1635: The Tangled Web (Ring of Fire) [Paperback]

Virginia DeMarce (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ring of Fire | Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Though the Thirty Years War 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 the 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.

 

 Praise for 1634: The Bavarian Crisis by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce:

“. . . fascinating reading. . .  . It is especially refreshing to read an alternate history that doesn't depend upon the clash of anachronistic arms, but rather on how modern ideas of human rights, education, sanitation and law might have affected the Europe of the 30 Years War.” —Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Virginia DeMarce, after jobs as peculiar as counting raisins for the Calif. Dept. of Agriculture, received her Ph.D. in Early Modern European History from Stanford University. She has published a book on German military settlers in Canada after the American Revolution and has served as president of the National Genealogical Society. She taught at Northwest Missouri State University and at George Mason University. She has had stories in the Ring of Fire anthology and Grantville Gazette (#1), and more stories in the online Grantville Gazettes. She has three grown children and five grandchildren, and lives in Arlington, VA, with her husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Original edition (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439133085
• ISBN-13: 978-1439133088
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reading this was hard work, December 19, 2009

By 

P. Boynton "Home Ec teacher" (US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 1635: The Tangled Web (Ring of Fire) (Paperback)

I read a lot, and I read fast. This book took me nearly a week, because I either put it down to do something else, or I fell asleep.
As I normally gulp down the Ring of Fire books in one night or 2, with as few interruptions as I can manage, let me say that I was VERY disappointed with his book.
The characters and the plot are just not interesting - with the exception of one much-married beguiling rogue, I just don't like this book. At one point I realized I was drowning in an endless series of names of characters and families, and the explanations of them. It just seemed like it went on and on. If I see this writers name on a book, I just won't buy it unless I can pick up a real used bargain.
And that is the ONLY way I would advise anyone else to buy this - it is a waste of money.
Which is a shame, compared to Eric Flint's excellent, interesting, and thought-provoking writing for this series.

98 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Almost unreadable, December 17, 2009

By 

Dave in Missouri - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1635: The Tangled Web (Ring of Fire) (Paperback)

I just finished this and have to agree that its boring, uninteresting, and almost unreadable.

The author seems to have a propensity for going down long blind, and VERY boring alleys of convoluted and confusing family relationships, and in this case a disjointed story that makes little sense.

There's a LOT of talk, not very interesting, and no real action to break up the boredom.
The 1632 story is interesting, and possibly the best time travel tale ever written, certainly the biggest and most wide spread.
However, Flint needs to realize that not everyone can write good material in the 1632 universe.
This one wanders off into a singularly uninteresting maze and never returns.

My biggest indictment: When I'm reading a book that looses my interest, I tend to start skipping sentences or even entire paragraphs.
With this one I started skipping entire pages, and then multiple pages.

I'll continue to read Flint and the anthologies in the 1632 universe, but no more of this author.
Flint needs to realize that some things just don't work out, and Professional writers tend to be impressed with the skills of other authors, but may not see that they just don't impress the readers for who its all about.
These books aren't written to impress other writers, they're written to sell books to people who want to read the story.
When the story causes a buyer/reader to not want to read or buy anymore, its time to step back and reevaluate whether to continue.

In this case....Not.

112 of 122 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Another disappointing 1632 knock-off, November 29, 2009

By 

Terry Mixon (League City, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1635: The Tangled Web (Ring of Fire) (Paperback)

Yet again another book in this series is a failure to be even remotely enjoyable. In fact, boring and inane are the words that come to mind. I think the majority of readers just aren't interested in hordes of minor characters and their boring doings and how they are related to each other. In fact, this book seems more a collection of weakly related short stories than a real integrated story. The main characters that most readers are interested in hardly get to make an apperance.

It's not Eric Flint's writing that's the problem. None of the books done solely by him or in collaboration with other authors has been anything other than stellar. I really hate to point fingers, but it's time someone at Baen wakes up to the fact that Virgina DeMarce might be a crackerjack researcher, but she hasn't got the touch to write entertaining long fiction. It's time for the publisher to step in and save this series.

I won't be buying any more books with her listed as an author, either prime or secondary, and I recommend others do the same if they dislike the trend that is showing in this series. If Baen wants anyone to be loyal to this series, Virgina DeMarce needs to be shown the door as an author and fast. She's already done enough damage. Stop her before she ruins even one more book.