 |
1633 | Rating | |
| A | |||
| Eric Flint and David Weber | |||
| 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 saw this book on the shelf, I was surprised. And very happy. There had been no indication in the first book that it was to be the start of a series, other than its rushed ending. This book would rectify that error, in a big, big way.
Grantville, WV has been transported to the middle of Europe in the middle of a war in the middle of the 17th century. But they're coping. With the books in the library and school, and the general know-how of the inhabitants, they instantly became the master craftsman and idea men of the area. But while the first book detailed their struggle to get some kind of stability, this one details their beginings of growth.
It's a real blast watching all the solutions and fixes go through in this book. And the authors are careful to be as realistic as they can given the concept. The townspeople must conserve gasoline until they get some oil wells working and the results refined. Building and flying an airplane without modern tools and instruments is not easy. And battling a fleet of enemy frigates is difficult when all you have are half-built ironclads and a few speedboats.
And all that has to be worked out in here, among other problems such as politics. Politics actually plays a major role in this book, with Americans travelling to France and Spain in attempts to gain alliances. It's not dull at all, though, never you fear.
The one thing I disliked about this book was what the authors did with Simpson. In the first book, he was present for the first half or so as a major thorn in Stearns' side. I had though - hoped - that this would increase, Simpson's views festering until he tried a coup. But Simpson in this book is entirely changed and is the leader of the Navy. He and Stearns don't get along perfectly - not hardly! - but they can keep things civil. And, by and large, the change happened off screen, between the two books. It's irritating.
Other than that fairly minor problem, though, I could find none. A good all-round military sci-fi tale mixed in with a history lesson. Fun to read, in my opinion. Best of all, according to the afterword there'll be several more books to come! I'm looking forward to them.
| By Title | By Author | By Rank |