The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, but a new force is gathering power and influence: the United States of Europe, a new nation led by Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident. While the old entrenched rulers and manipulators continue to plot against this new upstart nation, everyday life goes on in Grantville, even under the shadow of war, as this lost outpost of American freedom and justice must play David against a 17th century Goliath of oppressive feudalism.
Praise for the New York Times Best-Selling Series:
". . . gripping and expertly detailed . . . a treat for lovers of action-SF or alternate history . . . battle scenes depicted with power . . . distinguishes Flint as an SF author of particular note, one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure."
—Publishers Weekly (in a starred review)
"[This] alternate-history saga . . . is certainly a landmark in that subgenre. . . . A splendid example of character-centered alternate-history, this is a must read for its series' growing fandom."
—Booklist (Starred Review)
". . . takes historic speculation to a new level in a tale that combines accurate historical research with bold leaps of the imagination. Fans of alternate history and military sf should enjoy this rousing tale of adventure and intrigue."
—Library Journal
"This alternate history series is already one of the best around and each new entry appears better than the previous one, a seemingly impossible feat . . . terrific. . . ."
—The Midwest Book Review
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Product ReviewThis is an excellent book, and I am buying the sequel right now. I agree with many of the other commentors that it is half of a story, and that is a shame: by making it a cliff-hanger, it also makes it an incomplete book. OK, so it's a cliff-hanger. I'm still buying the next installment. (I think that's why they write them that way....)
It doesn't look like there were many "Great" ratings for this book, apparently because people were ticked off by it stopping in the middle of the story as it does. There is a lot of justice in that: the book is incomplete as it stands. But it's still good and engaging and it moves the overall story of the Ring of Fire forward in very unexpected ways. I like it.Posted on
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Product ReviewGet this and The Saxon Uprising at the same time, and read them without pausing in between. Together, they make an excellent book.
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Product ReviewThe story of the United States of Europe continues. There are some very good parts to this book, but I think the story is just getting too loose. It suffers from the same problem as 1634: The Baltic War. That is, Flint tries to do too much. 1632 and 1633 were great. 1634: The Galileo Affair and 1635: The Canon Law were quite good. I am afraid the other books in the series, including this one, suffer by comparison.
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Product ReviewThis is not a complete book, it is, as others have noted, half a book. Do not buy it, get a copy from the library and read it. If you love this series as I do you will want to read it. The other half will be released in April, and there is always the hope that 'The Saxon Uprising' will be a full book.
Eric Flint is an excellent writer, but this continuing trend of offering incomplete stories is wrong. I give special praise to Eric on his writing this (half) book alone instead of ruining it by using his former co-author, and I do not mean David Drake or David Weber. This potion of the story is like a breath of fresh air and brings back to the series its original standards of high quality writing. It is a shame Eric ended it at the midpoint.
Baen Books offers good deals to customers with $6 ebooks and $15 collections. We should.and I do support that, but not when they offer incomplete stories posing as complete novels, not even ones this good. Had Eric finished the story, I have no doubt it would have earned five stars.Posted on
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Product ReviewAnother great read in this series. For those who haven't read the others, the book may look patchy - but it's not. The thing about the sweep of history is that it SWEEPS; a lot of the development here rests on earlier stuff, and if you haven't read it, you might miss the points. The characters are realistic and real in their actions and beliefs, and the development is logical, within the framework of the universe. I recommend that you read all of them, including the collections, in order, just so you don't miss anything - but it's not necessary. Can't wait for the next one.
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