1632

Rating:
Summary: A Masterful Tour de Force!
Review: Every now and then I come across a book that's so original--and so beautifully written--that it makes me, as a fellow author, wish... that I'd written it! 1632 is such a book. Indeed, I don't know when I've had the pleasure of reading a more thoughtful and, at the same time, thoroughly entertaining novel. Yes, Flint's premise--that a small town in the coal country of northern West Virginia could somehow be transported without any warning whatsoever to 17th-century Thuringia--is a shade flimsy. But, once the good citizens of Grantville find themselves thrust into the hellish maelstrom that was Germany during the Thirty-Years War, the story rapidly comes together, and the characters, minor as well as major, Germans, Scots, Swedes, and Sephardic Jews, as well as Applachian-bred Americans, behave in a fashion thoroughly consistent with the circumstances in which they find themselves. In fact, one of the strong points of this marvelous novel is its depth of characterization, something all too rare in this genre. To be sure, the juxtapositions between Flint's well-drawn characters are sometimes hilarious, such as that between a small-town high school cheerleader-cum-expert markswoman and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. But these people are never cartoonish; on the contrary, they're totally believable, from the charismatic King of Sweden and the feisty cheerleader to the likable United Mine Workers leader who eventually becomes president of this transplanted American republic.

I might add here that, as an anthopologist who is concerned with culture contacts, especially those between cultures with widely divergent technologies, I take my hat off to Flint for working out the logic of what would happen if a small segment of 21st-century rural America suddenly came face-to-face with a pre-industrial culture such as obtained in 17th-century Europe. And the idea that the Americans cannot long resupply the high-tech culture they've heretofore taken for granted and must "gear down" in order to survive is also worked out extremely well.

In short, it's obvious that Eric Flint had a great deal of fun writing this book, even though the amount of research he needed to do to pull it off was necessarily prodigious. I eagerly await a sequel (or a series of sequels), as I'm dying to know what happens to this 17th-century "United States of Thuringia" and its founders in the following decades (and centuries!).

Rating:
Summary: Good Fluff
Review: I had fun reading this book, but it really is far fetched. Never mind the basic premise, that a small American town is transported back in time and place to 1632 Germany, to be in the middle of the 30-year war. You have to accept that premise or you wouldn't even start this book.

No, what is unbelievable is how smoothly everything seems to go for the characters. Without spoiling the story, there never is any tension in the read, because you know who will win and that no one important will be hurt. That is not always bad. Sometimes it is fun to read a good romp. But, if you buy this book, don't expect a Turtledove "Guns of the South", for example, where the history is very accurate and story is so serious. Although, to be honest, I liked the "light" approach.

This story, about how good America is and how Universal are its values, was nice to read. Transported back in the middle of a war; this little American town becomes a beacon for Germans, Jews and even Swedes. As the town grows in population, it grows in power. Eventually it becomes a key player in the 30-year war due to its modern technology.

One of the potential key issues is how religious fanatics would view this strange town. But after the King, for example, sees a cheerleader turned Markswomen (Julie); he refuses to believe someone so spunky could be a witch. Really? Well, like I said it is fluff. Fun fluff, but fluff.

Another issue is whether or not the Americans can turn the tide in this war before they lose the best of their modern technology. The way the story ends, there could be a sequel where this issue is better developed. Overall, if you like history and want a fun read, I think you will enjoy 1632. Just be clear on what to expect. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant and Continuing Accomplishment!
Review: Especially for those of us who were getting a bit fed up with the alternate history branch of Science Fiction that has been so heavily trodden in recent years, Flint has wrought a miracle! A fresh idea which opens new horizons, and a follow through that is making good on reaching those horizons. This is no "Connecticut Yankee" rip off. This is no "What would have happened if Grant's horse had stumbled at Appatomatox?" This is a whole new world opened right in the middle of fairly familiar world history by the transfer (how is completely immaterial) of a chunk of modern USA large enough to literally change the world in one of its darker moments (er, centuries). By throwing the concept out to other authors in a controlled way Flint has assured us all of a continuing flow of fresh ideas. The book and its sequals are all page turners. Flint has also wisely chosen to dwell on all the human and cultural aspects of the event and that should prove a revelation to most of us who don't appreciate how much "ordinary people" have changed in these few centuries, while staying the same at heart. It is a cliche to say that if you want to appreciate the USA, travel abroad. Well, this series hammers you into appreciating how much most of our whole world (bad as it is) has improved. Once more Science Fiction has demonstrated its ability to open new vistas of understanding for us residents of planet Earth.

Rating:
Summary: West Virginians in 1632 Germany
Review: Although I read a LOT of science fiction of all types (fantasy, military, and alternate history), I somehow had never read anything by Eric Flint before, but the idea of a whole town from modern-day West Virginia being transplanted into 1632 Germany -- in the middle of the 30 Years War -- intrigued me. I was afraid that this book was going to be yet another of those that trash West Virginia and her citizens, but I was happy to find I was wrong as well as vastly entertained for several hours.

Mike Stearns, along with most of the residents of Grantville, WV, was attending his sister's wedding reception in the cafeteria of the local high school when suddenly a brilliant, white light flashed through all the windows, the ground shook, and the power went off. Mike, his family members, friends, and colleagues naturally think there has been an explosion, but when they start looking around they are shocked to find they aren't in West Virginia -- or even the United States -- anymore; in fact, they aren't even in the same century! What happened? No one knows. Can they get back "home"? Probably not. What can they do? Survive.

Seventeenth-century Germany is a bloody battlefield where kings, princes, mercenaries, and peasants die by the thousands; unfortunately, though, it's the richest (not the best or even bravest) leaders who usually win. Murder, rape, religious persecution, rule by a hereditary nobility, and army induction at swordpoint are the way of life for the average person. (You've got to admit that "Join or die" is a VERY effective recruiting slogan.) The right to do as they are told is about the only right common people have -- much to the shock and dismay of their new neighbors from the future, who consider themselves "common people" as well. The term "culture shock" really doesn't cover the American's attitudes when exposed to the lifestyle the German peasants take for granted; it certainly doesn't even begin to cover the German's reactions when they are faced with the behavior and attitudes of these hard-working, stubborn, opinionated, patriotric, Bill-of-Rights-loving, coal miners from a small town in central West Virginia -- especially the behavior (and dress!) of the modern-day females. When these new neighbors -- with their "revolutionary" ideas of equality and tolerance and their modern weapons and medicine -- proceed to help the beleagured cities around them, well . . . history will never be the same again.

Although I wish the author had spent more time on the struggles of the citizens of Grantville to come to terms with their new situation and the formation of the "new" United States (with only the State of Grantville) and its government, I enjoyed this book so much that I went out and bought four more books by Eric Flint. By blending authentic historical figures with the fictional characters in this book, he makes the actions of ALL the people in this story -- improbable plot and all -- come alive with tales of bravery and cowardace, strategy and warfare, honor and dishonor, as well as romance and adventure. The fact that he does it with humor and WITHOUT continuing the sterotype of West Virginians as poor, ignorant, bigoted, narrow-minded, incestuous hillbillies makes it even better. BUY (don't borrow) this book -- this kind of writing should be rewarded!

Rating:
Summary: A fun, if not terribly believeable, romp
Review: I'm a big fan of alternative history, so I was naturally drawn to this book (and the series as a whole) by all the attention it's received. 1632 is definitely a fun read, and I'd recommend it to science fiction fans in search of a relatively light read.

You're going to have to seriously exercise your suspension of disbelief when reading this book during a number of passages, but that's at least somewhat understandable. After all, it wouldn't be much fun if the protagonists all died off from diseases, couldn't communicate with the locals, or found that they couldn't support a modern level of technology using only the infrastructure of a small West Virginian town.

Flint has a couple of bad habits as a writer that really come through in this book: first, it's very clear that a couple of his major characters are his favorites, and these characters are invariably going to make all the right decisions, always succeed at whatever they do, rapidly become accomplished statesmen and military strategists, and are, in fact, moral paragons - to an unbelievable degree - even in the face of extremely difficult and unfamiliar situations. And second, Flint's writing style could use some editorial polish. He uses too much exposition (admittedly, the Thirty Years' War is an extremely complex period and requires a great deal of explanation, but there's got to be a better way of pulling it off than this) and he has the bad tendency to reuse trite phrases, sometimes every few pages. This gets annoying at times. The characters (mostly modern day West Virginian coal miners) also use a level of vocabulary and sentence structure that real people just don't use. People just don't speak in half-page long paragraphs, nor do they use words like "pean" in ordinary conversations.

All that aside, read this book, you'll likely enjoy it if you're at all interested in the "Baen Books" style of light, military-oriented science fiction adventure novels.

I'd also recommend S. M. Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time series, which is probably a little more engaging than 1632.

Rating:
Summary: Best AH novel I Have Read--Slightly Better than the Sequel
Review: First, I bought "1633" by Eric Flint & David Weber, based on my past experience with the Honor Harrington books and others by Weber, all of which were great fun. Upon learning that it was a sequel to "1632," I bought that to read first. WOW! I couldn't put it down!** I had to add the name of Eric Flint to my list of favorite authors!

This is a very plausible and FUN narrative of what might happen if a small town in today's West Virginia had been somehow plopped into Germany in 1632. Most of the Americans and most of the Germans and Swedes turn out to be delightful people, and the action is nonstop. And as an extra bonus, I learned something about European history.

The sequel, "1633," written in collaboration with David Weber, turned out to be not quite as good as "1632," but still rates 5 stars, as does "Ring of Fire," a collection of shorter pieces of the same AH, edited by and including a great novella by Eric Flint. I eagerly await "1634," which is due out next month.

** except to consult Webster's and Encyclopedia Americana.

Rating:
Summary: Minor Flaws
Review: Alternative history can be a treat, if you like the genre. If you like it here is an interesting and suspenseful novel - with two minor flaws in it. The setting of 17th century Europe is seen from a very American angle. Although the major historical facts are quite correct, their evaluation is sometimes too modern and slightly distorts the historical reality and characters. For example: a Swedish officer uses a comparison between a chipmunk and a bear when he watches two other characters. He certainly was not able to use this image as there are no chipmunks at all in Europe. And exactly this mistake leads to another one. All the characters seem very credible as individual personalities. But the natives become less credible when they so readily and quickly accept modern political, technical, and economical concepts that are so alien to them that they must create strong conflicts in this mixed society. Modern western democracy is a political concept that nobody - even the poor and suppressed people of that era - would have accepted then. Something like that developed in centuries, not in days.

But this novel is fiction after all, and, of course, the author is free to use his imagination as freely as he may find it suitable. It is the result that counts, and the result is a very good and exiting novel.

Rating:
Summary: Disapointing effort
Review: Having read excellent examples of this genre (e.g. S.M Sterling's Ocean in the Sea of Time), I found this book to be very disappointing. The writing and plot construction is poor, especially in an author who has several novels under his belt. My main complaint is simply that everything is way too easy for the 'up-timers.' The main character faces little opposition personally, romantically, politically, or internationally. Every battle is won easily. There is no suspense and little interest.
I read this book because one of my favorite authors, David Weber, co-authored the sequel. I am sad to say that even Weber can't save this series.
Read S.M Stirling's work instead, you'll find it much more rewarding.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't stop turning the pages.
Review: This book immediately pulled me in. I couldn't stop turning the pages. For light fiction, the characters were delightfully multi-dimmensional - I cared about what happened to them. Most of all, the action and pace of the story made it hard to put the book down. One scene - four teenage American boys with shotguns face down 100 mercenaries. Maybe not smart, but definitely heroic. Anyway, I highly recommend this book - it's a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling "what if" fiction...
Review: It's hard to think of a genre book I've enjoyed as much as 1632 and its sequel 1633 of late. This is a "what if" history---what if a small American village, ordinary folks, no experts--were suddenly transplanted to Europe in the middle of the infamous 30 Years' War... The book wisely wastes no time on how or why it happens, but deals with the consequences from the outset. The first problem is survival, both in terms of defense from rampaging soldiers and material things in life. The second is acclimating. The third is finding allies. All are compelling, but it is with the story of King Gustav of Sweden, and the alliances undertaken against Richlieu and others, that the book really becomes special. The Americans are now forced to deal with the "game of thrones," the political manipulations of the day. This carries through more strongly in fact, in the sequel. Entertaining, and written in a page turner style that makes it hard to put down. You always want to find out what happens next. And whether this little group will suceed in becoming a shining light to nations, or be swallowed up by the factions and brutalities of the time.