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danlewisfw's review
4.0
I finished the Island in the Sea of Time series then picked this up not realizing how similar the basic premise was. How it was written however was very different. They also were not sent back in time quite as far as the group in Island in the Sea of Time. However they both had big impacts on the societies that they found themselves in. So if you enjoyed that series you should enjoy this as well. I enjoyed this book a little more.
I never leave spoilers so you wont get that from me, I am more trying to help people who have similar taste in books find books that they also enjoy since I read so much. So as a time travel and alternate history fan I have to say this was a really fun book. They had interesting reactions to how life was in this time and how they could keep some of their modern conveniences at least for a while.
#timetravel
#alterntehistory
I never leave spoilers so you wont get that from me, I am more trying to help people who have similar taste in books find books that they also enjoy since I read so much. So as a time travel and alternate history fan I have to say this was a really fun book. They had interesting reactions to how life was in this time and how they could keep some of their modern conveniences at least for a while.
#timetravel
#alterntehistory
abetterjulie's review
3.0
It was a fun book with parts that propelled me into each new chapter. I liked it enough that it turned out to be a poor choice for sleepy reading, and I found myself staying up late to keep reading more than once. The characters were fun, although I felt there was a little too much convenient and unnecessary romance. The plot was interesting, if a bit obvious. I was surprised by the lack of real conflict between the Americans. Things just seemed to come a little too easily, but I'm willing to forgive that because it allowed space for the other stories involving the historical battles and characters. There are more books in the Ring Of Fire series, but I'm satisfied to leave the story as it stands.
safton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry
cmbohn's review
4.0
Themes: war, patriotism, utopian society, immigration, gender roles, religion, technology
Setting: Westphalia 1632
This crazy story was the first real alternate reality book I read for this category, and it was exactly what I had in mind when I chose this category.
It all starts during a wedding in West Virginia in the 1990s sometime. The reception is swinging along, with all the little coal mining town at the party, when a brilliant light hits and everything gets weird. The partygoers assume there is a fire over the rise, but the phones and radios are out. So a few guys head over to check things out. When they get over the hill, they are stunned to find soldiers attacking a farmer and his wife. And the soldiers are wearing armor, wielding swords, and carrying flintlock rifles. What is going on?
They soon realize that the whole town has been transported back in time and place to Europe in the middle of the Hundred Years War. And there is no way to get back. Ever. Now the townspeople have to figure out how to settle in to this new place, who those soldiers were, and which side of this war they want to be on.
I really loved this book. It was so much fun. Yes, it is a bit much to believe - they just HAPPEN to have a coal powered power station, and a working coal mine. They have the high school, the hospital, and a first class surgeon. They have all kinds of military know-how. But who cares? It was a fun story, and I'm willing to buy all that if it works. To me, it worked, and I liked it. There was a lot of violence, some romance, and some mild history going on, but I thought it was fun. I'm glad I found this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who thinks the description sounds interesting. It had me wondering last night what I would be doing if my family wound up back in the 1600s. Then I realized - Of course! I'd be the librarian.
Setting: Westphalia 1632
This crazy story was the first real alternate reality book I read for this category, and it was exactly what I had in mind when I chose this category.
It all starts during a wedding in West Virginia in the 1990s sometime. The reception is swinging along, with all the little coal mining town at the party, when a brilliant light hits and everything gets weird. The partygoers assume there is a fire over the rise, but the phones and radios are out. So a few guys head over to check things out. When they get over the hill, they are stunned to find soldiers attacking a farmer and his wife. And the soldiers are wearing armor, wielding swords, and carrying flintlock rifles. What is going on?
They soon realize that the whole town has been transported back in time and place to Europe in the middle of the Hundred Years War. And there is no way to get back. Ever. Now the townspeople have to figure out how to settle in to this new place, who those soldiers were, and which side of this war they want to be on.
I really loved this book. It was so much fun. Yes, it is a bit much to believe - they just HAPPEN to have a coal powered power station, and a working coal mine. They have the high school, the hospital, and a first class surgeon. They have all kinds of military know-how. But who cares? It was a fun story, and I'm willing to buy all that if it works. To me, it worked, and I liked it. There was a lot of violence, some romance, and some mild history going on, but I thought it was fun. I'm glad I found this book, and I would recommend it to anyone who thinks the description sounds interesting. It had me wondering last night what I would be doing if my family wound up back in the 1600s. Then I realized - Of course! I'd be the librarian.
adi_greif's review
3.0
I rated the book 3 stars because it was a fun read and because it's interesting to see the perspective of an author purposefully trying to promote hillbilly America. I was more interested in the author's depiction of what Americans should value than in the plot. The book is an exercise in self-glorification --- American values and hillbilly know-how are capable of achieving anything! And when transplanted to the Thirty Years War, certainly capable of successful evangelizing the Bill of Rights. The author has clearly never spent any time with someone who truly holds onto beliefs different from his own. I especially love the extremely sheltered and modestly-raised Jewish girl from 1632 who happily falls in love with an American Christian and promptly starts making out with him in public. There are also serious inconsistencies between the values the leaders purportedly hold, and their actions. But to reiterate, this book is a great read for seeing the perspective of small-town America on violence, democracy, religion and women.
cj_jones's review
2.0
I only made it fifty pages in, so you may feel free to take this review with a grain of salt. This is a book about The Working Man, and his heroics in extraordinary times. In case you need help, and can't figure it out from the plot and characterisations, the author is pleased to lend a hand to tell you who the good guys and the bad guys are. The good guys are very good, the bad are very bad. I don't know yet whether the rich people from town will be villains who sell out the townspeople to preserve their standard of living, useless baggage in need of saving, or good people at heart who come to realize that they should praise the values of the common man rather than looking down their noses at him. I'm also not a fan of the style of writing. That style is one which uses too many sentences to relay the information. That information is in those many sentences.
So for me these are a stylistic two stars--if you like a story of plucky can-do Americans making the best of a bad situation and banding together in hard times against overpowering odds, hey, you might give this a try.
So for me these are a stylistic two stars--if you like a story of plucky can-do Americans making the best of a bad situation and banding together in hard times against overpowering odds, hey, you might give this a try.
kmcardle's review
4.0
I can't belive no one talks about this. this is an amazing alternate path historical fiction. more for people that don't have a detailed history knowledge but incredibly well thought out.
jjwalter2001's review
5.0
Stumbled across this one and was drawn in my the alternative history fiction premise - and it delivers. This first book is on par with Turtledove - with a mix of Weber's Safehold series (which isn't, technically, alternative history, but might as well be).
Definitely one to recommend and I hope the later books in the series are just as engrossing.
Definitely one to recommend and I hope the later books in the series are just as engrossing.
prof_pelon's review against another edition
5.0
Brain Food: Spaghetti and Meatballs with a little salad on the side... but tasty salad
Scandal Level: deep pink
Violence: 5 muskets and a few sexual assaults
Must be ___ old to read:
Read if you liked: The later season of the Tudors
Re-readability: I probably wont read this book again, but I will read the sequels.
Thoughts: So I went into this book with a lot of skepticism. I got it for free on Amazon (red flag 1), it is the start of a super crazy long series (red flag 2), and it is "alternative history" (red flag 3). I ended up loving it!
I know very little about the 30 years war and the king of Germany and the nordic states so learning about their history was fascinating. I also loved how the American's address issues, it's realistic and yet inspiring. Well worth the read.
It does get violent, there are battles and roaming mercenaries who rape, pillage, and burn as they go. It is difficult to read but honest and I think tastefully done. There are also some sex scenes, but they are easily skipped.
Scandal Level: deep pink
Violence: 5 muskets and a few sexual assaults
Must be ___ old to read:
Read if you liked: The later season of the Tudors
Re-readability: I probably wont read this book again, but I will read the sequels.
Thoughts: So I went into this book with a lot of skepticism. I got it for free on Amazon (red flag 1), it is the start of a super crazy long series (red flag 2), and it is "alternative history" (red flag 3). I ended up loving it!
I know very little about the 30 years war and the king of Germany and the nordic states so learning about their history was fascinating. I also loved how the American's address issues, it's realistic and yet inspiring. Well worth the read.
It does get violent, there are battles and roaming mercenaries who rape, pillage, and burn as they go. It is difficult to read but honest and I think tastefully done. There are also some sex scenes, but they are easily skipped.