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1632 | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Eric Flint | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| Ring of Fire | 1632, 1633, 1634: The Baltic War, 1634: The Galileo Affair, 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1634: The Bavarian Crisis, 1635: The Cannon Law, Ring of Fire, Grantville Gazette | ||
When I first read this book, I had some serious problems with it. The subject, the concept, the plot, all were fine. The writing, the characterization, those too. The problem was the length. Despite being nearly 600 pages, it was too short.
Frightening, when you think about it.
But while Donald E. McQuinn's books are almost the exact same length yet seem way too long, Flint keeps the story moving at a brisk pace. It's a shame to see the book end, and the climactic battle seems rushed.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mention what the concept was. It is very simple: a modern but fictional West Virgina town was zapped back in time to the year 1632 in central Europe. This happens to be smack in the center of the Thirty-Years War, one of the worst conflicts previous to World War I. How do the townspeople react? How do the Germans react? What about the nefarious French?
The problems I already mentioned, as well as most of the good parts. One thing I particularly admired, though, was the execution of the event itself. It is explained, in the first few pages, how this came to pass, and then it is discarded forever. Clearly it is for the reader's benefit, not the characters'. Indeed, I doubt they'll ever know what happened. It just did, and they have to live with it.
And as a parting shot, I'll remind you that I said I was displeased with the book. It was presented as a stand-alone story, not the introduction to a series, and take alone it barely gets started. The town doesn't do much interacting with more than a few specific people for about 80% or more of its length, and much of that 20% is battles (including, as I said, one that the author seemed in a rush to get to and get over with). But while all that 80% was good stuff, more interaction, more indication of how they'll manage in the long-term, was needed. Luckily, the author realized this and produced a sequel. So this book, if taken as an introduction to a large tale and not alone, is excellent, truly excellent for the history or military sci-fi buff. Which I am.
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