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smkingsland's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
alex_ellermann's review against another edition
5.0
'1632' shouldn't be a good book. I mean, look at that cheesy cover art. Read the synopsis: a small West Virginia town is transported to Central Germany in the middle of the 30 Years' War, coal deposits and all, and they give Renaissance Europe a big dose of 'Murica. This book should be amateurish. I should be wondering why one of my best-read friends recommended it to me.
By God, I loved '1632.' I stayed up late last night so I could finish it. I immediately added the sequel to my reading list.
Here's why. First, the publishers sprang for George Guidall to read it. Guidall is a giant in audiobooks, having recorded over 1700 titles. When I heard him intone, "Recorded Books presents 1632, by Eric Flint," I recognized his voice and felt like I was in good hands. I still didn't know whether the book would deliver, but I knew the publishers believed in it enough to hire top-tier talent for the narration. [Guidall doesn't disappoint, btw. He's excellent at his job.] Second, the author follows his leap into the fantastic (a cosmic event that transports the town and its inhabitants to another place and time) with the mundane. Given the premise, what would happen next? How would the major and minor political and military players in the 30 Years' War react to a technologically advanced, ideologically alien town planted in their midst? What would happen when the West Virginians run out of gas, or bullets, or spare parts? Would the Americans be able to hang on to their American ideals of self-government, or would they be co-opted by a great power? Again, if the reader can swallow the premise, it's fun to think through these dilemmas with the author. Third, I enjoyed spending time with the novel's characters. The heroes are heroic. The villains are villainous - I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love rooting against Cardinal Richelieu and/or The Inquisition? While the Americans are generally painted as the best versions of themselves, real salt-of-the-earth types, they have enough foibles and conflicts to keep them interesting.
Actually, this book puts me in mind of David Weber's 'Safehold' series. In both, technologically and ideologically advanced people triumph over the small-minded forces of cruelty, thoughtless authority, and evil. I guess this kind of thing is my cup of tea. So, yeah. If you're the kind of person who is open to wild leaps of imagination in your fiction; if you like stories about good people doing good things; if you like reading about murderous post-medieval marauders getting mown down with machine-gun fire, well, this is the book for you. Bring on 'Rim of Fire,' the next volume in the series.
By God, I loved '1632.' I stayed up late last night so I could finish it. I immediately added the sequel to my reading list.
Here's why. First, the publishers sprang for George Guidall to read it. Guidall is a giant in audiobooks, having recorded over 1700 titles. When I heard him intone, "Recorded Books presents 1632, by Eric Flint," I recognized his voice and felt like I was in good hands. I still didn't know whether the book would deliver, but I knew the publishers believed in it enough to hire top-tier talent for the narration. [Guidall doesn't disappoint, btw. He's excellent at his job.] Second, the author follows his leap into the fantastic (a cosmic event that transports the town and its inhabitants to another place and time) with the mundane. Given the premise, what would happen next? How would the major and minor political and military players in the 30 Years' War react to a technologically advanced, ideologically alien town planted in their midst? What would happen when the West Virginians run out of gas, or bullets, or spare parts? Would the Americans be able to hang on to their American ideals of self-government, or would they be co-opted by a great power? Again, if the reader can swallow the premise, it's fun to think through these dilemmas with the author. Third, I enjoyed spending time with the novel's characters. The heroes are heroic. The villains are villainous - I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love rooting against Cardinal Richelieu and/or The Inquisition? While the Americans are generally painted as the best versions of themselves, real salt-of-the-earth types, they have enough foibles and conflicts to keep them interesting.
Actually, this book puts me in mind of David Weber's 'Safehold' series. In both, technologically and ideologically advanced people triumph over the small-minded forces of cruelty, thoughtless authority, and evil. I guess this kind of thing is my cup of tea. So, yeah. If you're the kind of person who is open to wild leaps of imagination in your fiction; if you like stories about good people doing good things; if you like reading about murderous post-medieval marauders getting mown down with machine-gun fire, well, this is the book for you. Bring on 'Rim of Fire,' the next volume in the series.
amyiw's review
5.0
4 1/2
I loved this on my first read.
This is a reread for me more than 10 years after the first read. I have it marked as Jan 2011 but since I really didn't keep track with GR until Sept of the same year, it could be anywhere within 2 years of September 2011.
So on second read, I really liked it a lot but felt the drag of the history less in the middle that took about 15% of the book, it was the battle in 1631 of Gustav on on of the battle fields against Tilli. Well it droned and wasn't needed for the information we get. I think the temperament of both the King of Sweden and of Tillie could have been conveyed in about 10-20 pages instead we get 90-100 and it is a history lesson, boring. I think Flint was trying to get the feel of battle as well but it reads more like a history book retelling. Since we get tidbits of info dumping history points here and there, I would have appreciated it much more in the same way and less of the battle scene, especially since it didn't involved any of our Grantville characters. So if I were rating this now, I would give it a 4 1/2 and for the great characters and storyline but bump down for the low angst and trauma to the people dealing with being cut off from 21st century luxuries. They just take it like that is the new way and move on. Doubt that it would be that easy but it was a good story anyway.
So a WV town gets thrown back in time to 1632 and immediately starts to encounter the people and soldiers of the 30 year war. Well the town has way superior fire power but numbers are against them. They have to quickly decide, are they going to be insular in this new world and get only what they need from the outside or try to forge a new way of life on to the new world and their little slice located in the middle of old Germany. Well they decide on the former and now need a leaders to get them the resources they need to welcome refugees and make the foods and material to live a new way of life.
Immediately, Grantville finds itself saviors and in the middle of skirmishes. Its new leader finds a woman and father traveling to help the King of Sweden. The woman is well educated in the politics and languages of the time. Along with her looks, Mike, the new leader of Grantville is smitten and will take all the help from the new people that he can get. The new constitution is being written and the new bill of rights taught to the new members of Grantville. We have the Scotsman mercenary sworn to the Swedish King, who falls for the cheerleader sharp shooter, Julie, who was hoping to be a biathlon contender with skiing and shooting in the olympics. Then there is the High School graduate nerds, one being Jeff, who ride their dirt bike and also know how to shoot. He is taken with a woman, Gretchen, who saves her family during one battle with a marauding army. She has been traveling with the army as the concubine of its heavy handed rapist leader and is happy and unbelieving of the new world she finds herself in. She and Jeff are thrown together and Jeff strikes his advantage. This was one of the best storylines. Then there was the doc and the teacher, and older couple. The doctor was only in Grantville for a wedding and ended up a resident. They definitely can use all the medical expertise they can get.
Then finally there is Mike and Rebecca, she finally comes into her own as an intelligent and well educated woman and Mike as the leaders gets a lot of time to press his suit, something she does not mind in the least, with maybe only a little worry about the thoughts for how her family will react.
So reread was fun and I'll now go on to the next to see if I'll read on in the series or not. 2021
I loved this on my first read.
This is a reread for me more than 10 years after the first read. I have it marked as Jan 2011 but since I really didn't keep track with GR until Sept of the same year, it could be anywhere within 2 years of September 2011.
So on second read, I really liked it a lot but felt the drag of the history less in the middle that took about 15% of the book, it was the battle in 1631 of Gustav on on of the battle fields against Tilli. Well it droned and wasn't needed for the information we get. I think the temperament of both the King of Sweden and of Tillie could have been conveyed in about 10-20 pages instead we get 90-100 and it is a history lesson, boring. I think Flint was trying to get the feel of battle as well but it reads more like a history book retelling. Since we get tidbits of info dumping history points here and there, I would have appreciated it much more in the same way and less of the battle scene, especially since it didn't involved any of our Grantville characters. So if I were rating this now, I would give it a 4 1/2 and for the great characters and storyline but bump down for the low angst and trauma to the people dealing with being cut off from 21st century luxuries. They just take it like that is the new way and move on. Doubt that it would be that easy but it was a good story anyway.
So a WV town gets thrown back in time to 1632 and immediately starts to encounter the people and soldiers of the 30 year war. Well the town has way superior fire power but numbers are against them. They have to quickly decide, are they going to be insular in this new world and get only what they need from the outside or try to forge a new way of life on to the new world and their little slice located in the middle of old Germany. Well they decide on the former and now need a leaders to get them the resources they need to welcome refugees and make the foods and material to live a new way of life.
Immediately, Grantville finds itself saviors and in the middle of skirmishes. Its new leader finds a woman and father traveling to help the King of Sweden. The woman is well educated in the politics and languages of the time. Along with her looks, Mike, the new leader of Grantville is smitten and will take all the help from the new people that he can get. The new constitution is being written and the new bill of rights taught to the new members of Grantville. We have the Scotsman mercenary sworn to the Swedish King, who falls for the cheerleader sharp shooter, Julie, who was hoping to be a biathlon contender with skiing and shooting in the olympics. Then there is the High School graduate nerds, one being Jeff, who ride their dirt bike and also know how to shoot. He is taken with a woman, Gretchen, who saves her family during one battle with a marauding army. She has been traveling with the army as the concubine of its heavy handed rapist leader and is happy and unbelieving of the new world she finds herself in. She and Jeff are thrown together and Jeff strikes his advantage. This was one of the best storylines. Then there was the doc and the teacher, and older couple. The doctor was only in Grantville for a wedding and ended up a resident. They definitely can use all the medical expertise they can get.
Then finally there is Mike and Rebecca, she finally comes into her own as an intelligent and well educated woman and Mike as the leaders gets a lot of time to press his suit, something she does not mind in the least, with maybe only a little worry about the thoughts for how her family will react.
So reread was fun and I'll now go on to the next to see if I'll read on in the series or not. 2021
scamp1234's review
adventurous
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ubalstecha's review
4.0
A lot of people want to live in the past, enchanted by the romance. A lot of them have written fanciful, romantic stories about travelling back in time. 1632 is not one of these.
A small town in West Virginia has been transported back in time to 1632 (hence the title) due to a side effect of an alien technology. They are deposited into the middle of the Thirty Years War in the German province of Thuringia.
Exploring their new environment, some of the townsfolk stumble across war atrocities in the making. Rescuing some of the local peasants, the Americans quickly realize that they need to band together if they have a hope of surviving. They also realize that their current level of technology is not sustainable, that they have to "gear down" as it were.
Author Eric Flint has struck a perfect balance between historicity and fiction. There are overwrought moments of American patriotism and pride, but there are also uniquely human moments that make this alternate past seem so real and engaging. Worth picking up.
A small town in West Virginia has been transported back in time to 1632 (hence the title) due to a side effect of an alien technology. They are deposited into the middle of the Thirty Years War in the German province of Thuringia.
Exploring their new environment, some of the townsfolk stumble across war atrocities in the making. Rescuing some of the local peasants, the Americans quickly realize that they need to band together if they have a hope of surviving. They also realize that their current level of technology is not sustainable, that they have to "gear down" as it were.
Author Eric Flint has struck a perfect balance between historicity and fiction. There are overwrought moments of American patriotism and pride, but there are also uniquely human moments that make this alternate past seem so real and engaging. Worth picking up.
mulveyr's review
1.0
I liked the premise. I made it through the first 30 pages before deciding I'd had enough. Why? The author's solution to just about any problem seems to be "Let's just shoot it!" That's well and fine in some genres, but I expect a little more from a decent science fiction/fantasy novel.
weesam_nz's review
1.0
I thought I was going to like this book before I started it. It had everything I wanted - small modern day town transplanted back in time? Yes, I was going to like it. Then I actually started reading it and we get a gang rape in the first chapter, where after the men get through slaughtering the rapists, they just dismiss the poor woman with a "she'll be alright".
Right there I was totally put off this book, but I persisted. At 100% in I realised I was reading one of the worst books I had ever read. Being a non-American, I found the 'rah-rah America is wonderful, everything about us is greater than everyone else, and all these silly Europeans will want to be just like us' rhetoric so over the top and disgusting that I wanted to throw the book away so no-one else would ever be contaminated by it.
And what could have been good about this book was simply absent - the culture shock of transplanting characters back into the past, the clash of cultures finding a way to co-exist, taking the best from both to build something new. That could have been wonderful, but it simply was never there. All the Europeans simply throw away their beliefs and their way of life the second they see the so-called wonderful culture that America will bring to them.
And everyone in the American contingent seems to think nothing of getting their own way by violence. Men, women, teenagers. All ready with a gun to shoot the savages. I don't live in a place where this sort of violence is ever acceptable.
No thanks. Not for me.
One good thing though - there are now a huge pile of books coming off my to-be-read pile, as nothing on earth could convince me to every continue this series.
Right there I was totally put off this book, but I persisted. At 100% in I realised I was reading one of the worst books I had ever read. Being a non-American, I found the 'rah-rah America is wonderful, everything about us is greater than everyone else, and all these silly Europeans will want to be just like us' rhetoric so over the top and disgusting that I wanted to throw the book away so no-one else would ever be contaminated by it.
And what could have been good about this book was simply absent - the culture shock of transplanting characters back into the past, the clash of cultures finding a way to co-exist, taking the best from both to build something new. That could have been wonderful, but it simply was never there. All the Europeans simply throw away their beliefs and their way of life the second they see the so-called wonderful culture that America will bring to them.
And everyone in the American contingent seems to think nothing of getting their own way by violence. Men, women, teenagers. All ready with a gun to shoot the savages. I don't live in a place where this sort of violence is ever acceptable.
No thanks. Not for me.
One good thing though - there are now a huge pile of books coming off my to-be-read pile, as nothing on earth could convince me to every continue this series.
vaevictis's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hugtherocks's review
4.0
Basically, we have Outlander meets Under the Dome, and oddly, it works out really well. 21st century small town America gets transported to 17th century Germany. Just assume that part is because of wibbly-wobbly reasons. After that, modern Americans mingle with renaissance Europeans in a pretty friggin good story. Good characters. Good dialog. The Swedish military parts get a bit draggy. Turns out this is book 1 of about 4 dozen and I’m just not that committed. This one was great! I’m just going to assume it all works out for the characters and move on.