THE RING OF FIRE SERIES
Author’s note:
The 1632 series—often also called the Ring of Fire series—is my most popular work, and the thing I’m best known for. As of today, I’ve authored or coauthored sixteen novels in the series, along with a lot of shorter pieces. Four of them are included here. They are:
“The Austro-Hungarian Connection.” The original purpose of this short novel when I wrote it was to develop the plot line in the series having to do with the evolution of the Austrian empire under the impact of the Ring of Fire. As invariably happens when you’re working in a long series, a number of characters emerged who have continued to play a major role in the series since the story was published back in 2008. These include Noelle Stull, Denise Beasley, Eddie Junker, Janos Drugeth and, of course, the new young emperor of Austria, Ferdinand III. All of these characters have continued to appear and reappear in the series in a number of novels and stories including 1635: The Dreeson Incident, 1635: The Eastern Front, 1636: The Saxon Uprising, 1636: The Viennese Waltz and 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught.
“The Anatomy Lesson.” This short story introduces Prince Rupert of the Rhine and his sister Elisabeth into the series. It’s also the fourth and (so far) last of the Anne Jefferson stories, the first three of which were published in the original Worlds anthology. And, for those readers who are aficionados of the long-running in-joke among Baen authors, Joe Buckley gets killed off in the story. Again.
“Steady Girl.” This story continues directly from “The Austro-Hungarian Connection” and relates some of the later adventures of Denise Beasley and Eddie Junker. Using the term “adventures” in a broad and cheerful spirit.
“The Masque.” Here, we return to Prince Rupert and his sister, this time in an episode which is a lot more serious—not to mention grimmer—than the one recounted in “The Anatomy Lesson.”