A review by julis
Ring of Fire by Eric Flint

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.