Rating: 
Summary: Great sequal to 1632 - Deaper, darker, still a lot of fun.
Review: This is a great follow-on to 1632. The plot is a good deal deaper and darker with much more political intrigue (David Weber's influence there I think) and less action. Still, it is a good solid read that keeps you engaged and ready to continue.Can't wait for Flint & Weber's next 163x book which is supposed to be in the works!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Alternatives Around
Review: Flint & Weber write an engrossing story with convincingly real characters and surprising plot twists. This book is more of an incomplete series than the first book, and purposely so. It really is incomplete without the next chapter, 1634. There are a lot of characters to follow, but Flint & Weber manage to keep track of everyone, and keep the readers' interest. Happily, there is not only military action in this edition, but also character discussion on the nature of predestination and Arminianism, raising intriguing possibilities on the nature of God's work with the world, especially in a multiverse. This philosophical quandary is often ignored in fiction works that deal with multiverses. While it would be nice if more time were spent on the differences between the groups and the difficulties Americans would have in adjusting to the 16th century, the brief look at cultural differences between 20th century Americans and 16th century Europeans helps to create more rounded characters. Still one of the best alternative history series I've yet read.
Rating:
Summary: The Series Begins
Review: In Eric Flint's 2000 book "1632," the town of Grantville is ripped from modern-day and dropped in the middle of Germany, in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. Thanks to its citizens' modern knowledge and weapons, a lot of luck, and an alliance with the powerful King of Sweden, the town was able to keep from being wiped out in its first year in the seventeenth century. So we move on to "1633." But in the 1630s, there are few European countries as powerful as France, which is controlled by the capable and ruthless Cardinal Richelieu. When stolen history books from Grantville make their way into his hands and show him the future development of France, Richelieu is not pleased. Along with the kings of England and Spain, Richelieu organizes the forces of absolute monarchy and established religion to stamp out the representative government, rule of law and religious pluralism that threaten to cast them into the dustbin of history. In their sights are potential revolutionary Oliver Cromwell, the insufferable Dutch Republic and, of course, Grantville. Even though "1633" is a sequel to Flint's "1632" (and incorporates a few of the short stories in the "Ring of Fire" anthology), it is really the first book in the series that Flint eventually decided to set in the "1632" universe. "1632" was originally designed to be a stand-alone novel, and it was only its unexpected success that led Flint to consider writing the full-blown series, collaborating with a series of coauthors, of which David Weber is the first. Thus "1633" is a very different beast than "1632." Instead of being a fully self-contained novel, "1633" sets up several of the various plot strands that will be pursued in the 1634 books currently being written and published. There is much more character development, which fleshes out some of the characters who were relatively one-dimensional in 1632 (a good thing, in my opinion). On the other hand, there are fewer battles and a generally slower pace (which I did not mind). Despite leaving several threads hanging for future volumes, the book does have a solid conclusion. If you read and enjoyed "1632," I would definitely recommend going on to "1633," though you may want to read "Ring of Fire" first - several of the short stories in that anthology were written before "1633" and incorporated into it by Flint and Weber, even though "1633" was published first. The uncertain should know that Baen offers the book for free on its Web site. I encourage them to check it out. "1633" kicks off what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable alternate history series. Flint's decision to write with a number of different coauthors should keep the series from falling into a rut, making each book fresh and approached from a slightly different angle. I'm looking forward to reading them.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but not as good as 1632
Review: 1633 is a fun book, though it's slightly less enjoyable than the original (1632). The basic plotline - a small West Virginian town is transported to Germany during the Thirty Years' War and must survive and attempt to civilize Europe - remains the same. A few new characters are introduced, though some of the protagonists from the first book get short shrift (e.g., Julie Sims) this time around. The book is probably about a hundred pages too long, and it goes into unnecessary detail on the creation of the (new) U.S. Air Force and Navy. An inordinate amount of time is spent on the initial flight training of a couple of new pilots and the construction of the first ironclads. That would be fine if, for example, the ironclads ever saw action in the book - they do not. Presumably, Flint will have them play a significant role in 1634. Flint still uses way too many lengthy expository passages for my taste (even more so than in 1632). You get the impression from reading the book that Flint sees 1633 as being just an opening chapter in a much larger story rather than as a coherent, stand-alone book. While many "epic" series suffer from this problem (I hesitate to even begin to compare 1633 to a Robert Jordan book), I do wish that 1633 had been a little more self-contained. All that being said, 1633 *is* an enjoyable read, and if you enjoyed the first book in the series, you should definitely take a look at this one, you won't be disappointed.
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