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cj13's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
alex_ellermann's review
4.0
This is an anthology of stories set in the 1632 universe. I like this universe. I like the people in it. I like this book.
The premise of the 1632 universe takes quite a leap of the imagination. For reasons no one understands, a small West Virginia coal mining town, and its environs in a 3-mile radius, is transported to 1632 Germany at the height of the 30 Years’ War. It’s far fetched, even for a science fiction premise, but the groundedness of the rest of the story rewards the reader willing to swallow the outlandish premise.
The first novel in the series, entitled ‘1632,’ transports the town to Germany, orients the reader to the personalities and issues of the war, and generally gets things in motion. This anthology gives several writers a chance to play in its world, answering questions such as “How do you earn a living when all you know is how to operate modern electronics?” It’s like a series of fun thought experiments with interesting people.
As with any anthology, some stories work better than others. Nevertheless, all the stories have fun with the premise and entertain the reader.
I understand there are several more novels and anthologies in the 1632 universe. I look forward to exploring them.
The premise of the 1632 universe takes quite a leap of the imagination. For reasons no one understands, a small West Virginia coal mining town, and its environs in a 3-mile radius, is transported to 1632 Germany at the height of the 30 Years’ War. It’s far fetched, even for a science fiction premise, but the groundedness of the rest of the story rewards the reader willing to swallow the outlandish premise.
The first novel in the series, entitled ‘1632,’ transports the town to Germany, orients the reader to the personalities and issues of the war, and generally gets things in motion. This anthology gives several writers a chance to play in its world, answering questions such as “How do you earn a living when all you know is how to operate modern electronics?” It’s like a series of fun thought experiments with interesting people.
As with any anthology, some stories work better than others. Nevertheless, all the stories have fun with the premise and entertain the reader.
I understand there are several more novels and anthologies in the 1632 universe. I look forward to exploring them.
scamp1234's review
3.0
If it wasn't for some of the boring stories such as the ones focusing on religion I could have given this 4 stars. Most of the stories though help expand the 1632 universe and add more depth to the story-lines.
jasonhenry42's review
3.0
It was good, but there were a Tolkienesque number of similar names (Mazarre and Mazarini? Seriously?
cmbohn's review
4.0
Themes: technology, religion, war, politics, family
Setting: the New United States and Prague 1632
This is a collection of several different stories about the Ring of Fire world started with the book [b:1632|16967|1632 (Assiti Shards, #1)|Eric Flint|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166765511s/16967.jpg|1172297]. Eric Flint invited several authors to write their own stories using the characters and setting he created. I was surprised by this, especially because he says he plans to incorporate their ideas into the rest of the series. History is something that happens to a LOT of people, he says, and he didn't just want to know what happened to the few characters he created, but to lots and lots of people. I thought it was a fun idea, and I enjoyed this collection. Some of the stories that dealt with religion were a little too boring for me, but I enjoyed most of them.
Setting: the New United States and Prague 1632
This is a collection of several different stories about the Ring of Fire world started with the book [b:1632|16967|1632 (Assiti Shards, #1)|Eric Flint|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166765511s/16967.jpg|1172297]. Eric Flint invited several authors to write their own stories using the characters and setting he created. I was surprised by this, especially because he says he plans to incorporate their ideas into the rest of the series. History is something that happens to a LOT of people, he says, and he didn't just want to know what happened to the few characters he created, but to lots and lots of people. I thought it was a fun idea, and I enjoyed this collection. Some of the stories that dealt with religion were a little too boring for me, but I enjoyed most of them.
azuaron's review
4.0
I am not a short story person, so I don't know what I was thinking reading this book. I even seem to be planning to read the Grantville Gazette, which after this reminder I find utterly baffling. The problem is, there's not enough room to get anywhere in a short story. Half these shorts feel like the prelude chapter to a novel: lots of setup, then they end. The other half I didn't read.
That being said, I was going to give this three stars (technically competent, but unimpressive), but the novella at the end (The Wallenstein Gambit) is just long enough to actually get somewhere, and it's a good ride the whole way through.
That being said, I was going to give this three stars (technically competent, but unimpressive), but the novella at the end (The Wallenstein Gambit) is just long enough to actually get somewhere, and it's a good ride the whole way through.
shantastic's review
3.0
this was a mixed bag of stories. I liked most of them, but there were a few duds.
Highlights for me were the contributions by Mercedes Lackey, S. L. Viehl, Eric Flint (Naturally), David Webber, and a few others.
"Here Comes Santa Claus," by K. D. Wentworth, though... That was a hot freaking mess. May I never read another story where the comedy comes from the pregnant woman being too unobservant to notice that the guy she's haranguing is actually pretty dangerous. Most of what the authors did as far as characterization of the Grantville folks was inoffensive, but damn, Julie McKay deserved so much better.
Highlights for me were the contributions by Mercedes Lackey, S. L. Viehl, Eric Flint (Naturally), David Webber, and a few others.
"Here Comes Santa Claus," by K. D. Wentworth, though... That was a hot freaking mess. May I never read another story where the comedy comes from the pregnant woman being too unobservant to notice that the guy she's haranguing is actually pretty dangerous. Most of what the authors did as far as characterization of the Grantville folks was inoffensive, but damn, Julie McKay deserved so much better.
rajathon's review against another edition
3.5
This has a bunch of interconnected stories. Not bad many diffrent authors some I liked some I did not. Love this universe though.
julis's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Ring of Fire is a anthology, courtesy of the 1632 verse being open world–every short story in it is canon and many of them impact on the later novels. As per every anthology, some of the short stories are great (I particularly loved the last two and Mercedes Lackey’s) and a couple are colossal duds (one I had to skip–but I couldn’t name the author off the top of my head).
However the requirements of the short story length, the diversity of authorial viewpoints, and the emphasis on producing a story with enough impact to build on led to an anthology that’s, overall, remarkably solid.
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