SKU
A9781451639285
$15.00

Eric Flint and David Carrico serve up the latest entry in the best‑selling alternate history saga of them all, the Ring of Fire!

It is the year 1636. The United States of Europe, the new nation formed by an alliance between the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and the West Virginians hurled back in time by a cosmic accident, is on the verge of civil war.  His brain injured in the war with Poland, the USE's emperor Gustavus Adolphus is no longer in command. Enter Swedish chancellor Oxenstierna, a leader of aristocratic reaction against democracy.  His goal:  to assemble the forces of the hidebound ruling class in Berlin and drown the revolution in a bloodbath.

In Magdeburg, the capital of the USE, Mike Stearns' wife Rebecca Abrabanel is organizing popular resistance to Oxenstierna's plot. As part of the resistance, the American musician Marla Linder and her company of down‑time musical partners are staging an opera that will celebrate the struggle against oppression. Princess Kristina, the heir to the USE's throne, is now residing in Magdeburg and is giving them her support and encouragement.

But another plot is underway‑‑this one right in the heart of the capital itself, and with murder as its method. The only people standing in the way are a crippled boy and the boxing champion who befriended him, and an unlikely pair of policemen. Can the American detective Byron Chieske and his down‑timer partner Gotthilf Hoch thwart the killers before they succeed in their goal?

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  1. Product Review
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    100%
    A great read! I loved the mixing of the music stories with a hard crime twist.

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  3. Product Review
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    80%
    I found the book enjoyable and insightful. It gave a little more background on what was going on during the Ox /Berlin attempted coup and especially the means used to oppose it. The crime story gave a hint about a criminal group or cabal within the USE someone must have read a book on the mob, or referenced some info on La Cosa Nostra in the Grantville In all I liked it Keep Up The Good Work!

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  5. Product Review
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    Carrico is my favorite non-Flint author, and this weaves together the characters from several of my favorite short story series from the Gazettes. If you're a fan of the series, you'll love it. If you've never read anything in the universe, you have a lot of catching up to do...

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  6. Product Review
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    60%
    A bit too much of a Mercedes Lackey story, and not enough Eric Flint. The angel with a bad leg. The young hero with a bad arm. The Samson figure (even called Samson!) The policeman with a heart of gold. Individually, these figures might be interesting. Together, they are just cloying.

    If you want to read a real Grand Opera, try "Black Opera" by Mary Gentle. That lady can write!

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  7. Product Review
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    80%
    The best 1630s side story in at least a couple years and definitely worth purchasing. I skipped or skimmed most of Carrico's stories in the Gazette because I have very little interest in the kind of music many of those stories were about, but Devil's Opera is more about Magdeburg and a crime story than music or musicians. A solid story and very well written.

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    For fans of the 1632 books, a good
    read.

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