Rating: 
Summary: Buy it used
Review: IF you like time-travel/alternativish history more than you dislike reaaaaaaaaaaly bad writing, then buy this book. But do yourself a favor, buy it used. This book reads as if it was written by a high school senior, so cardboardish and predictable is everything about it. Stirling's "Island in the Sea of Time," etc, are better reads since Stirling is generally a better writer than Flint. Frankly, after reading about 200 pages, I gave up on it and skipped to the end. Nicely set up for, guess what, 1633. I realize why I gave up on the Belisarius books by Flint and Drake: too much Flint and not enough Drake.
Rating: 
Summary: "A Rueful Book," he said ruefully.
Review: Alternate-History is a tricky genre. Juggling past and present while trying to invent a new (and plausable) future ... well, I can't imagine the headaches that this would cause the writer. But Eric Flint gets it right--for the most part. There were some obvious flaws, such as the constant praising of Unions (what is this, a novel or a labor rally?), the over-use of the word "rueful" (eg. "He gave a rueful nod." "She smiled ruefully." "There was ruefulness in her eyes." Sheesh! At one point, "rueful" was used three times in the same page!), and then there's the almost infuriating way the characters accept their situation. There's no mourning for the world they left behind, no tears, no regret. Just casual indifference and eager acceptance. "What, we ain't in West Virginia no more? Well, whatever (belch!). Let's go kill us some Germans!" That's an exaggeration, but not by much. All this might sound like I was disappointed by 1632--I wasn't. I enjoyed it very much, gobbling up its 500-plus pages in less than a week. But come on, Mr. Flint! You could tell a more polished story than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Pageturner
Review: The book has it's flaws, but it kept me up for a night with many hopeless attempts at "just one more chapter." I'm not a big fan of Science Fiction, and thankfully the author paid no more than a few pages to the event which transports a small American mining town to 1632 Germany. From there, the action, the historical notes, and the plot work very well together. I was most impressed with the description of Breitenfeld, and the author has made a detailed study of the era, both military and social history. In fact, Flint does it so well that reading about automatic rifles and busses in the 17th century does not require too much imagination. He integrates the modern town so well with his historic descriptions so as the story moves along it's quite easy to pay no attention to 17th century peasants watching TV. The characters are a little one-dimensional, all good or all bad, but this is not Bronte; the story and the research drive the book, and the characters are just deep enough to grab your attachment. As for the historic characters who pop up; Flint demonizes Tilly and Wallenstein while practically raising Gustuvas Adolphus to sainthood. Though it was not enough to spoil the book, these characterizations required a greater suspension of disbelief than the mining town showing up in Germany. Overall, a great read, especially if you like history. I can't think of any other fiction set during this period; an era of brutality, carnage and events which is sadly ignored by most English speaking history curriculae.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book with a few minor flaws
Review: Overall, this was a good book. Not great, but good enough to make me want to get the next book - called, appropriately enough, 1633. What I liked:
I liked that I learned a little bit about history without having to read a history book. : ) I liked how he pulled certain historical figures into the story. I liked the author's writing style, and the characters and premise were very interesting. This book has a lot of action, and is well paced and suspensful. What I thought could be improved upon:
I didn't feel that the author showed enough anguish and mental trauma that these people would have gone through after having been ripped out of the world they knew and thrown into a much more hostile one. I would have liked more discussion about everyday things they needed to change to give me more of a sense of them adjusting to life there. The author also went into WAY more detail about battles than I ever wanted to know and then didn't fully explain some of the terms he was using that related to combat in that era. He also had an annoying tendency to end a chapter with repeating phrases. I can only assume that he thought (mistakenly) he was being poetic. The good far outweighs the few complaints I have, and I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction or time travel fiction or just anyone who enjoys a a good, entertaining novel.
Rating:
Summary: willing suspension of disbelief, to a point
Review: ok, i can accept that a west virginia town gets miraculously transported to 1632 and the technological adjustments the transportees make are interesting, even clever. But would the townspeople really offer so little opposition to the group that takes control of the town? there are 1 or 2 'bad guys' among the citizens, but i find it very hard to believe that there wouldn't be more unrest and sabotage. i kept waiting for something really bad to happen and was disappointed. actually, i was relieved. i liked these people. i wanted them to succeed. the history was interesting and the real characters were lots of fun. on the whole i enjoyed this book and look forward to the next.
Rating:
Summary: Twisted History
Review: True History fans may cringe, but this was totally unexpected and enjoyable. I got this book as an e-book for my Palm Pilot. I will be reading more by this author. The story line is enjoyable and characters are well developed if somewhat stereotyped. Books like this always make me want to go back and look at the actual history of an era. Too many of us romanticize history, and we always picture ourselves as lords of the manor.
Rating:
Summary: See, West Virginians AREN'T rednecks
Review: I was a little hesitant to pick up this book because I wasn't sure how West Virginians would be portrayed. I have been listening to "West Virginia, redneck, inbred, hillbilly" jokes since I moved to Virginia 8 years ago. I was very happy to find that the author treated us with respect.
My knowledge of the Thirty Years War is very limited. For that reason, I felt the historical events were a little hard to follow. However, the 2 maps at the beginning of the book were quite helpful.
I also feel there were a few too many characters in the book. There were many occasions when I found myself flipping back, trying to remember who someone was. I also feel the author could have done more with the Simpsons. He would bring them up, but then let the topic drop and go on to something else. (Maybe they play a larger role in the next book.)
On the overall, however, this is a wonderful book and I look forward to reading the next one.
Rating:
Summary: A star-spangled treat
Review: Although it starts with time travel this is really alternative history, in the manner of S.M. Stirling's recent "Island in Time" Nantucket trilogy. A little town from West Virginia is transported to mitteleuropa in 1631 (two maps are provided), where these good union folks (i.e., industrial workers and not government bureaucrats) introduce law, order and the American Way into a land very much missing any of these virtues or aspirations. This (too) fast-paced story is an excellent Fourth of July read. Don't let a few nagging questions bother you: where do all the bullets come from, what about the gasoline, or the paper they start to print a newspaper on? Hey, this is a fun examination of the political and military aspects of adaptation to a very strange and very deadly situation of historic unreason. Flint clearly likes the grisly war parts best, for which we get some pithy lectures on military history. He is a competent writer able to evoke comaraderie in the face of desperately cruel circumstances, and admiration for his characters in the reader, pounded out to the beat of Blake's poetry. Flint melds obscure religious doctrines of the period into the clash of confident, tough and diverse Americans and their allies against depraved enemies. This is a good uplifting read that will make you proud of rural American values, introducing desperately needed Love and The Bill of Rights into the marvelously intolerant 17th century world a few centuries before it really did happen! Things may not come so easily in the 1633 sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Very nice--a new American revolution in the 30 years war
Review: When a small West Virginia town is translated into the middle of the 30 years war in Germany, its residents know they'll have a struggle to survive. The war destroyed much of Germany and was a definite low point in human misconduct. Still, survival isn't enough for Mike Stearn and some of the other West Virginians (especially not the militant unionists). They want to start the American Revolution a century and a half early. For a while, at least, they have access to modern technology--but how long that can last against the disciplined opposition of most of Europe remains to be seen. Fortunately, a labor shortage is the least of Stearn's problems. Starving peasants flock to anyone willing to protect them and, after a brief internal battle with the isolationists, they are admitted into a new United States. Still, this new republic can only ally with the Swedish King and the history books report that he doesn't survive the onslaught of the great mercenary general Wallenstein. Author Eric Flint delivers a fast-paced and convincing account of a new nation, conceived in liberty and in the fields of battle. I liked Flint's decision to make the ordinary people the heros of the story. Preserving the real values of America shouldn't be something for the elite only and Flint delivers more 'everyman' heros than you can shake a stick at. Although Flint isn't quite the master of military fiction as, for example his sometimes writing partner David Drake he delivers some fine battles in this novel including a historic battle between King Gustav Adolf and Tilly. 1632 makes a compelling and fascinating read.
Rating:
Summary: A real page turner, patriotic and at times moving
Review: I found it very hard to put this book down, finishing in a couple days. I expected a far darker book, but just about everything goes well for the central characters. But I was still entertained, even moved by characters and situations that were clearly manipulative (chubby geeky computer teen kicks butt, gets the girl of his dreams, wins her over by being nice). On top of it all, a nice dose of history from 1631 Germany (I particularly enjoyed the details about jews), and a really authentic feel to the WV Coal mining town. And to my delight, it appears the author will be writing several sequels! Hurrah!
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