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abe25's review
3.0
nice book that's the beginning of the series that many other people like to read.
andylewis's review
3.0
Good alternate history novel, even if the character relationships are a little...convenient.
yourfriendryanj's review
4.0
Really enjoyed the world and idea of this book. It dragged in parts, but overall I'll probably be checking out more books in the series. I've also always liked the idea of not very good modern technology taking out past tech.
m_petranoff's review
Clearly written by someone who loves history and wanted to really map out the thought experiment "What if a 6 mile sphere of West Virginia were transported to the 30-year-war?" I gave up after being annoyed one too many times at the early 00's style of feminism. Perhaps there would be more named female characters who have agency if I had gotten further along, but while the author does directly deal with some of it in the beginning, there is a lot of what feels like tokenism. It is definitely a thorough and well thought out response to the premise, but ultimately not for me.
droar's review
4.0
A startlingly charming romp in alternate history!
From the initial description, I was not exactly stoked to read this book. Military-ish history is not my jam in the slightest & this seemed like it would be Heavy on the military. Instead it was a romantic adventure in group survivalism! Seriously though this book has a hilarious premise (2000's West Virginia coal mining town of 'hillbillys' is magically transported to Germany in 1632 & kicks butt) & follows through with a realistic (-ish, it's pretty highly idealized) story of how the politics & culture of the world would start to change.
I enjoyed it immensely & only had to skim one or two sections of battle talk. It's actually got a couple of women characters that I really enjoyed & a lovely little romance or 2. Push comes to shove I would label this book as Romantic Alternate History, with romantic in all senses of the word (romantic relationships, romanticized story, lots of chivalry references, etc.).
Would recommend to fans of survival society adventures, sword & board battles, & romance!
From the initial description, I was not exactly stoked to read this book. Military-ish history is not my jam in the slightest & this seemed like it would be Heavy on the military. Instead it was a romantic adventure in group survivalism! Seriously though this book has a hilarious premise (2000's West Virginia coal mining town of 'hillbillys' is magically transported to Germany in 1632 & kicks butt) & follows through with a realistic (-ish, it's pretty highly idealized) story of how the politics & culture of the world would start to change.
I enjoyed it immensely & only had to skim one or two sections of battle talk. It's actually got a couple of women characters that I really enjoyed & a lovely little romance or 2. Push comes to shove I would label this book as Romantic Alternate History, with romantic in all senses of the word (romantic relationships, romanticized story, lots of chivalry references, etc.).
Would recommend to fans of survival society adventures, sword & board battles, & romance!
defenders_iris's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
You can tell this book was written by a white man, but it's a very fun exploration of a historical what if that I haven't seen before! If you're sensitive to rape or antisemitism, don't pick this up as there's a lot of graphic depictions of both.
Julie best girl.
Julie best girl.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, and Rape
Moderate: Vomit
supermdguy's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Loved reading it, not very substantial but fun read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Rape
pmosher16's review
3.0
Pretty entertaining book, gave some good historical insights and some good analysis of a problem with time travel, etc. A bit too schmaltzy, but fun enough.
especbooks's review
4.0
History heavy
I know, makes sense. You can't write alternate history without the history part...but there were times my eyes crossed trying to stay focused and immersed in the book because the historic elements were more action driven rather than character driven so at times I found it difficult to keep things straight. Don't get me wrong, though. I loved the book, especially the Grantville sections. All of it was well written, but it was the characters that made it shine.
I know, makes sense. You can't write alternate history without the history part...but there were times my eyes crossed trying to stay focused and immersed in the book because the historic elements were more action driven rather than character driven so at times I found it difficult to keep things straight. Don't get me wrong, though. I loved the book, especially the Grantville sections. All of it was well written, but it was the characters that made it shine.