1632 [Paperback]

Eric Flint (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket Books (February 1, 2001)
• ASIN: B001I8JQF8
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (216 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,582,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Flint is the co-author of three New York Times best sellers in his Ring of Fire alternate history series. His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was picked by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His 1632, which launched the Ring of Fire series, won widespread critical praise, as from Publishers Weekly, which called him an SF author of particular note, one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure. A longtime labor union activist with a Masters Degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good "displaced in time" story. Not wonderful, February 27, 2000

By 

M. Broderick "mikebinok" (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1632 (Hardcover)

Basically, this book is about a coal-mining town in West Virginia which is mysteriously transported to Germany at the time of the Thirty Years War. This theme has been developed before, going back to Mark Twain (or maybe further). To my knowledge, S.M. Stirling was the first major writer to move a whole community back to another time, with his Nantucket Series, and now Eric Flint seeks to get his version in. I am a fan of this genre, so I expected to enjoy this book, and I did. One way that it is different from most of these stories is that it focuses on the "little people"--The movers and shakers of this book are not professors or military officers or big-time politicians. The hero is a failed boxer who is a minor union official. On the other hand, the book is filled with affectionate praise for King Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Adolphus was a real historical figure, and if you don't know who he is, don't worry, you will know when you finish the book! I enjoyed the book, think most who are interested by this idea will enjoy it. Only criticism I have are that too much time is spent with the time travellers offstage, describing the Battle of Breitenfield, a real historical battle. Some may be disappointed that a minimum of time is spent describing clever technological improvisations--These seem to be a staple of this genre, but there isn't much of it here. If you enjoyed this book, I'd look up H. Beam Piper's LORD KALVAN OF OTHERWHEN, S.M. Stirling's ISLAND IN THE SEA OF TIME, and L. Sprague deCamp's LEST DARKNESS FALL.

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First-Rate!, January 22, 2000

By 

S. M Stirling "Steve" (Santa Fe, NM United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1632 (Hardcover)

I love time-travel stories... particularly when they're done well. In "1632" Eric Flint shows solid research, believable characters and gripping action, all combining in a tasty stew. He makes his people -- both 21st-century West Virginians and 17th-century Germans -- live and breathe. The plight of the castaways will keep you glued to the page, and the action will bring you to the edge of your seat. Bravo! Buy this book!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine example of a venerable plot device, February 6, 2000

By 

C. S. Schofield "The Crank" (Frenchtown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 1632 (Hardcover)

Time travel stories have been a staple of Science Fiction essentially forever. The plot device of a modern man displaced into a historical era is a popular one, and traces its immediate lineage to Mark Twain's A CONNETICUTT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. While always great fun these stories tend to push the bounds of credulity when it come to the introduction of modern technology, and they frequently fall apart toward the end for that reason. 1632 manages to remain faintly plausable throughout. Just how historically reasonable its plot may be is open to question, but it manages not to jar the reader too badly while he is engrossed in the tale. The characters are mostly well drawn, with the exception of one cardboard cut-out whose presence does not materially detract from the book. the action is brisk and (at least to my non-military eye) believable in context. Most importantly the book is just plain fun to read. The author has a good command of human emotion and motives, as well as seeming to know his history.

If this sub-genera is one that you like I heartily recommend this example. If you are unfamilliar with the whole time-traveler gig you could do much worse than this book as an introduction.