“The Ultimate Y2K Glitch….1632 In the year 1632 in northern Germany a reasonable person might conclude that things couldn’t get much worse. There was no food. Disease was rampant. For over a decade religious war had ravaged the land and the people. Catholic and Protestant armies marched and countermarched across the northern plains, laying waste the cities and slaughtering everywhere. In many … everywhere. In many rural areas population plummeted toward zero. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy.
2000 Things are going OK in Grantville, West Virginia. The mines are working, the buck are plentiful (it’s deer season) and everybody attending the wedding of Mike Stearn’s sister (including the entire membership of the 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 small group of armed miners to find out what’s going on. Out past the edge of town Grantville’s asphalt road 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 Iying screaming in muck at the center of a ring of attentive 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.
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This is the book that sparked a series, many of which are not actually written by Flint, but it’s the best of the bunch. 20th century people plunked down in 1632 Germany. Awesome.
Delightful application of all-American ‘can do’ attitude (with a West Virginia coal miner enthusiasm) to the 17th century’s 30-year war.
This is the first book in ‘The Ring of Fire’ series. These are quirky sort of alternative history novels, with a very dedicated following.
1632 is a speculative work, with a science fictiony start: an event transports the college town of Grantville, West Virginia of the year 2000 back to 1630s Germany. There the science fiction ends. The rest is where the fun starts, modern US populist values, backed by technical superiority butting up against the prevailing religious governance and nobility/political infighting. The “uptimers”, as the displaced Americans are called, operate through relationship building and negotiation, not conquest, pretty consistent with their values, though they do take sides. They don’t hesitate in protecting their interests and their people.
I’ve read a couple of the books, and find them entertaining and wildly thought provoking. The interplay between contemporary ethics, modern methods and period thought, materials and technology is well researched, well considered and convincing. Historically notorious figures like the Borgias, Cardinal Richelieu crop up, great fun is had by all!
Each book can stand alone. They are substantial reads, 500+ pages apiece, but worth it. Eric Flint is the common author and there are many collaborators.
I plan on reading more of this unique series, and recommend them without reservation.
I am not generally a fan of alternative history, military history, or time travel books, but I read this at the suggestion of someone who loves those genres and wanted to prod my interest. This is, basically, a thoughtful fantasy about what might happen if a small town in West Virginia was lifted out of the 1990s and into an area in northern Germany in 1631, during the 30 Years War. What would happen if modern technology was available back then? Would knowing the outcomes of certain historical events lead to changes that might change the outcomes themselves? A fascinating group of characters, both Up-Timers and Down-Timers, make the possibilities dazzling. A thoroughly intriguing and engaging read with lots of interesting plot lines.
Eric Flint is a good writer and his books are well edited. “1632” is a great example of a “what if” story. What would happen if a whole town in the current United States was dropped into the middle of Germany in the year 1632. This book could have been written as a totally whimsical story like “A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” but it is wasn’t. Sure there are some whimsical things that happen but for the most part things are presented in a more realistic manner. Sure there are some leaps of logic but I think the story good enough to ignore the few. It is a delightful read.
I saw this many years ago while wandering around a bookstore. I liked to do that, I’d find interesting books. I see the cover of this one and thought, “what is this?”
Needless to say, I’ve read all of the books of this series since and look forward to each release.
Time travelling for an individual is difficult enough. For an entire town to go back in time literally in the blink of an eye, what a shock. At least a small town out of West Virginia has the gumption to deal with the kind of predatation that roamed Germany in the 1600s. The cultural shock definitely goes both ways.
A favorite alternative history.
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This book is amazing, not because it by itself is amazing but rather for what came next. The book is light and fun, the series is intense and fueled by the fan’s love of the work and contribution to the series.
I can only hope that my books spark this kind of a chord with my readers.
Right from the start this book grabbed my interest. I really like the series, setting and characters in the book. This book leads you to wanting more. And Eric Flint delivered, the 1632/Ring of Fire series is great and best series I have read in 70 years. The books are just to short but only because I always want more.
the greatest alternate history book and series
well written fast paced a little romance