Customer Reviews

1633

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

1632 was compared by many (including myself) to S.M. Stirling's "Island in the Sea of Time". They certainly share some similarities -- small part of the USA dropped mysteriously back in time and has to find a way to deal with the problems caused thereby -- but other than that and the "rebuild civilization" general idea that follows from the premise, they're not much alike.

1632, and now 1633, are FUN books. "Island" hammered away at you with the tough details, but Eric Flint instead gives us a more engaging cast of characters overall and less vicious villains.
In fact, even the villains are painted in such a way as to give one sympathy for them on occasion.

One major complaint about 1632 was the character Simpson, a former CEO, who was a foil for the main character and appeared only in two chapters. Eric Flint has told me (and others) that Simpson was a convenience to get things moving, nothing more, and that's why he ended up looking like cardboard. The book was not intended to be a series originally, but it did so well that it would have been foolish to NOT make it a series.

Simpson-the-foil is gone, replaced by a still-obstreperous and uptight, but no-longer-cardboard character who has invaluable skills to the new "United States" that's trying to survive in the war-riddled Europe of 1633. Simpson can still be more annoying than many of the villains, which I actually count as a good thing; it's nice to make the point that someone can be on your side and still not be as nice a PERSON as some of the people who oppose you.

The characterization of Richelieu, the Cardinal who was the true Power in France at the time, is frightening. He is that (thankfully) rare sort, a man of great intellect and wide education who has charisma, empathy, warmth... and an unswervable, Machiavellian determination to achieve his goals. He regrets the loss, yet will order an execution in a heartbeat. While there are certainly other opponents, Richelieu is by far the most formidable single enemy the Americans of Grantville and their allies face.

It's true that a great deal of time is spent with the various factions' reaction to the "other" histories, but I find this more interesting than boring, overall. What's interesting about it is that the various people are reacting TO the histories as PROPHECY -- "Lo, and this shall come to pass if..." -- and trying to "fight the future" (to borrow a quote) by taking preemptive action against it. One has to wonder, though, when they'll realize that the very EXISTENCE of Grantville already changed dynamics sufficiently that their history books were pretty much useless. After this book, they might as well chuck the history books except for whatever strategic and so on material they contain -- there won't be much left to worry about in them.

I won't give many spoilers here -- this is a brand-new book -- but I will say that I find the writing easy and engaging, the main characters fun to follow, and the action enjoyable, while the logic of the reconstruction doesn't overly strain my suspension of disbelief. Buy this one, it's well worth the price.

Almost by reflex, I would give David Weber a 5 star on every book he has written; I have read all of them and enjoyed all of them, especially his Honor Harrington series. I read and enjoyed the previous book in this series, "1632", and although I didn't review it, I had the same reservation. But let's talk about the "good stuff" first: Flint and Weber have as the device to create their "world" of the 17th Century, a mysterious event that sends a section of West Virginia back in time, to the era of The Thirty Years War. It was a vicious time of intense religious and political conflict which seriously depopulated Central Europe. The conflict between modern man and 17th Century civilization comes off superbly, and the authors have captured the era almost perfectly. While military action occurs, this book is more than traditional military sci-fi, and as such, it is as near great work of fiction, as is "1632", and if you decide, as I hope you do, to try this book, you should read "1632" first. This is a stand alone book, to be sure, but it is a continuation of the earlier work in which nearly all of the characters in "1633" first appear. Which leads me to my only reservation about these books. Eric Flint's bio tells us that he is a labor organizer, and his belief in the superiority of the blue collar guy and his disdain for the "suits" becomes almost preachy. And ,please don't e-mail me as anti-labor; I ain't. I just don't like to have a ripping good yarn interrupted by statements about the writer's socio-political beliefs. I don't like it when Tom Clancy does it and I don't like it when Flint does it; it disrupts the story and contributes nothing to the plot (By the way, I enjoy e-mail from folks who agree or disagree with a review; I just want to be clear on this criticism). Despite my single reservation about these books, they still represent a very high level of adventure fiction, and I look forward to "1634".

If you've read 1632, and loved the behind the scenes politics, social ramifications, and down right dirty moves pulled by Mike Stearns and the rest of Grantville, then grab 1633 and hang on!

If the action, romance and down right hokey fun of 1632 captured your heart, then buy a highlighter with 1633, and make sure you highlight those parts, they don't appear near as often in this sequel.

I'll start with the cons and finish with the pros. There are several plot lines within the book that are advanced enough that you care about them, but left hanging at the end. One of 1632's most memorable characters: Julie Sims (Mackay, 'currently') is sent to Scotland, and essentially left there. Harry Lefferts and Gerd Fuhrmann (two characters that I'm now emotionally attached to) promise to turn some of Richelieu's minions into the whipping boys they are, but it remains a promise for another book as their mission is left hanging by the last page. There are some more examples of this in the book, and the end effect is an aborted sense of 'closure' when the reading is done.

Now for the pros: There is much that happens in 1633 that will cause you to pause, smile and just revel in its genius. (now) Admiral Simpson is, perhaps, one of the most compelling characters of the entire book. He and his wife fall into a role that only they can pull off, and is ultimately necessary for the sake of Grantville and the CPE. Additional characters are introduced that will make you stand up and cheer for them during their more challenging moments. ...and the horse trading...man, is there some horse trading going on.

Pick up 1633, keep in mind it is NOT Part 2 of 2, and enjoy. There are clear faults in the story, most of which manifest themselves when you realize you've finish. The faults won't, however, ruin what's golden in the book. Eric Flint has an extensive afterword then I highly recommend reading. Especially since it'll offer you info on how to nag him and David Weber into getting the next 16-- series book in stores...which you'll be wanting, I promise, for both the good and bad reasons I mentioned above.

One of the problems I have always had with alternate histories is the "deus ex machina" solutions to real technical problems. In 1633, as in the previous volume 1632, Eric Flint and collaborator David Weber provide a slice of reality in an alternate universe. People aren't cardboard, there are no achingly evil villains. There are stupid people, people with warts, smart people, normal people...in short, all the people that make up 1633 in Europe. Archvillains Richelieu and Simpson are revealed as men with passions, flaws and virtues. Good guys are shown to be short-sighted and venal. What we have here is a fine continuation of Eric Flint's experiment in "reality alternative history." Nobody pulls 2001 technology out of the bag...in fact, the climax leaves you with a clear (and foreboding) picture of the limits of Grantville's technology.

We are not reading Grantville uber alles here, nor are we reading a romp through the 17th century by those vastly superior persons, the Americans. We are reading a well thought out dramatic essay on what happens when cultures collide.

The subtext of 1633 doesn't get in the way, but it is every bit as powerful subtext as any "literary" SF novel of the past 30 years. We are seeing through a kaleidoscopic lens what happens when people are faced with massive change, and when people are forced to achieve beyond their station in life. We are seeing what happens when a society comes into contact with another society with more toys and fancier philosophy. Apply the lens of 1633 to the issue of the Native American, or the Australian Aborigine, and the philosophical subtext remains the same.

Flint and Weber do a masterful job of provoking thought from readers of space opera and action-adventure novels. We are fed enough complex political analysis under the guise of character introspection that we can see exactly what is happening, and where things are going.

Finally, Flint and Weber pull off something extremely critical, and they do it well: they make the indigenous population of the era, not the interlopers from Grantville, the heroes of the piece.

And that's the point. Or one of them.

Walt Boyes
(the Bananaslug at Baen's Bar)

If you haven't read 1632 yet, please start there. This book _can_ stand on its own, but is much easier to appreciate in proper context as second in a series. That said...

In 1633 the authors spend much of their time fleshing out characters who were shortchanged in 1632 -- especially the Simpsons. They also show the effect of 1999 history books on 17th century politics, and of manned flight on a world that only recently thought it impossible.

I found the book absolutely fascinating. It's meatier than 1632. Not as much of a romp, but ultimately more satisfying to digest. Now, they just need to get the NEXT book out in record time!

Suffice it to say that if you read the very good novel "1632" you'd have wanted to make a beeline right for the sequel "1633". And I can't blame you for it...I had to special order this book because neither the library or the local bookstores carried it. This is a very good read, make no mistake, but coming off of the much easier to read and faster paced 1632 one may be surprised by the changes contained within.

For starters where 1632 covered the citizens of Grantville's sudden appearance in central Germany of the 17th century, and the related effects of it's possession of advanced weapons, medicine, science, and knowledge of future events, here we have a book focusing more on the diplomatic and political angle, interspersed with the story of Grantville's struggle with the possibility of oncoming plague and the development of a working Air Force and Navy. There's much more plot depth and characters that were overly stereotypical in the first novel (ie; Simpson) are given actual personalities, and on this latter account the story gains much.

I need to go ahead and get it out of the way though. You see, I'm one of those charlatans who thinks there's entirely too much politics and not enough action in the book. Before the public stoning begins allow me to illucidate. Politics is an interesting subject, no doubt, but there are so many different threads of it running rampant through the book that it's difficult to keep track of all of it. So much in fact that I was almost forced to grab a pen and paper to write character's names down and their ultimate goals for power grabs in the New Europe...ordinarily this is something I only do for the Russian literature of the late 19th century (just for keepin track of all the names), but I was almost forced to it here. I found myself laboring through entire chapters of the book forced to read what I considered some rather dull, pages long descriptions of constitutional banter, interlaced with the plottings of German nobles and assorted power plays by foreign dignataries. And don't even get me started on the almost Mafia-like "Committees of Correspondance", whom, for whatever reason, I just have a tendency to really dislike for their thug-like behavior. And while I understand the CoC's reasons for hatred of nobles I find myself befuddled as to their motives and overall disposition against Gustav, whom I consider a good and noble man. Bottom line...I just don't get it. Much of the book is like this, and borders on needing accompanying Cliff's Notes.

Several plots have broken off from the main book as well. A diplomatic mission to Cardinal Richelieu, primary foil for the new European republic, results in my appreciation of this character (who it appears is maligned far too much on various "Three Musketeers" movies), a man who is honorable, cunning, kind, and dangerous in equal parts. A separate diplomatic mission takes place to England, largely dealing with the group's incarceration in the infamous Tower of London, as well as the introduction of later historical figure Oliver Cromwell. I very much look forward to that plot development as the portions of history I've read on the man tend to impress me.

As to the action portion those parts of the book are wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed the formation of Grantville's Air Force, and being a US Air Force veteran myself, felt pulled in and filled with wonder. Likewise, I really enjoyed the improved character of Simpson, whom I think a perfect fit for the job of Admiral of the US Navy's two Grantville-Class ironclads and I cannot wait to see them in action. The book culminates in a large sea battle which had me turning pages furiously and results in the death of a much loved character from the first book.

I very much enjoyed the book, but found it tedious in many places. If you were rooting for more high-technology cause/effect events to unfold you may be disappointed, but certainly not enough to dissuade you from finishing. The 1632 universe is fascinating and I look forward to the continuing saga of Grantville!

1632 was an excellent novel in the tradition of the Islander series or the classic Lest Darkness Fall about present day people who unexpectedly end up in the past. 1633 was a decent follow-up and I would like to see where all this is going (now that the sequel beast is out of the bag). Unfortunately, 1633 is way too much a bridge novel, neither beginning nor ending in its own right.

I understand that 1633 is meant to be a midpoint in a series but it would have been helpful is at least one of the plotlines got resolved. Instead everything is left up in the air. Rebecca and company are still in Amsterdam, Melissa and company are still in the Tower, Gustav and Mike are still facing a huge war with sulky German princes as allies, and finally the commoners seem to have gotten something, but it is totally unclear what.
Surely in 600 pages Weber and Flint could have resolved or at least moved forward one of these lines. Instead nearly everything that happens in this book happens in the first third and the reader is frustrated by the sheer length with so little effect. So for 1634 and beyond...move it along!!!

While not everyone cares for political novels, (especially some of the previous reviewers) it is not nessesary that alternate history be consumed solely with battle scenes and romance. The concept of the Loyal Opposition, and Mike Sterns work at developing the New US into a real nation and not just an emergency committee was a tale which bodes well for this franchise.

I think that Flint/Weber and the other authors with forthcoming works in this shared universe have done a good job of not falling into the pulp fiction error of having a tech fix to every problem. This is a novel of ideas. That's not to say that there isn't gripping action, sea battles, air adventures, imprisonment, chases and shooting, heck, it _is_ a David Weber novel after all, but like Honor Harrington, this book has moved beyond action/adventure into the meat of alternate history.

Rick Boatright
(Fair warning. I'm the Rick Boatright mentioned as one of the tech consultants in that long afterword, so I admit to being a little prejudiced in favor of this book.)

I must admit, almost guiltily, that I really enjoyed this book's predecessor, 1632, and looked forward to reading the sequel. Alas, it seemed that Eric Flint found it necessary to write the novel with David Weber, which basically dragged both authors down into a long-winded mire of dialogue and politics. Too bad. The strength of the first book could be found in the simplicity of the plot: what happens if you take a town of civilized rednecks from good old West Virginia and plop them down in the middle of the 30 Years War? It was a fun read, full of action, excitement and characters who seemed to act true to form.

That's all gone now. The book is woefully lacking in any sort of action whatsoever, hard to believe in a book co-authored by Weber, but it's true. The former Hillbillies have almost to a man turned into waxing philisophers who ponder the politics of their era using a language and sophistication they did not possess in the first book, nor one that they could have realistically picked up given their desparate situation. I kept waiting for something to happen, but outside of a rousing sea battle at about page 200 nothing happened until a rather dull conclusion. What's worse, is that two of the best characters from the first book, Alex and Julie MacKay, are almost completely written out of this one.

There is way too much character development for a book of this genre and most of it is hard to believe (such as a discussion on the morality of Oliver Cromwell between a 20 something West Virginian and a former WVA football player) and there are way too many plot lines left unresolved. This leaves us all pondering exactly how many years these two are planning on going. Maybe Robert Jordan will co-author the next book with them and they can call it, "January, 03, 1634" or something like that.

Mr. Flint, if you read this review, please write the next one by yourself and get back to the original point of the novel. Thank you.

Right off the bat, I'll warn you that, if you're looking for action-adventure fluff, it's not here. Unlike its predecessor, 1632, this book is a solid foundation for what I hope will be a long, long series.

1632 was a stand-alone, but when it proved popular, Eric Flint did the smart thing and, with David Weber (no mean series writer himself), used this to A: tell a solid, interesting story and B: lay a lot of the groundwork for future books, short stories and a whole "1632verse" alternate history.

Fine by me. This book isn't as fast-paced as 1632, since it's a "foundation stone" type novel, but it gives a lot of the "surround", political background, TONS of new villainy, and the feel of the massively confused game of "musical chairs played with a death penalty" that is pretty much a hallmark of human history wherever and whenever.

The necessary downside in the writing is more exposition, slower pace, and less character development. The upside is that we end up with, waiting in the wings, the Dutch insurrection, the Scottish revolt, Cromwell's Revenge, "1634: The Baltic War"(next book), The French and Indian War, and my personal favorite, "The Spanish Inquisition doesn't know WHAT to expect."

All told, this book was a solid investment of my money and even more, my precious time. I trust Eric Flint and David Weber, and even if we do spend a fair amount of time in this book watching them stuff dynamite into a lot of holes in the rock, I am certain that, sooner or later, we will get our reward: an earth-shattering "KABOOM!" The added benefit from this book is, we'll know WHY the rubble is bouncing.