Ring of Fire II (The Assiti Shards) (v. 2) [Hardcover]

Eric Flint (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Assiti Shards | Publication Date: January 1, 2008

A mysterious cosmic force—the “Ring of Fire”—has hurled the town of Grantville from 20th century West Virginia back to 17th century Europe, and into the heart of the Thirty Years War. With their seemingly magical technology, and their radical ideas of freedom and justice, the time-lost West Virginians have allied with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, to form the Confederated Principalities of Europe, changing the course of history—in ways both small and large.

MORE TO COME.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric Flint is the author of the New York Times best seller 1634: The Galileo Affair (with Andrew Dennis)—a novel in his top-selling “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 Master’s Degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Baen (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416573879
• ISBN-13: 978-1416573876
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,507 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

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Backstory, June 8, 2008

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ring of Fire II (The Assiti Shards) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

Ring of Fire II (2008) is the second alternate history anthology in the Assiti Shards series. It contains a novella, fourteen short stories, two maps, and a preface by the editor.

"Horse Thieves" by Karen Bergstrahl tells about the conflicts between downtime mercenaries working for Grantville and some uptimers.

"Second Issue?" by Brad Sinor concerns the aftermath of "Here Comes Santa Claus" in RoF I, when the Grantville Times receives a story from a reporter who has stumbled onto the conspiracy.

"Diving Belle" by Gunnar Dahlin & Dave Freer is about a librarian who will do almost anything to get back some stolen books and the effects of her actions upon Stockholm.

"A Gift from the Duchess" by Virginia DeMarce relates the story of the loan of three plague specialists to the disease ridden city of Kronach.

"Lucky at Cards" by Andrew Dennis describes a high stake card game with the brother of the French king.

"A Trip to Amsterdam" by Gorg Huff & Paula Goodlett is a story about high finance and the siege of Amsterdam.

"This'll Be the Day" by Walt Boyles recounts the deeds of Father Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld on the day of his former death.

"Command Performance" by David Carrico illustrates the impact of uptime music on the elite of Magdeburg and Europe.

"Ellis Island" by Russ Rittgers recounts the tribulations of a peasant family immigrating to Grantville.

"Malungu Seed" by Jonathan Cresswell-Jones is about an African Jesuit layman who has an urgent mission in Grantville and elsewhere.

"Trials" by Jay Robison reveals the trials of an Italian artist and a Grantville housewife.

"The Chase" by Iver P. Cooper shows the perils of a teenage crush on a English aristocrat.

"Eddie and the King's Daughter" by K.D. Wentworth tells of the shaky beginning of Eddie's relationship with Anne Cathrine.

"Second Thoughts" by Virginia DeMarce discloses the events leading to marriage between the parents of Noelle Brigitte Murphy.

"The Austro-Hungarian Connection" by Eric Flint is the novella. It describes a very unusual romance between Noelle Brigitte Stull and a Hungarian officer.

Highly recommended for Ring of Fire fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alternate history and cultural mixing.

-Arthur W. Jordin

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Need On-line Granteville Gazette, February 11, 2008

By 

Walter Chisholm - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ring of Fire II (The Assiti Shards) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

Very good, but you really need to read the (mostly-online) Granteville Gazettes (volumes 1,3,4,5,6,7 in particular + some of the others) to better understand some of the stories. For example, "Command Performance" in Ring of Fire 2 is part 4 of a series that appears in volume 3 ("The Sound of Music"), volume 4 ("Heavy Metal Music or Revolution in Three Flats"), and volume 5 ("Suite for Four Hands") of the Granteville Gazette.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good stories, February 19, 2008

By 

Stanley R. Kaminski (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ring of Fire II (The Assiti Shards) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

This is another attempt to flush out the 1633 universe, but while somewhat entertaining it is similar to the Ram Rebellion in that it jumps around a lot and at times you get lost in the minutia of the detail. If you like 1633 a lot then you will find this book just OK.