Though the Thirty Years Wars continues to ravage 17th century Europe, history as it once happened has been strongly deflected by the new force which is rapidly gathering power and influence: the United States of Europe, an alliance between 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-the Ring of Fire.
The USE has know-how of 20th century technology, but the American traditions of freedom and justice is having an even stronger impact on Europe, and the rulers of Europe are powerless to stuff the Grantville genie back into the bottle.
Virginia DeMarce, a trained historian and co-author of the New York Times best seller, 1635: The Bavarian Crisis, continues the saga of the time-lost Americans as seen through the eyes of both Americans and Europeans, as the Americans try to make sense of the strange world into which they have been hurled, and the Europeans try to understand the abilities and behavior of the visitors from the future. The result is a volume that will be irresistible to the thousands of fans of the Ring of Fire series.
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Product ReviewI enjoyed the stories, even though a couple have already been in the gazette.
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Product ReviewI loved the fourth story, but all four should have remained in the Grantville Gazette.
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Product ReviewWhen I started this book it seemed like was just a rehash of short stories from the Gazette. But there is new content that is really fun to read. It starts a rehash but by the end it is a fun read.
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Product ReviewI've enjoyed the series and been eager for a new release. It's been over a year since the last was released. I was very disappointed that this was a collection of short stories, half of which had been previously published. Despite the title, most of the storylines take place in 1633 or 1634. I'm glad I bought the ebook version rather than paying full price for a hardcover edition.
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Product ReviewThe primary difficulty with this book is the title, 1635: ----
It gives the distinct impression that this book is a novel in the 1632 series following on in a coherent timeline. It's not a novel, it's an anthology of four weakly related short stories, at least two of which have already been published under the Grantville Gazette format. While the anthology is set in the 1632 universe it only references the main events and characters in passing.
As a matter of fact the Afterword by Eric Flint where in effect he says that the books by Virginia DeMarce are a splinter arc is actually the most valuable and insightful part of the book.
The other difficulty with the 1635 title is of course that the short stories included aren't actually set in 1635. The first story spends the majority of it's time in 1633, with a hop over 1634 and eventually concluding in 1635 while the second story is set entirely in 1633.
The other difficulty with this book is Virginia DeMarce, her writing is fairly awful with a great deal of - he did, they did, she did. Quote
"The two sons howled with laughter.
Gruyard smiled.
Walter Butler didn't think it was that funny."
Since I have a first 10 Grantville Gazette collection I could say that I've read many of Virigina's short stories, except I've not because with only a few exceptions I've not been able to finish her stories. Invariably the first paragraphs are a wall of geneology or relgiology (a bundle of interlocking religious connections), introducing a whole host of unintersting characters and incredibly dry.
The books by Viriginia DeMarce should really have been given different titles maybe "1632 the administrative troubles" to make it clear that they are not a continuation of the main series. It should also be made clear that they are not novels but anthologies of short stories most of which have already been published previously in the Grantville Gazette.
Personally I don't consider her short stories worthy of being collected in a book form and they should remain in Grantville Gazette.Posted on
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Product ReviewThis isn't essential to the 1632 story arc, and so could be skipped if you want, but it isn't as bad as some of the comments suggest. Virginia can't write at novel length, but this is a collection of four stories. The longest drags in the middle but comes through in the end.
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Product ReviewI began 1635: The Tangled Web with anticipation, only to find that the words I was reading were...strangely familiar. I found myself recognizing large chunks of text from stories (and not my favorite ones) that appeared years ago in Grantville Gazette volumes. Disappointing.
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Product ReviewThe stories themselves are enjoyable, but there needs to be a warning that if you have read the Grantville Gazettes, you have read most of the book already. This "novel" is actually a compilation of previously published (online) stories that are not interconnected, with some new material added. That makes me feel a bit cheated since I've already read most of what I just paid for. Again.
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Product ReviewBoring. Had to slog through to read it all. The stories seemed to walk on each other, I had to keep going back and checking the dates. It is not an enjoyable read.
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Product ReviewAs a stand-alone novel, this would be a disappointment, but I like the individual stories.
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