm does not cure months of rape after watching your family slaughtered.
Let us see good hardworking people make a few mistakes and learn how to correct for them; let us see some romances end disastrously and the survivors pick up and move on. Let us worry that the wrong person will win the election, or the overconfident Americans will lose a battle that involves conditions they are not used to. Americans and our technologies are not perfect. And you can have decent characters and happy endings without demanding that they be so.
The author did an immense amount of research (some of which will be poured into your head via chapter long info-dumps). It's an underserved time period that is inherently interesting. The characters are heart-warming, each with their own Crowning Moment of Awesome. It's a fun, sweet romp.
There is absolutely no narrative tension whatsoever.
At no point does any character experience a real setback or any frustration more than momentary. Only minor characters die and one major character receives an injury we never get the confirmation of the seriousness of. Only one bad judgement call is made, and the other characters hasten to reassure the person who makes the mistake that it was the only thing he could have done. (And almost no damage is caused because of it.) Possible conflicts are repeatedly set up (challengers to leadership, accusations of witchcraft, unrest between union and non union members, racism, sexism, etc) and dispelled immediately, usually on the same page. No one has legitimate differences of opinion on anything that truly matters that can't be resolved in a page and a half (usually by saying they argued a lot but eventually came around, without showing the argument).
Each major character is essentially a Mary Sue. The union leader is the Best Leader Ever. The Jewish doctor's daughter is the Smartest Person Ever. The spunky cheerleader is the Best Sniper Ever, the newcomer to town is the Best Leader of Germany Infantry Ever, the nerd is the Best Warleader Ever, his sweetheart is the Best Hooker With a Heart of Gold Ever. The actual historical King was the BEST MONARCH OF ALL TIME, NO REALLY. (In fact, I suspect the book may have been written in the first place because the author loves this historical figure and wanted him to have a better ending than his actual death.)
Everyone falls in love in the second quarter of the book, mostly improbably, and everyone immediately has a happy marriage with no culture shock, despite differences in time period, religion, and language spoken. No one longs after an impossible object, there are no misunderstandings, no unrequited affection, no disapproving relatives. Girl meets guy, both fall in love in the first 30 seconds, and all barriers are blown down as soon as they come up.
The author has an afterword in which he rather defensively explains that he wanted to write a "sunny" book featuring decent, working class heroes. He justifies his nerd who falls for an ex-prostitute with similar stories from WWII. I do not require justifications to feature well-meaning, hardworking, decent people instead of angsty antiheroes, nor do I challenge the likelihood of a young man rescuing a woman from being a forced camp follower and it coming out well. It's ok to want to write a book with a mostly positive outlook. But I think that he took it too far--happy endings do not require everything to turn out well for the protagonists at every single stage with no setbacks, and not every attraction turns into a stable marriage. These people have been ripped from their time period never to return, many losing family in the process. They can expect to die earlier than they would have otherwise, their children's futures will be entirely different, their fundamental assumptions of the world have to be changed. The natives they encounter have been brutalized, oppressed, starved, raped, tortured, and more. I'm not asking for wallowing, but I think a certain amount of respect for the amount of trauma this plot device has caused is called for. A magical orgasm does not cure months of rape after watching your family slaughtered.
Let us see good hardworking people make a few mistakes and learn how to correct for them; let us see some romances end disastrously and the survivors pick up and move on. Let us worry that the wrong person will win the election, or the overconfident Americans will lose a battle that involves conditions they are not used to. Americans and our technologies are not perfect. And you can have decent characters and happy endings without demanding that they be so.
June 25, 2008
Flint self-identifies with the Left; but his is an old- fashioned, Jeffersonian sort of populist liberalism, which embraces democracy, human rights, religious freedom (as opposed to "freedom from religion"), personal moral responsibility, retributive justice, and widespread gun ownership. When their small town is transported, through a super-advanced alien race's meddling with the fabric of space time, to Germany during the Thirty Years War, the residents of Grantville, WV are willing to fight for these principles, in the midst of a maelstrom of rampant evil and oppression; and the reader is soon caught up in cheering them on!
As one might expect, there's a lot of graphic violence here --the real Thirty Years War was no Sunday school picnic either-- but Flint's good characters employ violence only as an instrument of moral order, not in opposition to it. While a few instances of illicit sex occur in the novel, the only explicit sex scene takes place in marriage and is treated in a wholesome, rather than salacious, way; and one young woman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy (her fiance' is the father) serves as the occasion for a simple, straightforward pro-life statement from the lady and her doctor --who are both characters the reader is apt to like and respect. The plot is also based on a well-researched knowledge of actual history, the events and personalities of which are brought to very vivid life. My only complaint with the book --which cost it a fifth star-- is the excessive amount of bad language, which often includes the f-word (although Flint misuses the term "blasphemy;" many of his characters engage in profanity and obscenity, but none of them in blasphemy).
As one might expect, there's a lot of graphic violence here --the real Thirty Years War was no Sunday school picnic either-- but Flint's good characters employ violence only as an instrument of moral order, not in opposition to it. While a few instances of illicit sex occur in the novel, the only explicit sex scene takes place in marriage and is treated in a wholesome, rather than salacious, way; and one young woman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy (her fiance' is the father) serves as the occasion for a simple, straightforward pro-life statement from the lady and her doctor --who are both characters the reader is apt to like and respect. The plot is also based on a well-researched knowledge of actual history, the events and personalities of which are brought to very vivid life. My only complaint with the book --which cost it a fifth star-- is the excessive amount of bad language, which often includes the f-word (although Flint misuses the term "blasphemy;" many of his characters engage in profanity and obscenity, but none of them in blasphemy).
May 1, 2013
America, F**k yeah! In the 17th century!
This book manages to combine really deeply disturbing elements with kinda fun stuff and some surprising insight on psychology:
The good:
-There's some instances where the author really manages to get into a character's head and to present some really good insights into their psychology, for example when Gretchen's band arrives in the town, which almost saves the novel. Almost.
- The setup of the town is more or less believable in terms of being provided with water, electricity and food. Although the author clearly makes things as easy as possible for them, by giving them a relatively uncomplicated kind of powerplant, a river connecting to their stub of river, and a lot of trusting German peasants all around...
The bad: - The ridiculous elevation of the American small-town style of life, and the amazing prowess of the average Americangun-toting redneck, I mean, heroic fighter for the freedom of others. They just seem to be a united front against whatever comes, no bad apples in there at all.
- The above also has as a consequence that there's no suspense whatsoever in this novel. Even when Rebecca is assaulted by the, what was it, Croats? you never for a second doubt that she's going to get out of there safe and sound.
- The author's tendency to go off and wax lyrically about this or that historical person for pages and pages, ranging somewhere between boring and ridiculous. And apparently not very historically correct, although I couldn't comment on that.
The ugly: Maybe that's a European view, us not being quite so gun-crazy, but was no one else bothered that a 17-year old high-school cheerleader turns into a sniper, who, without any feelings at all, picks off person after person. The fact that she's a mass-murderer doesn't seem to register with her at all, which is kinda creepy. But maybe that's ok if you're only shooting murderous raping Germans and Croats...
So, in general...meh...
This book manages to combine really deeply disturbing elements with kinda fun stuff and some surprising insight on psychology:
The good:
-There's some instances where the author really manages to get into a character's head and to present some really good insights into their psychology, for example when Gretchen's band arrives in the town, which almost saves the novel. Almost.
- The setup of the town is more or less believable in terms of being provided with water, electricity and food. Although the author clearly makes things as easy as possible for them, by giving them a relatively uncomplicated kind of powerplant, a river connecting to their stub of river, and a lot of trusting German peasants all around...
The bad: - The ridiculous elevation of the American small-town style of life, and the amazing prowess of the average American
- The above also has as a consequence that there's no suspense whatsoever in this novel. Even when Rebecca is assaulted by the, what was it, Croats? you never for a second doubt that she's going to get out of there safe and sound.
- The author's tendency to go off and wax lyrically about this or that historical person for pages and pages, ranging somewhere between boring and ridiculous. And apparently not very historically correct, although I couldn't comment on that.
The ugly: Maybe that's a European view, us not being quite so gun-crazy, but was no one else bothered that a 17-year old high-school cheerleader turns into a sniper, who, without any feelings at all, picks off person after person. The fact that she's a mass-murderer doesn't seem to register with her at all, which is kinda creepy. But maybe that's ok if you're only shooting murderous raping Germans and Croats...
So, in general...meh...
February 10, 2012
I've never been much interested in these alternate history series, but when I found one set in one of my favourite periods in the setting of the 30 year war, I could not help but give it a chance. Unfortunately, to put it bluntly, I was disappointed both by the quality of the story and the depiction of the historical era.
The novel tells the story of a small US township that is automagically transported back in time and place in the middle of the Thirty Year War in Germany. The Americans take this major cataclysm rather calmly (no crying over lost loves or other emotional outbreaks) and almost immediately start using their phenomenal skills to mold a new United States for themselves. Apparently, every single person in this township happened to own modern weaponry and cartloads of ammunition and one Vietnam veteran even had an M60 stored away for such an occasion. Even cheerleaders turn out to be expert marksmen who murder the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire with wild abandon.
The characters posing as inhabitants of the area that the Americans decide to conquer as their own are all very much taken by the American way of life and immediately forget all about their religious beliefs, ethics and values. As one reviewer at Amazon said, "17th century battlehardened mercenaries, haughty nobility and ignorant peasants alike renounce their entire belief system in days once introduced to ice-cream, cute cheerleaders and American politics --- that part rings so seriously untrue it completely destroyed my enjoyment of this novel."
One of the most boring aspects of the novel was the fact that it focussed very much on the political discussions of the time travellers, who discuss endlessly the various facets of their production facilities etc. As an history enthusiast, I would have liked to see more focus on the period and the world of the early 17th century, but - given the freedom that the author takes with the values and mores of the characters of the time - perhaps it is better that he did not attempt to describe the period too much. Additionally, the time travellers (or time displacementees) happily kill the "natives" with no remorse at all - and it seems that the author justifies this by the fact that the mercenaries of that time were ruthless to begin with. And forgets that he's describing his heroes as even worse kind of murderers - people who kill their enemies in vast hordes just because they can, with little or no mercy.
Overall, this was a disappointing and rather boring read.
The novel tells the story of a small US township that is automagically transported back in time and place in the middle of the Thirty Year War in Germany. The Americans take this major cataclysm rather calmly (no crying over lost loves or other emotional outbreaks) and almost immediately start using their phenomenal skills to mold a new United States for themselves. Apparently, every single person in this township happened to own modern weaponry and cartloads of ammunition and one Vietnam veteran even had an M60 stored away for such an occasion. Even cheerleaders turn out to be expert marksmen who murder the soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire with wild abandon.
The characters posing as inhabitants of the area that the Americans decide to conquer as their own are all very much taken by the American way of life and immediately forget all about their religious beliefs, ethics and values. As one reviewer at Amazon said, "17th century battlehardened mercenaries, haughty nobility and ignorant peasants alike renounce their entire belief system in days once introduced to ice-cream, cute cheerleaders and American politics --- that part rings so seriously untrue it completely destroyed my enjoyment of this novel."
One of the most boring aspects of the novel was the fact that it focussed very much on the political discussions of the time travellers, who discuss endlessly the various facets of their production facilities etc. As an history enthusiast, I would have liked to see more focus on the period and the world of the early 17th century, but - given the freedom that the author takes with the values and mores of the characters of the time - perhaps it is better that he did not attempt to describe the period too much. Additionally, the time travellers (or time displacementees) happily kill the "natives" with no remorse at all - and it seems that the author justifies this by the fact that the mercenaries of that time were ruthless to begin with. And forgets that he's describing his heroes as even worse kind of murderers - people who kill their enemies in vast hordes just because they can, with little or no mercy.
Overall, this was a disappointing and rather boring read.
September 9, 2011
About a quarter of the way through this book, I got the same unpleasant, slightly dirty feeling you get when you suddenly realize you've been groovin' along to Christian rock. This story of a small West Virginian town suddenly transported to 17th century Europe is the worst kind of pro-American rhetoric, thinly disguised as science-fiction.
The author shrewdly chooses to drop his scale model of small town American values at a time and place where the natives are impressed with the ingenuity and manufacturing prowess of the newcomers, rather than frightened by the "magic" of modern technology. The time travelers immediately welcome anyone willing to join them into their democratic, capitalist utopia (which of course still goes by the ridiculous moniker of "The United States"), and the population of ancient Europe is quickly divided into those who recognize the awesomeness of freedom and democracy, and the rest of the savages out to destroy the threat to their tyranny.
There is no trace of irony here, and every character is a paragon of virtue and righteousness. A few short mentions of a handful of staunch conservative and bigoted extras only laughably serve to highlight the overwhelming goodness of the main cast, most especially in the case of an absurdly one-sided election. Who will win, the C.E.O. from a rich family who won't grant citizenship in the new country to the the embattled German peasants (and was only briefly mentioned on three pages)? Or the handsome, capable and good-natured coal-miner running things fairly and evenly since the beginning of the book, who thinks everyone deserves a fair shake if they're willing to work hard?
It's one thing to avoid cynicism, as the author states in his afterword, but this book takes its weird mix of liberalism and American propaganda to an optimistic place that's a little nauseating in its sweetness.
The author shrewdly chooses to drop his scale model of small town American values at a time and place where the natives are impressed with the ingenuity and manufacturing prowess of the newcomers, rather than frightened by the "magic" of modern technology. The time travelers immediately welcome anyone willing to join them into their democratic, capitalist utopia (which of course still goes by the ridiculous moniker of "The United States"), and the population of ancient Europe is quickly divided into those who recognize the awesomeness of freedom and democracy, and the rest of the savages out to destroy the threat to their tyranny.
There is no trace of irony here, and every character is a paragon of virtue and righteousness. A few short mentions of a handful of staunch conservative and bigoted extras only laughably serve to highlight the overwhelming goodness of the main cast, most especially in the case of an absurdly one-sided election. Who will win, the C.E.O. from a rich family who won't grant citizenship in the new country to the the embattled German peasants (and was only briefly mentioned on three pages)? Or the handsome, capable and good-natured coal-miner running things fairly and evenly since the beginning of the book, who thinks everyone deserves a fair shake if they're willing to work hard?
It's one thing to avoid cynicism, as the author states in his afterword, but this book takes its weird mix of liberalism and American propaganda to an optimistic place that's a little nauseating in its sweetness.
April 4, 2025
This one was a lot of fun years ago.
May 30, 2021
2.5 stars?
I felt like I was reading a rerun of the Nantucket series by S.M. Stirling. In that series, the island of Nantucket is somehow transported thousands of years into the past. The community must somehow keep themselves alive without the support systems that modern society has come to rely on and they obviously want to maintain a somewhat modern lifestyle. Eric Flint has a very similar idea, transporting a West Virginia town back to the time of the 30 Years War in Germany. They not only translocate in time, but also in space.
The similarities don't end there. Both series have a prominent black character with an important role. (A female naval officer in Nantucket and a male surgeon and former Marine in this novel.) Also, there seem to be people with needed skills in both communities who can swoop in to recreate needed technologies. Very handy, that coincidence. How many people do you know who build steam engines as a hobby? (None. I know none.) Both series highlight people with manual skills, something that Flint states in his afterword was very important to him as a former union organizer.
In this book's foreword, there's an explanation of why the translocation event happened (a careless intergalactic artist, accidentally creating an alternate universe.) But the characters don't know that and there is absolutely no philosophizing about whether they are changing history or whether they are wiping out their home country/culture. It seems odd to me that intelligent people wouldn't even consider the possibility.
Checking the copyright dates of both series, I note that they were both published before September 11th, 2001. That probably goes some way toward explaining their “Rah, rah, America" attitudes. I was very struck by the assumptions in both series that American culture and values were superior to all others. (I also noted the cover art on both series which features prominent American flags.)
The big weakness of this kind of tale is the inevitable info dumps that litter their pages. The author has to do a lot of research and when they have chosen a less well known period of history, they may feel the need to fill in the reading audience. I confess to ignorance of this time period and place, but I can't help feeling that there must be a less clunky way to share that knowledge than all the mini lectures (there was one that lasted 10 pages.) There is a definite leaning on battles to provide plot momentum, but there are only token obstacles for the Americans to overcome, so there is very little character development. Additionally, Flint seems to think that matching everyone up into couples is characterization. But even those relationships are anemic compared to the love of guns and ammunition! If there's a real romance in this novel, it's the author and weapons. At the end, the book just kind of bumps to a halt with no real wrap up or hook to lead the reader on to the next installment.
I know there are lots more books in the series, but one is enough for me.
Book number 413 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
Cross posted at my blog:
I felt like I was reading a rerun of the Nantucket series by S.M. Stirling. In that series, the island of Nantucket is somehow transported thousands of years into the past. The community must somehow keep themselves alive without the support systems that modern society has come to rely on and they obviously want to maintain a somewhat modern lifestyle. Eric Flint has a very similar idea, transporting a West Virginia town back to the time of the 30 Years War in Germany. They not only translocate in time, but also in space.
The similarities don't end there. Both series have a prominent black character with an important role. (A female naval officer in Nantucket and a male surgeon and former Marine in this novel.) Also, there seem to be people with needed skills in both communities who can swoop in to recreate needed technologies. Very handy, that coincidence. How many people do you know who build steam engines as a hobby? (None. I know none.) Both series highlight people with manual skills, something that Flint states in his afterword was very important to him as a former union organizer.
In this book's foreword, there's an explanation of why the translocation event happened (a careless intergalactic artist, accidentally creating an alternate universe.) But the characters don't know that and there is absolutely no philosophizing about whether they are changing history or whether they are wiping out their home country/culture. It seems odd to me that intelligent people wouldn't even consider the possibility.
Checking the copyright dates of both series, I note that they were both published before September 11th, 2001. That probably goes some way toward explaining their “Rah, rah, America" attitudes. I was very struck by the assumptions in both series that American culture and values were superior to all others. (I also noted the cover art on both series which features prominent American flags.)
The big weakness of this kind of tale is the inevitable info dumps that litter their pages. The author has to do a lot of research and when they have chosen a less well known period of history, they may feel the need to fill in the reading audience. I confess to ignorance of this time period and place, but I can't help feeling that there must be a less clunky way to share that knowledge than all the mini lectures (there was one that lasted 10 pages.) There is a definite leaning on battles to provide plot momentum, but there are only token obstacles for the Americans to overcome, so there is very little character development. Additionally, Flint seems to think that matching everyone up into couples is characterization. But even those relationships are anemic compared to the love of guns and ammunition! If there's a real romance in this novel, it's the author and weapons. At the end, the book just kind of bumps to a halt with no real wrap up or hook to lead the reader on to the next installment.
I know there are lots more books in the series, but one is enough for me.
Book number 413 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.
Cross posted at my blog:
March 12, 2021
In the grand tradition of all the best "What If"s of the SF field, this one neatly portrays what would happen if we transported a modern American small town, in its entirety, into central Germany during the Thirty Years War.
In a lot of ways, it's hilarious, but that's tempered by some really great history and ramifications that would have to be explored in true Alternate History SF style. Watching an a**hole cavalry leader play tag with a bunch of hillbillies in pickup trucks had me guffawing.
Surprisingly enough, I knew this would be a jingoism-turned-reality rah-rah America novel, but instead of it annoying me, I had a pretty good time. It seems we finally found a great fantasy reason to be NRA members, so heavily laden with guns and ammunition that they outnumbered family values at a rate of fourteen to one. Personal politics aside, I'm really glad that these coal miners stockpiled enough artillery in their small town to take on an army.
*aside* (I think this novel was written specifically to give private militia-ism a real nice feeling in their pants.)
That being said, the novel is genuinely optimistic. It's all normal folks who honestly believe in all the things they were taught to believe about America and they're willing to murder hundreds of thousands of unprepared grunts in a Germany of almost 400 years ago to prove it.
If this last line made you take a double-take, congratulations. Your irony sensors are working.
In a lot of ways, it's hilarious, but that's tempered by some really great history and ramifications that would have to be explored in true Alternate History SF style. Watching an a**hole cavalry leader play tag with a bunch of hillbillies in pickup trucks had me guffawing.
Surprisingly enough, I knew this would be a jingoism-turned-reality rah-rah America novel, but instead of it annoying me, I had a pretty good time. It seems we finally found a great fantasy reason to be NRA members, so heavily laden with guns and ammunition that they outnumbered family values at a rate of fourteen to one. Personal politics aside, I'm really glad that these coal miners stockpiled enough artillery in their small town to take on an army.
*aside* (I think this novel was written specifically to give private militia-ism a real nice feeling in their pants.)
That being said, the novel is genuinely optimistic. It's all normal folks who honestly believe in all the things they were taught to believe about America and they're willing to murder hundreds of thousands of unprepared grunts in a Germany of almost 400 years ago to prove it.
If this last line made you take a double-take, congratulations. Your irony sensors are working.
March 1, 2009
What an interesting idea! What a disappointing realization.
The idea behind the book immediately intrigued me when I read the back cover. Through some unknown phenomena, the town of Grantville, West Virginia and it's surroundings are transported back in time to 1632 in Germany.
How would the 20th century Americans cope? How would the 17th century Germans react? What sort of alternative history would result?
Unfortunately, for me, not one that was very compelling. The characters all felt one dimensional. The Americans hit the ground running with barely a moment to catch their breaths and set out making their collective and remarkably unified presence felt in a Germany caught up in the Thirty Years War.
The book is full of interesting history but the characters just never felt real to me and ultimately caused me to be unable to suspend disbelief.
The idea behind the book immediately intrigued me when I read the back cover. Through some unknown phenomena, the town of Grantville, West Virginia and it's surroundings are transported back in time to 1632 in Germany.
How would the 20th century Americans cope? How would the 17th century Germans react? What sort of alternative history would result?
Unfortunately, for me, not one that was very compelling. The characters all felt one dimensional. The Americans hit the ground running with barely a moment to catch their breaths and set out making their collective and remarkably unified presence felt in a Germany caught up in the Thirty Years War.
The book is full of interesting history but the characters just never felt real to me and ultimately caused me to be unable to suspend disbelief.
June 27, 2015
A wedding in the Appalachian mining town of Grantville turns weird and wild when in a flash of light the entire town is transported to 1631 Thuringia, right in the middle of the insanely destructive and deadly Thirty Years War. Some of my friends and readers may not know where the fuck Thuringia is or what the Thirty Years War is and that's totally cool! Thuringia is a province of central Germany and the Thirty Years War was...uh, well, my impression was that it was a kind of 17th-century extended massacre involving different nations at different times, with the ostensible reason being the religious conflict between the Catholics and Protestants and the actual reason being that motherfuckers were tired of those pesky Hapsburgs. It's a really confusing and horrible time in human history.
So of course Eric Flint complicates this by throwing a 21st-century American town into the center of this shit and gleefully wreaks conceptual havoc. I have to mention that I didn't dig this book the first time I read it, but I was coming off of a Harry Turtledove high with the awesome Guns of the South (everyone, please read that book. Confederates with AK-47s, played straight-faced and seriously by the author. A true work of art) and I guess I expected that kind of professorial, serious tone. Well, Flint obviously knows his history (and I credit him for that because this time period is confusing as FUCK) and does take the book seriously, but just has so much goofy shit going on both content and prose-wise that I had to just take it as the extremely, UNGODLY nerdy experience it is. The fact that this novel contains a scene where an M60 is turned against a Spanish tercio is all I need to even mention to convey how indulgently dorky this shit is.
I'll just get the bad shit over with. Flint's prose bothers me when he tries to insert little italicized humorous riffs or sidenotes on the current scene or character's thoughts. I say when I laugh, goddamn it. I don't need the author going "Get it, man? It's funny!" after every "comedic" part. Also, the characters are still weak. A ton of them are faceless and only recognizable by their title, and disturbingly all of the American characters are funny, kind, and awesome at what they do. Even the chubby D&D-playing dork gets to be an action-movie badass and end up with a gorgeous, blonde, stacked Teutonic war goddess. It's ridiculous and gets wish-fullfillment-y, which always kind of makes me grossed out. Since I brought up Jeff and Gretchen, allow me to segue to my last complaint...Eric Flint, please never ever write a sex scene again. I literally just burst out in semi-embarrassed laughter trying to recall the particulars. It was awkward as fuck and featured a ridiculously complex telesexual mind-meld between the participating characters and excruciatingly featured that aforementioned Greek-chorus italicized garbage.
The military stuff is awesome. That's one thing Flint can definitely do well. I loved his description of the totally historical, non-M60-featuring battle of Breitenfeld, with the unquestionably badass Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus facing off against the famed Count Tilly and his Catholic League cronies. I probably mentioned this before, but Flint never skimps on the history in his books. In the afterword he even mentions what a bitch it was to get a handle on the Thirty Years War, so that's awesome. Dedication to the details of the setting is something I always look for in the books I read, be the genre alternate or real history, sci-fi, crime, etc. To be honest, there were a lot of points where the actual history was better than the shit going on in Grantville...people who are interested in the details of getting a modern-day town back up and running and producing in what was basically the fucking Middle Ages will be satisfied by the amount of time Flint takes up on this shit, but I'm not particularly into it. Thankfully he didn't spend that much time on it and kept everything rolling with awesome battles and scenes featuring historical figures like the aforementioned Gustavus Adolphus.
I'm glad I gave this a second shot. Like I said, the concept is too ridiculous to not be entertaining, and there's just so many ways you could develop the plot from here on out. That's what I'm really looking forward to--seeing what happens in this new timeline once Grantville is fully established and up and running. The pages and pages of the characters saying or thinking some variation of "Gee, how different is uptime person/place/thing/idea from downtime/person/place/thing/idea?" (Uptime and downtime are how the characters cleverly refer to things from 2000 and from 1631, of course) were painful and boring. Obviously they're fucking different and there's gonna be culture shock! I already knew that was gonna happen, and I wanna see what's gonna happen NOW. I see that David Weber co-wrote the next book, which makes me more excited because I really like the Honor Harrington books. I recommend my nerdy military-history-loving friends give this a try if they haven't already.
So of course Eric Flint complicates this by throwing a 21st-century American town into the center of this shit and gleefully wreaks conceptual havoc. I have to mention that I didn't dig this book the first time I read it, but I was coming off of a Harry Turtledove high with the awesome Guns of the South (everyone, please read that book. Confederates with AK-47s, played straight-faced and seriously by the author. A true work of art) and I guess I expected that kind of professorial, serious tone. Well, Flint obviously knows his history (and I credit him for that because this time period is confusing as FUCK) and does take the book seriously, but just has so much goofy shit going on both content and prose-wise that I had to just take it as the extremely, UNGODLY nerdy experience it is. The fact that this novel contains a scene where an M60 is turned against a Spanish tercio is all I need to even mention to convey how indulgently dorky this shit is.
I'll just get the bad shit over with. Flint's prose bothers me when he tries to insert little italicized humorous riffs or sidenotes on the current scene or character's thoughts. I say when I laugh, goddamn it. I don't need the author going "Get it, man? It's funny!" after every "comedic" part. Also, the characters are still weak. A ton of them are faceless and only recognizable by their title, and disturbingly all of the American characters are funny, kind, and awesome at what they do. Even the chubby D&D-playing dork gets to be an action-movie badass and end up with a gorgeous, blonde, stacked Teutonic war goddess. It's ridiculous and gets wish-fullfillment-y, which always kind of makes me grossed out. Since I brought up Jeff and Gretchen, allow me to segue to my last complaint...Eric Flint, please never ever write a sex scene again. I literally just burst out in semi-embarrassed laughter trying to recall the particulars. It was awkward as fuck and featured a ridiculously complex telesexual mind-meld between the participating characters and excruciatingly featured that aforementioned Greek-chorus italicized garbage.
The military stuff is awesome. That's one thing Flint can definitely do well. I loved his description of the totally historical, non-M60-featuring battle of Breitenfeld, with the unquestionably badass Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus facing off against the famed Count Tilly and his Catholic League cronies. I probably mentioned this before, but Flint never skimps on the history in his books. In the afterword he even mentions what a bitch it was to get a handle on the Thirty Years War, so that's awesome. Dedication to the details of the setting is something I always look for in the books I read, be the genre alternate or real history, sci-fi, crime, etc. To be honest, there were a lot of points where the actual history was better than the shit going on in Grantville...people who are interested in the details of getting a modern-day town back up and running and producing in what was basically the fucking Middle Ages will be satisfied by the amount of time Flint takes up on this shit, but I'm not particularly into it. Thankfully he didn't spend that much time on it and kept everything rolling with awesome battles and scenes featuring historical figures like the aforementioned Gustavus Adolphus.
I'm glad I gave this a second shot. Like I said, the concept is too ridiculous to not be entertaining, and there's just so many ways you could develop the plot from here on out. That's what I'm really looking forward to--seeing what happens in this new timeline once Grantville is fully established and up and running. The pages and pages of the characters saying or thinking some variation of "Gee, how different is uptime person/place/thing/idea from downtime/person/place/thing/idea?" (Uptime and downtime are how the characters cleverly refer to things from 2000 and from 1631, of course) were painful and boring. Obviously they're fucking different and there's gonna be culture shock! I already knew that was gonna happen, and I wanna see what's gonna happen NOW. I see that David Weber co-wrote the next book, which makes me more excited because I really like the Honor Harrington books. I recommend my nerdy military-history-loving friends give this a try if they haven't already.
February 25, 2011
The plot goes thusly: the small West-Virginian town of Grantville is displaced in time and place from the year 2000 to the year 1632, essentially dumping them in the middle of the Holy Roman Empire in the midst of the Thirty Years War, one of the most bloody conflicts in European history.
And it is awesome. The West Virginians don't try to pretend that they're sorcerers or anything: they're just brutally honest. And maintain their American values. They quickly take charge of their own situation and decide to help out the German refugees of the area, with awesome results.
The author is a trained historian, I believe, and this is the kind of book I would love to write if I had that kind of knowledge of 17th century politics and society. The reactions of characters from both sides just seem so REAL. Little details, like the fact that the Americans win most skirmishes mostly due to sheer rate of fire, that 17th century men have bad teeth, and that visual details about a modern person would "read" differently to a 17th century person are just awesome. For instance, take this scene from the middle of the book in which the citizens of Grantville have just made an alliance with the men of a nearby German town against the invading Catholic army, where Jeff, a slightly overweight nerdy D&D enthusiast who is acting as a scout and messenger, is just leaving on his motorbike:
"A moment later, Jeff was roaring off. He made it a point to do a wheelie as he passed a small group of young men standing by the road. The local toughs, by their looks.
They were suitably impressed - not so much by the acrobatics of the machine as the ferocious scowl on the face of the very large man who rode it. That, and the odd but deadly looking weapon slung over his shoulder [a sawed-off shotgun]. Jeff would have been quite shocked - and utterly pleased - had he known the impression he made on those bravos. They saw nothing of a shy young man in his leather-jacketed form. Just a killer. The fact that he wore spectacles made him seem all the more dangerous. The better to see his victims, no doubt."
The characters are engaging and have a refreshing pragmatism. They don't go messing about like a lot of other fantasy/timetravel characters I've read about. They get down to business, and follow their (American) ideals, which include things like equality for women and freedom of religion. They're also just plain badass. For instance, early in the book some men from the United Mine Workers of America (the local union, AKA the UMWA) go off to investigate some smoke, before they really realize what has happened to their town, and run across some mercenaries having their way with a farmer and his wife. The Americans, ah, take care of business, rescuing the injured and traumatized family. A few chapters later, a different set of mercenaries, Scotsmen on the other side, run across this placard planted on the top of what is clearly a mass grave:
"WE DON'T KNOW WHO THESE MURDERING RAPING
BASTARDS ARE THAT WE PUT HERE. DON'T MUCH CARE
EITHER. IF THERE ARE ANY MORE OF YOU OUT THERE, BE WARNED. THIS AREA IS NOW UNDER THE
PROTECTION OF THE UMWA. IF YOU TRY TO HARM
OR ROB ANYBODY WE WILL KILL YOU. THERE WILL BE
NO FURTHER WARNING. WE WILL NOT NEGOTIATE.
WE WILL NOT ARREST YOU.
YOU WILL SIMPLY BE DEAD.
WE GUARANTEE IT.
GO AHEAD. TRY US."
Then the Scottish mercenaries try to brush up on their Polish because they have no idea at all what "Umwa" means, but it sounds Polish to them.
The seventeenth century characters are awesome too. There's an educated "jewess" who is one of the first to be rescued (and remains an awesome member of the American's elected assembly), an unwilling camp follower who was rescued by the Americans and becomes almost a spy/agent for them as an ardent supporter of 21st century women's rights, a young Scottish mercenary officer who visits a 21st century dentist before he starts wooing one of the Grantville cheerleaders because he feels self-conscious about his teeth, and, of course, there is King Gustavus Adolfus II, the Swedish King and head of the "good" guys' army, who is blustery and at first disbelieving but awesome. You're also treated to scenes of 17th century germans showing off their abilities to drive busses or use telephones to more recent arrivals in Grantville.
Amongst the 21st century characters are that cheerleader mentioned above who becomes a crack sharpshooter (not as unlikely as it seems), and the school's history teacher, a former Civil Rights activist who was only working in this tiny West Virginian town because she was too radical to be hired in the big city where she used to live (although the townspeople didn't really learn this until they were writing up their new constitution.) Maybe I just like badass historians. ANYWAY...
There are so many things to love about this book. If you like the following, GET THEE TO A BOOKSTORE POST-HASTE:
-alternate universes
-HISTORY, especially European history
-a writer of historical fiction that understands that people in the past didn't do things like wear bras, understand democracy, have accurate guns or good teeth, etc.
-political shenanigans in which racist bigots don't win
-tactics that combine historical techniques with modern weaponry
-characters who have personalities independent of their love interests
-strong female characters who have personalities independent of their love interests, who sometimes have moments even more badass than the menfolk
-badass scenes in which the 17th century people actually demonstrate that the people of the 21st century actually DO have things to learn from the past.
And it is awesome. The West Virginians don't try to pretend that they're sorcerers or anything: they're just brutally honest. And maintain their American values. They quickly take charge of their own situation and decide to help out the German refugees of the area, with awesome results.
The author is a trained historian, I believe, and this is the kind of book I would love to write if I had that kind of knowledge of 17th century politics and society. The reactions of characters from both sides just seem so REAL. Little details, like the fact that the Americans win most skirmishes mostly due to sheer rate of fire, that 17th century men have bad teeth, and that visual details about a modern person would "read" differently to a 17th century person are just awesome. For instance, take this scene from the middle of the book in which the citizens of Grantville have just made an alliance with the men of a nearby German town against the invading Catholic army, where Jeff, a slightly overweight nerdy D&D enthusiast who is acting as a scout and messenger, is just leaving on his motorbike:
"A moment later, Jeff was roaring off. He made it a point to do a wheelie as he passed a small group of young men standing by the road. The local toughs, by their looks.
They were suitably impressed - not so much by the acrobatics of the machine as the ferocious scowl on the face of the very large man who rode it. That, and the odd but deadly looking weapon slung over his shoulder [a sawed-off shotgun]. Jeff would have been quite shocked - and utterly pleased - had he known the impression he made on those bravos. They saw nothing of a shy young man in his leather-jacketed form. Just a killer. The fact that he wore spectacles made him seem all the more dangerous. The better to see his victims, no doubt."
The characters are engaging and have a refreshing pragmatism. They don't go messing about like a lot of other fantasy/timetravel characters I've read about. They get down to business, and follow their (American) ideals, which include things like equality for women and freedom of religion. They're also just plain badass. For instance, early in the book some men from the United Mine Workers of America (the local union, AKA the UMWA) go off to investigate some smoke, before they really realize what has happened to their town, and run across some mercenaries having their way with a farmer and his wife. The Americans, ah, take care of business, rescuing the injured and traumatized family. A few chapters later, a different set of mercenaries, Scotsmen on the other side, run across this placard planted on the top of what is clearly a mass grave:
"WE DON'T KNOW WHO THESE MURDERING RAPING
BASTARDS ARE THAT WE PUT HERE. DON'T MUCH CARE
EITHER. IF THERE ARE ANY MORE OF YOU OUT THERE, BE WARNED. THIS AREA IS NOW UNDER THE
PROTECTION OF THE UMWA. IF YOU TRY TO HARM
OR ROB ANYBODY WE WILL KILL YOU. THERE WILL BE
NO FURTHER WARNING. WE WILL NOT NEGOTIATE.
WE WILL NOT ARREST YOU.
YOU WILL SIMPLY BE DEAD.
WE GUARANTEE IT.
GO AHEAD. TRY US."
Then the Scottish mercenaries try to brush up on their Polish because they have no idea at all what "Umwa" means, but it sounds Polish to them.
The seventeenth century characters are awesome too. There's an educated "jewess" who is one of the first to be rescued (and remains an awesome member of the American's elected assembly), an unwilling camp follower who was rescued by the Americans and becomes almost a spy/agent for them as an ardent supporter of 21st century women's rights, a young Scottish mercenary officer who visits a 21st century dentist before he starts wooing one of the Grantville cheerleaders because he feels self-conscious about his teeth, and, of course, there is King Gustavus Adolfus II, the Swedish King and head of the "good" guys' army, who is blustery and at first disbelieving but awesome. You're also treated to scenes of 17th century germans showing off their abilities to drive busses or use telephones to more recent arrivals in Grantville.
Amongst the 21st century characters are that cheerleader mentioned above who becomes a crack sharpshooter (not as unlikely as it seems), and the school's history teacher, a former Civil Rights activist who was only working in this tiny West Virginian town because she was too radical to be hired in the big city where she used to live (although the townspeople didn't really learn this until they were writing up their new constitution.) Maybe I just like badass historians. ANYWAY...
There are so many things to love about this book. If you like the following, GET THEE TO A BOOKSTORE POST-HASTE:
-alternate universes
-HISTORY, especially European history
-a writer of historical fiction that understands that people in the past didn't do things like wear bras, understand democracy, have accurate guns or good teeth, etc.
-political shenanigans in which racist bigots don't win
-tactics that combine historical techniques with modern weaponry
-characters who have personalities independent of their love interests
-strong female characters who have personalities independent of their love interests, who sometimes have moments even more badass than the menfolk
-badass scenes in which the 17th century people actually demonstrate that the people of the 21st century actually DO have things to learn from the past.
April 24, 2013
Sometimes, a writer will come up with a watertight plot. Sometimes... not so much.
Robert Ludlum wrote a foreword for The Road To Gandolfo where he said that he really hadn't intended for his novel (about a former US soldier kidnapping the pope and replacing him with a failed opera singer) to turn into a comedy. It was just that the more he worked at it, the more a voice at the back of his head kept screaming with laughter: "You can NOT be serious!" And so eventually, he couldn't make the plot work, and gave up and just let it be a self-parody.
Eric Flint doesn't do that, though it must have been tempting. He has a plot that hinges on something that makes no rational sense in the world he wants to set it, about a West Virginia coal-mining town from the year 2000 getting sent back to the 30 Years' War, and so he opens with an introduction that essentially says: "Aliens did it. I'm not going to mention them again. They have nothing to do with the plot at all. But just so you know - the reason a chunk of West Virginia is now in 17th century Germany? Aliens. Now, let's not worry about the hows and just get on with the story."
It really takes the pressure off, gives the readers a chance to decide for themselves how seriously they want to take the story while he gets to play it more or less straight. That's good. Because if I were to try to take this story completely seriously, I'd probably hate it. That's the problem with a writer like Dan Brown, for instance; he lays claim to credibility that he simply cannot live up to, while Flint starts it all off with a knowing wink.
Anyway, I'm sure you can guess what happens when a bunch of hard-workin' straight-shootin' no-bullshittin' mountain folk end up in the middle of a huge war over religion and politics; they cock their 21st century shotguns, load up the pickup, blast Reba McEntire and decide to start the American revolution a few hundred years earlier. And to do this, of course, they join up with the good protestant king Gustav Adolf of Sweden and start kicking papist ass. It's to Flint's credit, though, that for all its flirts with jingoism, machismo and blond-heroes-vs-swarthy-heathens, 1632 never becomes the flag-waving God&Guns fantasy it might have. Flint's WVians aren't necessarily PC liberals, but the novel constantly checks itself, asking what can be done, what should be done, arguing tolerance, adaptation and co-operation over domination and isolation. That's good too. And it's interesting to see the choices they have to make to try and survive and help out when there's just a handful of them caught up in one of the most devastating wars of all history; as one Vietnam war veteran puts it, all he knows how to do is call in air support, and they're not getting any of that. They have to build from scratch, and they can't do it alone.
What's not so good is... well, as entertaining as it often is, and it is a lot of fun watching him play out his over-the-top plot as if it made perfect sense, nobody could really call Flint a good writer. His prose is functional meat-n-potatoes stuff at best, unbearably flowery at worst, and his characters are for the most part painfully one-dimensional; the time travel trip that means they'll never get back home doesn't really impact the characters much, the good guys are completely good with no flaws or doubts whatsoever, the bad guys are bad baddy bad bad, and the poor people caught in between are just misled and have no problem at all adapting to the new way of things. Flint has certainly done his homework - perhaps a little too much so - on early-modern warfare and technology, but perhaps not so much on the other differences that have played out over the last 400 years.
But nevermind; aliens did it. 1632 is an entertaining romp, one with perhaps more thought put into it than it needed to be just an entertaining romp, and while some of it falls flat on its face (and please, Flint, get someone who speaks German to write the German dialogue for you) I can't help but admire the sheer ballsiness of it.
Robert Ludlum wrote a foreword for The Road To Gandolfo where he said that he really hadn't intended for his novel (about a former US soldier kidnapping the pope and replacing him with a failed opera singer) to turn into a comedy. It was just that the more he worked at it, the more a voice at the back of his head kept screaming with laughter: "You can NOT be serious!" And so eventually, he couldn't make the plot work, and gave up and just let it be a self-parody.
Eric Flint doesn't do that, though it must have been tempting. He has a plot that hinges on something that makes no rational sense in the world he wants to set it, about a West Virginia coal-mining town from the year 2000 getting sent back to the 30 Years' War, and so he opens with an introduction that essentially says: "Aliens did it. I'm not going to mention them again. They have nothing to do with the plot at all. But just so you know - the reason a chunk of West Virginia is now in 17th century Germany? Aliens. Now, let's not worry about the hows and just get on with the story."
It really takes the pressure off, gives the readers a chance to decide for themselves how seriously they want to take the story while he gets to play it more or less straight. That's good. Because if I were to try to take this story completely seriously, I'd probably hate it. That's the problem with a writer like Dan Brown, for instance; he lays claim to credibility that he simply cannot live up to, while Flint starts it all off with a knowing wink.
Anyway, I'm sure you can guess what happens when a bunch of hard-workin' straight-shootin' no-bullshittin' mountain folk end up in the middle of a huge war over religion and politics; they cock their 21st century shotguns, load up the pickup, blast Reba McEntire and decide to start the American revolution a few hundred years earlier. And to do this, of course, they join up with the good protestant king Gustav Adolf of Sweden and start kicking papist ass. It's to Flint's credit, though, that for all its flirts with jingoism, machismo and blond-heroes-vs-swarthy-heathens, 1632 never becomes the flag-waving God&Guns fantasy it might have. Flint's WVians aren't necessarily PC liberals, but the novel constantly checks itself, asking what can be done, what should be done, arguing tolerance, adaptation and co-operation over domination and isolation. That's good too. And it's interesting to see the choices they have to make to try and survive and help out when there's just a handful of them caught up in one of the most devastating wars of all history; as one Vietnam war veteran puts it, all he knows how to do is call in air support, and they're not getting any of that. They have to build from scratch, and they can't do it alone.
What's not so good is... well, as entertaining as it often is, and it is a lot of fun watching him play out his over-the-top plot as if it made perfect sense, nobody could really call Flint a good writer. His prose is functional meat-n-potatoes stuff at best, unbearably flowery at worst, and his characters are for the most part painfully one-dimensional; the time travel trip that means they'll never get back home doesn't really impact the characters much, the good guys are completely good with no flaws or doubts whatsoever, the bad guys are bad baddy bad bad, and the poor people caught in between are just misled and have no problem at all adapting to the new way of things. Flint has certainly done his homework - perhaps a little too much so - on early-modern warfare and technology, but perhaps not so much on the other differences that have played out over the last 400 years.
But nevermind; aliens did it. 1632 is an entertaining romp, one with perhaps more thought put into it than it needed to be just an entertaining romp, and while some of it falls flat on its face (and please, Flint, get someone who speaks German to write the German dialogue for you) I can't help but admire the sheer ballsiness of it.
June 22, 2013
It's actually a pretty interesting concept: a rural West Virginia town is inexplicably transported to central Germany in the middle of the 30-Year War.
I mean, what a great opportunity to explore social pressures within two distinct societies, let alone the inevitable struggles between modern medicine and the plague, or differing nutrition, political values, family structure, religious difference. So much to think about!
Unfortunately, none of that is in this book. After the brief, initial shock of the town's relocation, a blue collar hero emerges and saves the day. The end. Really.
All that struggle between two societies? Silly me, it can't actually exist because after all, America Is The Best. Their argument essentially goes like this: our guns, flag, and cars are better than yours, so just accept our way of life. And the 16th century Germans just.... do.
Oh, wait a second. You mean to tell me that you're a Calvinist and can't even absorb the concept of pre-marital sex? Well... just wait until you try it!
Thus goes the story time after time, and the Americans chest-thump their way to success. This story is fantasy, and as a work of fiction, the author has the right to create any world he can imagine. But the good guys always win, the villains always eat babies or something, and apparently, the town cheerleader can sniper several hundred soldiers without ever suffering from PTSD.
Well good. And to think that somehow, this has spawned a half dozen sequels...
I mean, what a great opportunity to explore social pressures within two distinct societies, let alone the inevitable struggles between modern medicine and the plague, or differing nutrition, political values, family structure, religious difference. So much to think about!
Unfortunately, none of that is in this book. After the brief, initial shock of the town's relocation, a blue collar hero emerges and saves the day. The end. Really.
All that struggle between two societies? Silly me, it can't actually exist because after all, America Is The Best. Their argument essentially goes like this: our guns, flag, and cars are better than yours, so just accept our way of life. And the 16th century Germans just.... do.
Oh, wait a second. You mean to tell me that you're a Calvinist and can't even absorb the concept of pre-marital sex? Well... just wait until you try it!
Thus goes the story time after time, and the Americans chest-thump their way to success. This story is fantasy, and as a work of fiction, the author has the right to create any world he can imagine. But the good guys always win, the villains always eat babies or something, and apparently, the town cheerleader can sniper several hundred soldiers without ever suffering from PTSD.
Well good. And to think that somehow, this has spawned a half dozen sequels...
July 23, 2022
This book, and series, are one of my top 3 favorites. I reread this series often, and it never gets old.
2018 re-read: Just as awesome, every time I read it again.
2018 re-read: Just as awesome, every time I read it again.
December 11, 2010
Flint set out to write an optimistic Connecticut Yankee story and he succeeded. Things came too easy (they just happened to have an M-60 and three boxes of ammo)and the good guys always won, but he hewed to his formula. (Wonder how his Americans in Europe in 1632 would have reacted to the murderous attack on their school children had Flint written this after 9-11-2001?)
The most fun section was the appearance and exploits of Captain Gars. "A mad man. It is well known."
I may doubt that a 2000 community of 3,000 could have brought off such a feat, but I'm sure a 2010 community could NOT have. As we become more tied to our increasingly sophisticated gadgets, their physical basis is farther and farther away. CB radios work independently of towers and servers; cell phones won't. A library full of books is a storehouse of knowledge; a library full of computer terminals is nothing if the Internet no longer exists (or is interfered with.) How convenient that Grantville had both a coal mine and natural gas wells. Most towns don't and, even if they did, couldn't exploit them.
Well researched and written. A fun read.
The most fun section was the appearance and exploits of Captain Gars. "A mad man. It is well known."
I may doubt that a 2000 community of 3,000 could have brought off such a feat, but I'm sure a 2010 community could NOT have. As we become more tied to our increasingly sophisticated gadgets, their physical basis is farther and farther away. CB radios work independently of towers and servers; cell phones won't. A library full of books is a storehouse of knowledge; a library full of computer terminals is nothing if the Internet no longer exists (or is interfered with.) How convenient that Grantville had both a coal mine and natural gas wells. Most towns don't and, even if they did, couldn't exploit them.
Well researched and written. A fun read.
November 21, 2017
This is a great premise for a book and it definitely starts with a bang.
It's all downhill after the first fifty or so pages.
I was really interested to see how modern Americans would deal with 17th century life in Germany.
The answer unfortunately was all too easily. Since the whole town had been transplanted they had all the comforts of modern life, including electricity, phones, TV and far superior weaponry.
This meant there was never any real drama, as they simply wiped out their opponents.
In terms of relationships and any drama there, the women are all beautiful and clever and all end up with their soulmates, knocked up by the end.
The men are all brave and brilliant and think nothing of knocking up a new constitution, or planning military strategies.
There is a horrible info dump of about 50 pages in the middle, all about the political situation before the Thirty Years War. Unless you are an historian, you will very quickly skip over it.
The book finished with a whimper. I was bored well before the end and won't be carrying on with the sequels.
It's all downhill after the first fifty or so pages.
I was really interested to see how modern Americans would deal with 17th century life in Germany.
The answer unfortunately was all too easily. Since the whole town had been transplanted they had all the comforts of modern life, including electricity, phones, TV and far superior weaponry.
This meant there was never any real drama, as they simply wiped out their opponents.
In terms of relationships and any drama there, the women are all beautiful and clever and all end up with their soulmates, knocked up by the end.
The men are all brave and brilliant and think nothing of knocking up a new constitution, or planning military strategies.
There is a horrible info dump of about 50 pages in the middle, all about the political situation before the Thirty Years War. Unless you are an historian, you will very quickly skip over it.
The book finished with a whimper. I was bored well before the end and won't be carrying on with the sequels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2014
This is a wonderfully fun series. I've enjoyed reading through 1634 (The Baltic Campaign) and enjoyed the characters and the history, along with the twists and turns of dystopian what if's. There is action though it tends to be more of a logic pretzel dealing with known personalities and shoving unkown's amongst them.
That said, it's fun, there is a whimsical side that is, by no means, light, but provides humor and funny characters to enjoy. There are lots of heads to be in. It's interesting that Rebecca of Ravenelle is a star in this story as she is in the other dystopian alternate history that I love so much, but it's taken a much different twist.
I think the history is pretty solid here, as is the science of things. The plot sort of make itself and Flint is a good manager of that process. Some things seem a bit rushed, but nothing really makes me gaff at it. I'm enjoying the other books in the series now so, it's good enough to keep me happy.
The first book does tend to leap to technological conclusions and things tend to fall in place for the Americans a bit to easily here and there but over all, it's not so much combat and warfare that makes this work as it the fun of what would happen if the Spanish Armada had this or that. .. and that's a lot of fun.
Overall 3.5 stars. three stars is a good read for me, the .5 star is to show it's better than "a good read" but maybe not as good as some more involved page turners.
Recommended for history buffs, fantasy buffs and science buffs.
Warnings (1= barely at all 5= all over the book)
Sex 2.5 - yeah, it's there but.... not that big of a deal.
Rape Torture and abuse of women - 3.5 This is hard to rate. There are only one or two quick glimpses in the early scenes of this, but the idea stays a thread to women through the entire book and on the minds of characters etc. They discuss it in the past, but you don't have to live through it with them other than in a couple of place early on, and those are bareable.
violence - 3 there's war, what did you think?
blood, guts and gore - 4 there are some grisley discriptions of the aftermath of war. It ain't pretty.
Overall good read.
That said, it's fun, there is a whimsical side that is, by no means, light, but provides humor and funny characters to enjoy. There are lots of heads to be in. It's interesting that Rebecca of Ravenelle is a star in this story as she is in the other dystopian alternate history that I love so much, but it's taken a much different twist.
I think the history is pretty solid here, as is the science of things. The plot sort of make itself and Flint is a good manager of that process. Some things seem a bit rushed, but nothing really makes me gaff at it. I'm enjoying the other books in the series now so, it's good enough to keep me happy.
The first book does tend to leap to technological conclusions and things tend to fall in place for the Americans a bit to easily here and there but over all, it's not so much combat and warfare that makes this work as it the fun of what would happen if the Spanish Armada had this or that. .. and that's a lot of fun.
Overall 3.5 stars. three stars is a good read for me, the .5 star is to show it's better than "a good read" but maybe not as good as some more involved page turners.
Recommended for history buffs, fantasy buffs and science buffs.
Warnings (1= barely at all 5= all over the book)
Sex 2.5 - yeah, it's there but.... not that big of a deal.
Rape Torture and abuse of women - 3.5 This is hard to rate. There are only one or two quick glimpses in the early scenes of this, but the idea stays a thread to women through the entire book and on the minds of characters etc. They discuss it in the past, but you don't have to live through it with them other than in a couple of place early on, and those are bareable.
violence - 3 there's war, what did you think?
blood, guts and gore - 4 there are some grisley discriptions of the aftermath of war. It ain't pretty.
Overall good read.
September 26, 2010
The premise of this book looked like fun but it turned out to be very interesting. A small American town (power station and all) set down in the middle of the 30 years war...where of course history branches off and things start to get interesting.
It's worth reading, this one. The series from here exploded and I haven't read all of it but this first one is a good read.
It's worth reading, this one. The series from here exploded and I haven't read all of it but this first one is a good read.
August 27, 2012
Typically I find myself fairly cynical when it comes to "alternate history" types of fiction - too often an author's personal bias is clearly reflected in their writing, and, instead of exploring potential changes to history in their alternate world, they attempt to forge a history based on the way they think things should have happened, or, decisions they would've made instead.
That said, I find myself absolutely enthralled with the 16xx/Ring of Fire/Assiti Shards series by Eric Flint. The entire concept of a small, West Virginia mining town being transplanted several hundred years into the past, smack into the middle of the 30 Year's War in Central Europe just grabs me.
The characters are quite believable, and I think it is this, along with the clear and consistent acknowledgement that, despite being from so far in the future, the Americans are still strangers in a strange land. The technology and "future knowledge" they bring does provide them a distinct advantage - but early on the main characters realize this will not be enough, and that they must forge a new future for themselves and their loved ones. The hard-earned lessons of American history are applied almost immediately when seeking to create a new Constitution and Bill of Rights - up to and including ensuring that the worst parts of our past are avoided as much as possible.
The places, times and people are incredibly well researched - far more so than in some novels or series, and in many ways you can gain an appreciation for the history of Central Europe in the 17th Century, despite this being an "alternate" history.
5/5 Will Read Again.
That said, I find myself absolutely enthralled with the 16xx/Ring of Fire/Assiti Shards series by Eric Flint. The entire concept of a small, West Virginia mining town being transplanted several hundred years into the past, smack into the middle of the 30 Year's War in Central Europe just grabs me.
The characters are quite believable, and I think it is this, along with the clear and consistent acknowledgement that, despite being from so far in the future, the Americans are still strangers in a strange land. The technology and "future knowledge" they bring does provide them a distinct advantage - but early on the main characters realize this will not be enough, and that they must forge a new future for themselves and their loved ones. The hard-earned lessons of American history are applied almost immediately when seeking to create a new Constitution and Bill of Rights - up to and including ensuring that the worst parts of our past are avoided as much as possible.
The places, times and people are incredibly well researched - far more so than in some novels or series, and in many ways you can gain an appreciation for the history of Central Europe in the 17th Century, despite this being an "alternate" history.
5/5 Will Read Again.
November 11, 2022
This is a starting volume of extremely long (currently 74 volumes and a few to be published) and successful . Sadly, in 2022 its founder and the main drive behind the project, deceased and his publishing house . Even before his death I planned to read his works, meeting them here on GR and elsewhere, but was wary about the massiveness of them � too often quantity is reached by sacrificing quality. Also, he openly supported , which is also a plus.
Grantville, West Virginia, the year 2000. The book starts with a wedding, which helps to introduce several main characters, the first of whom is definitely Mike Stearns, bride’s brother. He is a leader of the local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America trade union, a defender of inalienable rights and a hillbilly. His sister Rita marries Tom Simpson from one of the wealthiest families in Pittsburgh. His mother was old Eastern money. His father, John Chandler Simpson, was the chief executive officer of a large petrochemical corporation. As the wedding goes on, suddenly there is a bright flash.
Somewhere in Northern Germany, the year 1632. the town of Grantville with its about three thousand people, homes, schools, repair shops, cars, a thermal power plant and a coal mine appears in the middle of the Thirty years war, in war-torn lands (just a year prior there was the Sack of Magdeburg by the forces of the Catholic League, resulting in the deaths of around 20,000, including both defenders and non-combatants. Magdeburg, then one of the largest cities in Germany, having well over 25,000 inhabitants in 1630, did not recover its importance until well into the 18th century.) Now they have to not only protect themselves (and the 2nd amendment really helped here) but to survive � feed, shelter and otherwise provide before their 20th-century tech hasn’t broken and their ideas (e.g. about inalienable rights) face quite different reality.
The idea isn’t new, from by to by , writers already a lot of times played with a person or a group from author’s present appearing in the past (or another planet with lower technical development) and using modern tech getting an upper hand over ‘natives�. While this book has it as well, modern firearms and custom-made armored cars can cause severe losses to renaissance armies, most of such tech is severely limited by stocks of ammo, spare parts and petrol. And when the stocks disappear, what thousands can do versus millions of people who know how to live in these times. Therefore, unlike many, the main idea is that salvation is not in tech but in social sciences and teaching. For ‘natives� are far from stupid. The idea is well presented in this piece:
Simpson drove on. “We must seal the border. There’s a tremendous danger of disease, if nothing else.â€� Simpson pointed an accusing finger at the south wall of the gymnasium. °Ú…] “Those people—â€� He paused. The pause, as much as the tone, indicated Simpson’s questioning of the term “people.â€� “Those creatures are plague-carriers. They’ll strip us of everything we own, like locusts. It will be a toss-up, whether we all die of starvation or disease. So—â€�
°Ú…]
“I agree with the town council’s proposal,� he said forcefully. Then, even more forcefully: “And I completely disagree with the spirit of the last speaker’s remarks.�
Mike gave Simpson a glance, lingering on it long enough to make the gesture public. “We haven’t even got started, and already this guy is talking about downsizing.�
°Ú…]
Mike seized the moment and drove on. “The worst thing we could do is try to circle the wagons. It’s impossible, anyway. By now, there are probably as many people hiding in the woods around us as there are in the town. Women and children, well over half of them.�
He gritted his teeth, speaking the next words through clenched jaws. “If you expect mine workers to start massacring unarmed civilians—you’d damn well better think again.�
I was pleasantly surprised by the book, for the first time in quite some time a book pushed me to tears a few times, for bad things from the distant past interlink in my mind with savagery of Russian invasion to Ukraine, all those tortures, murdering of civilians and so on. I cannot say that it is high literature or beautiful prose, but it is well-written. And while I was surprised how easily people from year 2000 adopted ‘kill or be killed� against, yes, definitely bad guys, rapists and murderers, I enjoy the 1632 Universe as a great sandbox, where while there is access to 20th century books it is far from enough to for example build even an early 20th century steam engine � no quality steel, no wielding, etc.
Grantville, West Virginia, the year 2000. The book starts with a wedding, which helps to introduce several main characters, the first of whom is definitely Mike Stearns, bride’s brother. He is a leader of the local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America trade union, a defender of inalienable rights and a hillbilly. His sister Rita marries Tom Simpson from one of the wealthiest families in Pittsburgh. His mother was old Eastern money. His father, John Chandler Simpson, was the chief executive officer of a large petrochemical corporation. As the wedding goes on, suddenly there is a bright flash.
Somewhere in Northern Germany, the year 1632. the town of Grantville with its about three thousand people, homes, schools, repair shops, cars, a thermal power plant and a coal mine appears in the middle of the Thirty years war, in war-torn lands (just a year prior there was the Sack of Magdeburg by the forces of the Catholic League, resulting in the deaths of around 20,000, including both defenders and non-combatants. Magdeburg, then one of the largest cities in Germany, having well over 25,000 inhabitants in 1630, did not recover its importance until well into the 18th century.) Now they have to not only protect themselves (and the 2nd amendment really helped here) but to survive � feed, shelter and otherwise provide before their 20th-century tech hasn’t broken and their ideas (e.g. about inalienable rights) face quite different reality.
The idea isn’t new, from by to by , writers already a lot of times played with a person or a group from author’s present appearing in the past (or another planet with lower technical development) and using modern tech getting an upper hand over ‘natives�. While this book has it as well, modern firearms and custom-made armored cars can cause severe losses to renaissance armies, most of such tech is severely limited by stocks of ammo, spare parts and petrol. And when the stocks disappear, what thousands can do versus millions of people who know how to live in these times. Therefore, unlike many, the main idea is that salvation is not in tech but in social sciences and teaching. For ‘natives� are far from stupid. The idea is well presented in this piece:
Simpson drove on. “We must seal the border. There’s a tremendous danger of disease, if nothing else.â€� Simpson pointed an accusing finger at the south wall of the gymnasium. °Ú…] “Those people—â€� He paused. The pause, as much as the tone, indicated Simpson’s questioning of the term “people.â€� “Those creatures are plague-carriers. They’ll strip us of everything we own, like locusts. It will be a toss-up, whether we all die of starvation or disease. So—â€�
°Ú…]
“I agree with the town council’s proposal,� he said forcefully. Then, even more forcefully: “And I completely disagree with the spirit of the last speaker’s remarks.�
Mike gave Simpson a glance, lingering on it long enough to make the gesture public. “We haven’t even got started, and already this guy is talking about downsizing.�
°Ú…]
Mike seized the moment and drove on. “The worst thing we could do is try to circle the wagons. It’s impossible, anyway. By now, there are probably as many people hiding in the woods around us as there are in the town. Women and children, well over half of them.�
He gritted his teeth, speaking the next words through clenched jaws. “If you expect mine workers to start massacring unarmed civilians—you’d damn well better think again.�
I was pleasantly surprised by the book, for the first time in quite some time a book pushed me to tears a few times, for bad things from the distant past interlink in my mind with savagery of Russian invasion to Ukraine, all those tortures, murdering of civilians and so on. I cannot say that it is high literature or beautiful prose, but it is well-written. And while I was surprised how easily people from year 2000 adopted ‘kill or be killed� against, yes, definitely bad guys, rapists and murderers, I enjoy the 1632 Universe as a great sandbox, where while there is access to 20th century books it is far from enough to for example build even an early 20th century steam engine � no quality steel, no wielding, etc.
April 8, 2023
The premise of 1632 sounds kind of ridiculous.
And yes, it is, but it's also really cool! If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be transported back in time, here's one stab at answering that question. And how might it re-write history?
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things off with the story - for example, how conveniently well-rounded the skill-set of the Grantville "up-timers" are. I would be interested to see how the cumulative knowledge of this fictional small town in WV stacks up against a real-world equivalent.
But seriously, it's not like Flint is shooting for "reality" here.
"1632" is simply an entertaining romp that includes shotgun wielding teenagers on dirt bikes blasting 17th century mercenaries into smithereens... and it may actually teach you a thing or two about the Thirty Years War!
A win-win in my ledger.
And yes, it is, but it's also really cool! If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be transported back in time, here's one stab at answering that question. And how might it re-write history?
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things off with the story - for example, how conveniently well-rounded the skill-set of the Grantville "up-timers" are. I would be interested to see how the cumulative knowledge of this fictional small town in WV stacks up against a real-world equivalent.
But seriously, it's not like Flint is shooting for "reality" here.
"1632" is simply an entertaining romp that includes shotgun wielding teenagers on dirt bikes blasting 17th century mercenaries into smithereens... and it may actually teach you a thing or two about the Thirty Years War!
A win-win in my ledger.
February 5, 2014
Well its finished, I am very that I read this after wanting too for years.
great idea, but the characters were blah, it sounds daft but the afterword about where the idea came from, was more interesting .
great idea, but the characters were blah, it sounds daft but the afterword about where the idea came from, was more interesting .
Read
April 6, 2023I picked up 1632 over twenty years ago because I was obsessed with the Thirty Years War at the time and curious to see how the author handled the theme in a science fiction setting. The plot involves a small American town transported back in time to Seventeenth Century Germany by advanced aliens for mysterious reasons. The inhabitants of said town proceed to alter the outcome of the war by introducing their modern technologies and ideologies into the conflict. In short, a variation on A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court. The story impressed me as rather jingoistic, a hymn of praise to the values of an idealized small town America. Later, I was surprised to learn that the author, Eric Flint, is a self-professed Trotskyist. I would have concluded quite the contrary; perhaps I didn't read it closely enough. At any rate, I was underwhelmed by 1632's premise, characters and prose, for the most part. The exception was its description of the Battle of Britenfeld, which was much better than the rest of the book. In fact, it was excellent.
1632 was popular enough to spawn a series of sequels and morph into a "shared universe" with various authors collaborating to extend the concept. A younger me probably would have stuck with it for at least a couple more volumes.
1632 was popular enough to spawn a series of sequels and morph into a "shared universe" with various authors collaborating to extend the concept. A younger me probably would have stuck with it for at least a couple more volumes.
September 29, 2009
What a very fun book to read! And what a great way to get someone interested in a period of history. Sure, there's the jingoistic "Americuh, **** yeah!" aspect to it, but it's often played for laughs.
The premise of the book is that about a 6 mile radius sphere of a modern day West Virginian small mining town is suddenly scooped out due to an advanced species' temporal negligance and dropped down in the middle of Germany in 1631, about 10 years into the ferociously vicious and bloody Thirty Years War.
They were lucky enough to have brought along their power plant and enough doctors and folks who had multiple guns and other knowhow to make them an increasingly important economic and social force of the time.
There are lots of hilarious parts, like the Scots' reactions to the "spirited girls" - American style cheerleaders in their cheerleader outfits. And there are also parts that are true to the times, filth, starvation, illness, rape and a deep lack of freedom for the majority of the population.
This kept me up long past my bedtime and now I am going to hunt down at least the next sequel to see if it's still as interesting, educational and entertaining as the first.
The premise of the book is that about a 6 mile radius sphere of a modern day West Virginian small mining town is suddenly scooped out due to an advanced species' temporal negligance and dropped down in the middle of Germany in 1631, about 10 years into the ferociously vicious and bloody Thirty Years War.
They were lucky enough to have brought along their power plant and enough doctors and folks who had multiple guns and other knowhow to make them an increasingly important economic and social force of the time.
There are lots of hilarious parts, like the Scots' reactions to the "spirited girls" - American style cheerleaders in their cheerleader outfits. And there are also parts that are true to the times, filth, starvation, illness, rape and a deep lack of freedom for the majority of the population.
This kept me up long past my bedtime and now I am going to hunt down at least the next sequel to see if it's still as interesting, educational and entertaining as the first.
July 17, 2021
Very unusual story line which I enjoyed! A West Virginia town is mysteriously transferred to 1632 Germany!
4/19 I think I enjoyed it even more the 2nd time because I knew all the characters!
7/21 I enjoyed revisiting this world!
4/19 I think I enjoyed it even more the 2nd time because I knew all the characters!
7/21 I enjoyed revisiting this world!
January 9, 2016
My brother absolutely loves this book and I've heard of little nothing else for like six months now. Well I FINALLY read it! And really, the cover made my expectations for this book rock bottom, and I've been putting it off now for a couple weeks because the star spangled 1632 above 3 conquistador looking men about to aim on a red pickup truck with an American flag and armed cowboys just didn't whet my interest enough. Then I read the book and realized I was silly: the book is basically this cover and because of this alone is worthy of being read.
If you want to read 600 pages of hillbillies riddling with bullets evil inquisitors and rampaging Croats from the 1600s and the exploits of gumcracking cheerleaders, now the most dangerous special forces on the planet, then this is a book for you. And I have to give credit--the action scenes are really well done and I found it a rollicking read. I see there are like 20 more of these books for some reason and I'll probably keep on reading them.
It's not a perfect book by any means--the town is extremely lucky. An alien civilization that likes to make "art" out of messing with the time/space continuum creates a piece where a decaying small town in West Virginia gets plucked up and placed smack dab in Germany, right in the middle of marauding mercenaries busy torturing and raping innocent civilians in the 30 Years War. Luckily for this town though, it has a mine, a power plant, TV station, and all the water/sewage/electrical components have made it through the transfer unscathed. Multiple doctors, a dentist, and most importatly of all this book, a wedding coordinator. (What was up with all the romances in this book?)
A big almost unbelievable piece of luck is the citizenry themselves. Normally a small town in WV would be depicted as toothless, meth-crazed racist unemployed layabouts, just waiting for an apocalypse to break out so they can serve their evil sheriff and go on rape/loot sprees, blending in seemlessly with 1600s terrorlands. A twist though! This town is comprised of extremely patriotic, gun toting, mechanical geniuses, so instead they calmly take stock of their situation and decide to reform the United States of America but this time in Germany and try to avert all the horrors of the future. I am not so sure this book could be applied now, in the era of the smart phone (book is 2000), if it ever was back then. But I was able to buy a large portion of this book though and the author even states in his note to the reader that this optimistic tone was an intentional response to how lower class characters are depicted in fiction. Maybe it's all the Eleanor Roosevelt books I've been reading lately, but on a level I buy it too. Roosevelt's experminental New Deal utopia was in WV after all..
And while most towns would not take it as calmly as the one in the book, but I think some would for the main fact that the worst town in the US now would be a Power to Be Feared if transported back like 400 years. Nor is this book like militia-ish, if that makes any sense. A large portion of the town are very pro-union miners and one of the main leaders is an extremely liberal feminist (I even liked her portrayal since there has to be someone thinking or acknowledging how to handle the gender issue). The sheriff wasn't corrupt. The big conservative in the book was just a tad grumpy but still best friends with the feminist school teacher. The preacher and the Catholic priest in town are also BFFs.
I even bought how quickly everyone who encountered the Americans was taken in. The Americans were doling out showers, bathrobes, ice cream and car rides after all. The author could have shown at least some of the surrounding towns resisting or debating--other than just tales of their "witchcraft" spreading. But if you're a refugee fleeing the complete shittiness of life then, a welcoming town would be a good place to declare sanctuary. I know some people had issues with the casual violence of the book, but I read this book a bit casually and I thought a lot of it was actually justified. If I was sent back in time to 1632, I'd bring a gun and a ton of bullets myself.
There isn't much tension in the book in other words. The good guys are all purely good, the bad guys super bad, and are easily mown down. It's a very cheerful and optimistic book and as strange as the cover advertises.
If you want to read 600 pages of hillbillies riddling with bullets evil inquisitors and rampaging Croats from the 1600s and the exploits of gumcracking cheerleaders, now the most dangerous special forces on the planet, then this is a book for you. And I have to give credit--the action scenes are really well done and I found it a rollicking read. I see there are like 20 more of these books for some reason and I'll probably keep on reading them.
It's not a perfect book by any means--the town is extremely lucky. An alien civilization that likes to make "art" out of messing with the time/space continuum creates a piece where a decaying small town in West Virginia gets plucked up and placed smack dab in Germany, right in the middle of marauding mercenaries busy torturing and raping innocent civilians in the 30 Years War. Luckily for this town though, it has a mine, a power plant, TV station, and all the water/sewage/electrical components have made it through the transfer unscathed. Multiple doctors, a dentist, and most importatly of all this book, a wedding coordinator. (What was up with all the romances in this book?)
A big almost unbelievable piece of luck is the citizenry themselves. Normally a small town in WV would be depicted as toothless, meth-crazed racist unemployed layabouts, just waiting for an apocalypse to break out so they can serve their evil sheriff and go on rape/loot sprees, blending in seemlessly with 1600s terrorlands. A twist though! This town is comprised of extremely patriotic, gun toting, mechanical geniuses, so instead they calmly take stock of their situation and decide to reform the United States of America but this time in Germany and try to avert all the horrors of the future. I am not so sure this book could be applied now, in the era of the smart phone (book is 2000), if it ever was back then. But I was able to buy a large portion of this book though and the author even states in his note to the reader that this optimistic tone was an intentional response to how lower class characters are depicted in fiction. Maybe it's all the Eleanor Roosevelt books I've been reading lately, but on a level I buy it too. Roosevelt's experminental New Deal utopia was in WV after all..
And while most towns would not take it as calmly as the one in the book, but I think some would for the main fact that the worst town in the US now would be a Power to Be Feared if transported back like 400 years. Nor is this book like militia-ish, if that makes any sense. A large portion of the town are very pro-union miners and one of the main leaders is an extremely liberal feminist (I even liked her portrayal since there has to be someone thinking or acknowledging how to handle the gender issue). The sheriff wasn't corrupt. The big conservative in the book was just a tad grumpy but still best friends with the feminist school teacher. The preacher and the Catholic priest in town are also BFFs.
I even bought how quickly everyone who encountered the Americans was taken in. The Americans were doling out showers, bathrobes, ice cream and car rides after all. The author could have shown at least some of the surrounding towns resisting or debating--other than just tales of their "witchcraft" spreading. But if you're a refugee fleeing the complete shittiness of life then, a welcoming town would be a good place to declare sanctuary. I know some people had issues with the casual violence of the book, but I read this book a bit casually and I thought a lot of it was actually justified. If I was sent back in time to 1632, I'd bring a gun and a ton of bullets myself.
There isn't much tension in the book in other words. The good guys are all purely good, the bad guys super bad, and are easily mown down. It's a very cheerful and optimistic book and as strange as the cover advertises.
February 16, 2025
This book has an unmistakable general similarity to by .
Both books describe a small chunk of the modern USA, populated by thousands of people, being hurled into the past by some unknown agency and left there. In both cases the Americans are of course well in advance of current science and technology, and use their advantages to defeat enemies, make friends, acquire more territory, convert locals into American citizens, and spread American social and political ideas around.
Stirling’s book was published two years earlier. Did Flint deliberately copy the idea, or was it coincidence? I don’t know.
The main difference is that Stirling’s Americans are flung back to 1250 BC without changing their geographical location, while Flint’s Americans are flung back to 1631 AD (not 1632, despite the book’s title) and find themselves in Germany, in the middle of the Thirty Years War.
In both books, the characters tend to be rather too good to be true, as though the author decided on their basic characteristics and then added saturation in Photoshop. I’d say the effect is a bit more blatant in Flint’s book; in fact, Stirling is a significantly better writer and I rate his book higher.
However, Flint’s book is quite entertaining if you like this kind of story, and I enjoyed it well enough. Don’t expect high literature: this is an unpretentious adventure story, lacking in subtlety.
Military events are quite prominent in both books, but more so in Flint’s, as his characters are actually dropped into the middle of a war, whereas Stirling’s characters are under no immediate military threat, and get involved in fighting only after they start exploring.
Stirling’s characters fairly soon run out of ammunition for their 20th century weapons, and have to start designing and making their own weapons and ammunition. Flint’s characters, however, seem to have remarkably large stocks of ammunition.
Both books show evidence of substantial research and taught me something about the respective time periods, neither of which I’d previously studied.
So far, I haven’t felt the urge to read any sequels to this book. This one is quite fun, but the quality of writing leaves something to be desired, and the sequels seem to be lower rated by other readers.
Both books describe a small chunk of the modern USA, populated by thousands of people, being hurled into the past by some unknown agency and left there. In both cases the Americans are of course well in advance of current science and technology, and use their advantages to defeat enemies, make friends, acquire more territory, convert locals into American citizens, and spread American social and political ideas around.
Stirling’s book was published two years earlier. Did Flint deliberately copy the idea, or was it coincidence? I don’t know.
The main difference is that Stirling’s Americans are flung back to 1250 BC without changing their geographical location, while Flint’s Americans are flung back to 1631 AD (not 1632, despite the book’s title) and find themselves in Germany, in the middle of the Thirty Years War.
In both books, the characters tend to be rather too good to be true, as though the author decided on their basic characteristics and then added saturation in Photoshop. I’d say the effect is a bit more blatant in Flint’s book; in fact, Stirling is a significantly better writer and I rate his book higher.
However, Flint’s book is quite entertaining if you like this kind of story, and I enjoyed it well enough. Don’t expect high literature: this is an unpretentious adventure story, lacking in subtlety.
Military events are quite prominent in both books, but more so in Flint’s, as his characters are actually dropped into the middle of a war, whereas Stirling’s characters are under no immediate military threat, and get involved in fighting only after they start exploring.
Stirling’s characters fairly soon run out of ammunition for their 20th century weapons, and have to start designing and making their own weapons and ammunition. Flint’s characters, however, seem to have remarkably large stocks of ammunition.
Both books show evidence of substantial research and taught me something about the respective time periods, neither of which I’d previously studied.
So far, I haven’t felt the urge to read any sequels to this book. This one is quite fun, but the quality of writing leaves something to be desired, and the sequels seem to be lower rated by other readers.
May 9, 2015
A very curious, entertaining novel. I've seen 1632 on bookstore shelves for a while, and was dimly aware that it spawned sequels and a big fan base. But I didn't read into it until my son read and recommended it.
(Meta-question: how much reading does one do for family reasons?)
The conceit of 1632 is pretty straightforward: a contemporary West Virginia town gets suddenly transported to Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War. The plot follows American characters as they struggle to survive, and some Europeans as they grapple with these weird intruders. The results are very interesting.
On the one hand I was fascinating by the book's politics. From its fan base I expected a rah-rah military adventure, and there is certainly a lot of fighting and gun gazing. There's a pro-life moment. But I was surprised by its pro-union base. Organized coal miners are the little republic's backbone, and the union boss becomes its de facto dictator, which Flint portrays as a very good thing. Racism and snobbery are what villains do, and the heroes oppose those practices. There's a lot of celebration of poor folk, especially hillbillies, and slams against the American financial elite. Occupy Thuringia!
On the other, the book's genre and tone were also not what I expected. Alongside the gunplay are many, many sustained marriage plots, which are always about manners (!). There's a survivalist aspect, but that turns into something quite different from post-apocalypse stories, become very optimistic. The bit of Appalachia unstuck in spacetime rapidly becomes a boomtown, making the world a better place.
I enjoyed much of the history, although it ended up in some unlikely places.
1632 offers a very different politics from what America sees today, in the simple, often cartoonish Red Versus Blue of hyperpartisan fundraising and bad journalism. It almost feels like a transmission from another, alternate world.
(Meta-question: how much reading does one do for family reasons?)
The conceit of 1632 is pretty straightforward: a contemporary West Virginia town gets suddenly transported to Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War. The plot follows American characters as they struggle to survive, and some Europeans as they grapple with these weird intruders. The results are very interesting.
On the one hand I was fascinating by the book's politics. From its fan base I expected a rah-rah military adventure, and there is certainly a lot of fighting and gun gazing. There's a pro-life moment. But I was surprised by its pro-union base. Organized coal miners are the little republic's backbone, and the union boss becomes its de facto dictator, which Flint portrays as a very good thing. Racism and snobbery are what villains do, and the heroes oppose those practices. There's a lot of celebration of poor folk, especially hillbillies, and slams against the American financial elite. Occupy Thuringia!
On the other, the book's genre and tone were also not what I expected. Alongside the gunplay are many, many sustained marriage plots, which are always about manners (!). There's a survivalist aspect, but that turns into something quite different from post-apocalypse stories, become very optimistic. The bit of Appalachia unstuck in spacetime rapidly becomes a boomtown, making the world a better place.
I enjoyed much of the history, although it ended up in some unlikely places.
1632 offers a very different politics from what America sees today, in the simple, often cartoonish Red Versus Blue of hyperpartisan fundraising and bad journalism. It almost feels like a transmission from another, alternate world.
August 5, 2013
It's 1632 and the auto-de-fe' is in full swing. As is the 30 year war, and the Inquisition is gaining speed as well. In France, Cardinal Richelieu is ruler in all but name. And, into all this chaos, death and war drops a small West Virginia town with all it's citizens. And, in the best tradition of that state, they promptly set to work cleaning up the mess around them.
I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book or not when I got it, but it sounded way too interesting to totally pass up. So, one short wait for the library to get me the book, and I started reading. WELL worth that wait. The writer does a good job of changing his pov between that of the WVA town members and what is known of the history of that time. Flint was a tad overly fond of describing the guns and ammo used in this story, at least, if you aren't a gun person (thought I'd throw that out there for those who don't like guns.)
He does an excellent job of showing the historical view of the people who had been born and raised in that time period--and who had already endured 14 or so years of horribly nasty warfare. He didn't have them acting "modern" but at the same time, he did have them adaptable enough to accept the benefits of their modern saviors.
There are more books in this series, which I'd held off requesting until I finished this book. It's almost 600 pages of packed reading, but it was also so interesting that I finished it off in one day's solid reading. Fortunately it WAS a Saturday, so I had the time, since I couldn't put the book down.
I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book or not when I got it, but it sounded way too interesting to totally pass up. So, one short wait for the library to get me the book, and I started reading. WELL worth that wait. The writer does a good job of changing his pov between that of the WVA town members and what is known of the history of that time. Flint was a tad overly fond of describing the guns and ammo used in this story, at least, if you aren't a gun person (thought I'd throw that out there for those who don't like guns.)
He does an excellent job of showing the historical view of the people who had been born and raised in that time period--and who had already endured 14 or so years of horribly nasty warfare. He didn't have them acting "modern" but at the same time, he did have them adaptable enough to accept the benefits of their modern saviors.
There are more books in this series, which I'd held off requesting until I finished this book. It's almost 600 pages of packed reading, but it was also so interesting that I finished it off in one day's solid reading. Fortunately it WAS a Saturday, so I had the time, since I couldn't put the book down.
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