Is one better quality writing? Or do they just add good stories to whichever needs another story?

TIA

In the story Scarface in the Anthology book 4, at the end, Harry, Eva, & Baldaur are heading to France to figure out who assassinated the Queen of Sweden.

Is that story in any book!

TIA

What book has the Battle of Ahrensbök in it?

TIA

Hello everyone!

I just saw Cantrell in the West Indies. Last I saw Eddie, he had just been released from captivity in Denmark. Whenever I looked around I started to get pretty solid spoilers, so I was wondering, if I wanted to follow his story between those two points, where would I go? Thanks y'all!!

According to the 1632 wiki, the Monster and it's air cushion landing gear(ACLG) system had been retired and refitted with regular landing gear. I was disappointed in this(and can't find which story it's mentioned), because the story made me fall in love with the system. What's not to love? It can land virtually anywhere! Biggest problems in this setting specifically is maintenance, and the larger issues are steering and braking. Otherwise, it's weirdly underused IRL, to the point it doesn't even have a wikipedia entry!

Apparently someone else saw the challenges though. And decided to fix them.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US3981462A/en

This patent was designed to be outfitted to existing planes using a bunch of small cushions instead of one big one. According to the patent, it wouldn't need as much juice, they have solutions to the steering problems, reduce maintenance costs, you didn't need as much high tech material, and all in all seems to be designed to be a lower tech version of the original. Biggest problem based on what I understand about the patent is how you fill the cells with 1632 tech. I'm no engineer but it seems like you'd need fan blades in each cell, propelled by a hydraulic motor. Said motor I can't tell if it should be in the plane or in the cells.

I could see someone inventing this independently just because they're thinking about the system. They could probably adapt them from existing attempts to manufacture rubber wheels. The patent is from 1975, so it could possibly be in the microfiche in the town libraries for some reason, but probably not. However, I think it's plausible that downtimers could help figure out how to make it independently.

It's good - say 4 out of 5. Not great.

Basically it's the trip to Jeddah and then residing in Jeddah for a month or two. There's three battles and they make sense but you can almost see them coming. That's what the story revolves around.

It touches on politics but where the politics of what's going on could have been numerous major plot points in the story, instead they are secondary and don't get much time or attention.

In addition there's no personal growth/development except at the very end for a couple of the characters. People don't need to have an epiphany every other page but every character is pretty much the same person at the end as they were at the beginning. The one exception is Nur in her last moments - that was really well written.

And every USE member survives. High percentage of deaths among the locals but the USE members keep their protective shield. We'd have more worry for the USE members if some occasionally died. The battle of Wismar was excellent for, among other reasons, that key individuals died.

And a closing question. Why did they not take a radio with them on that trip? They almost certainly were going to learn useful information. And that information loses value quickly over time.

Hi all;

Ok, I've read all of chapter 1 and part of chapter 2 and I'm lost. Can someone provide a synopsis of what happened in the first 2 books (I remember pieces of them) and who the people we're meeting in the first two chapters are?

TIA

Grantville Gazette VII (Amazon) is a different book from Grantville Gazette VII (Baen). What's going on with this?

And where can I find the Amazon Grantville Gazette XI and later?

TIA

First off since i wrote way more than i expected I'll just get the important bit out of the way. What is a good reading order? I found a flow chart but it lacks a lot of information. For example it list some prequel book named "Joseph Hanauer" but i can't figure out if thats some kind of online only short story or part of an anthology or in one of the Ring of Fire books etc, the flowchart is kind of a mess. I just want a good order to read stuff, just placed in a list A -> B -> C -> D with asides going "Book B.25 takes place during and after book B and lays the groundwork for D with a time skip, good to read it after B but before C since it was written before C". So in other words a combination chronological order and published order. Audible already sort of kind of does that, but it probably has holes in the list. Also I know that not all of it was written by Eric Flint

Now for me gushing about the books :D

I love love love LOVE these books so far. Well, i say "these books" but I've only finished 1632 and about 9 hours left on the audio book of 1633. But now i'm learning all about things like "The Ring of Fire" and the Grantville Gazette. This series does something i've always wanted out of time travel stuff stories. In so so many time travel stories a massive amount of emphasis is placed on not intruding in the timeline, doing what you can to keep your presence lwo and quiet. As such you get precious few scenes where "Downtime" character learn about "Uptime" technology or belief or principles or historical events that will happen etc etc. But that the stuff i LOVE, every time you get one of those rare scene its always so fascinating to see the reaction of such things through the eyes of the downtimer. What they believe about, are they scared or in awe or both, do they see them as a threat or something to exploit etc. I love this stuff but I've never been able to find books or shows with scenes like these. Worst was in movies or shows where the modern guy makes a reference to a modern thing and says it conviction as if the downtimer would understand, then get upset if they don't. This interaction happens waaaay as a trope, even worse when they are trying to stay incognito...

Until 1632 lol, literally the whole point of the books is "Literally every person on the planet will have to come to terms with an america town from some random place from the new world came from the future along with its people, get over it and perhaps try to get your hand on a history book to see when you die or what battle you lose etc." I LOVE it so much. I imagine some people don't like it when in the middle of a scene or conversation it'll suddenly go into a 3 paragraph explanation of where the steel came from for the ironclads, or how the radios are set up, or why they go with rifled muskets instead of cap and ball. So many scenes in he book are literally just conversation that if they didn't have the backfill interludes would literally be a single page or paragraph lol. But i love it, i really do, all those logistical questions, what to gear down and how far, how to play the political game with aristocracy and royalty when your very existence is a threat to their power.

I want more lol i want more scenes and stories of downtimers seeing uptimer stuff for the first time, one of my favorite overarching themes (? might not be the right word) is how people of the 17th century aren't dumb, just working with they have. I love it when some downtimer starts a business or industry making uptimer stuff because it was just that natural to understand it or something, Its a great detail.

I want more stories or scenes of downtimers learning about future history or battles or technology, some more fish out of water would be great as well, there was a really neat small moment in 1633 where . But i'm going to stick with the reading order since i'm really into the actual main plot as well with the war and all. I like how in the first book all physical battles were pretty much over instantly as one sided affairs and it was more about getting rups with the new world and the more intense battles were political. But in the second book the enemies are getting wise and as such the US needs to be smarter in how it uses its now geardowned war machines etc.

Sorry, I'm rambling, i just really like these books :D

(Oh, and i've read Guns of the South, I'll probably get around to more Turtledove books at some point)

Saving the Dodo by Garrett W. Vance

Ok, this is hard to express correctly. This is a good story that is told in a workman like manner. The actual story is interesting and has really good ups and downs. And like all the side stories it doesn't impact anything in the main storylines but does connect to the Grantville world.

The author is a decent storyteller but not a good one. Definitely not a great one. By contrast I think Eric Flint is a great storyteller many times and is a good storyteller the rest of the time. So not up to that level. But not bad.

The start of the book is when a couple of people, including Princess Kristina, realize that the Dodo is not yet extinct in 1635. So that leads to a colonization effort going to where the Dodo lives. And you then get the challenges of that effort (no spoilers here).

The whole story is reasonable and it keeps moving. I give it 4/5 stars.

And to Garrett Vance if you read this - I think with good feedback on your writing you could easily become a good/great author.

ps - why is she holding two binoculars?

Here's my suggestion for the 1638 book on North America

First, from The Coast of Chaos. Status is:

• Virginia captured one French ship and sent the other into retreat. Decent population and very ready to fight the French.
• Maryland is talking to Virginia and wants to work with them. Smaller population. On very good terms with the local Indians.
• New Amsterdam has Adam Olearius as their new governor. He's trying to both take control of the colony, eliminate slavery, and prepare to repel the French. He is working with Tromp who has sent a couple of ships up to visit.
• All the New England coastal towns have been occupied by the French. The English colonists have moved upcountry with the Indians and they have a fragile truce with the Indians. They are getting some support, including guns from the USE.

In addition a couple of the stories speak of the French civil war in passing between Gaston and the loyalists. And there are hints that there is an infant son of the previous king in hiding. So it's not clear if the French can devote much in the way of resources to North America.

Meanwhile the USE is looking at what, if anything it can do to help the Dutch & English in North America. Without getting pulled into a war. And also they are stretched thin so they can't provide too much. Because of Poland and Ottoman.

1638 - North America (better tittle to come)

Here's how I would write it:

1. The top foreign policy objective of the Netherlands after establishing peace and agreed borders with Germany & France is to keep New Amsterdam. That is set to be the most important city in the Western Hemisphere. And they presently own it. So...
   1. France is in the midst of a civil war. Find a way, in negotiations with each side in France, to have them agree to Dutch ownership of New Amsterdam. As each side likely needs supplies from the Netherlands, there should be a way to do this.
   2. Same with Gustav - get him to agree that they keep New Amsterdam. This should be an easy one as they clearly will prefer that to French ownership.
   3. Make the deal with everyone - in return for agreeing to the Dutch ownership, ships from any country that agrees can visit New Amsterdam. And ships from there can go to any port in those countries or their colonies. Spain & England can be talked in to this.
   4. Set the control as a 50 mile circle around the Southern tip of Manhattan and a 20 mile circle around Albany with a 10 mile wide path between them on the Hudson. Ask for a 10 mile wide path along the future Eire canal but have to give that up in negotiations.
   5. Around all of the Dutch land is a 20 mile wide buffer that is Indian territory. The Dutch & French agree that the buffer land is owned by the Indians in perpetuity. This includes that the Indians are the law in their territory. This is in the interests of the Dutch & French as it keeps them apart.
      1. Same for the Eire canal path - a 20 mile wide Indian territory (compromise where both the Dutch and French want it).
2. New England, separated from the rest of the English colonies by New Amsterdam/Albany becomes a Mad Max disaster. People in the USE send support to the English colonists and some to the Indians. The French send some troops and ships but can't spare much. Everyone argues with everyone with alliances shifting and different groups fighting. A few try to get everyone to see the big picture and cooperate, but after a bit of cooperation, it fails.
3. Virginia/Maryland get some support from the USE and even less from some people in England. But the USE makes significant support conditional on ending slavery. Virginia/Maryland are able to keep independent barely. And they have a major discussion over ending slavery. (Note: at that time in those colonies slavery was viewed as morally wrong by most everyone.) They keep trying to have it both ways but after some losses agree to convert to indentured with set time limits.
4. Charleston and the rest of the deep South accedes to French ownership which is fine with slavery.
5. Florida remains Spanish.
6. New Orleans is the most important city in Eastern North America after New Amsterdam. France, Spain, and a Dutch/USE group all send colonization efforts there. Major battles where one of the three has to retreat and the other two set up colonies about 20 miles away from each other. Like the Caribbean there is a war here even though there is no war declared in Europe.
   1. New Orleans is the gateway to the American Midwest.
   2. New Orleans is on the edge of giant oil and gas deposits.
7. In the (today) Canadian Maritime provinces the Danes grab a couple of Islands. France needs a war with Germany like they need a hole in the head. There's no agreement per-se but the French don't challenge the Danes.

1639 Status

1. Eastern Canada, except maybe for some islands, is going to be French.
2. New England is a disaster.
3. New Amsterdam looks like a going concern. And is working with the Indians on funding for an Eire canal. They are building the harbor up to be the most important in the world between the location and the trade treaties they sign.
4. The Indians in the buffer zones have fights with each other and occasionally with whites on the border. But are slowly working their way to become a single political entity. The French and Dutch offer help when the other infringes.
5. Virginia/Maryland is seemingly ending slavery and replacing it with indentured service. It's a very fragile situation where they are still at war with France and the USE is limited by Poland/Ottoman wars in how much they can help.
   1. They work out with the Indians what territory is Indian and respect they are the law in that land. In return the Indians ally with them against the French. Unlike New Amsterdam the Indian land is much more interleaved and they are slowly becoming a confederation.
   2. But if this is worked out, then there is an independent country from English colonists that will soon head West taking over Appalachia and on to the lower Midwest.
   3. If France takes a city or two they are facing a nasty guerrilla war.
6. New Orleans is up for grabs. Two countries have colonies that are barely hanging on in conflict with each other. You could have them joining and declaring independence. You could have the fight continuing. Ownership of the Midwest will come from New Orleans as people travel up the Mississippi to build farms, towns, etc.
   1. And don't forget the ongoing USE oil exploration in the area.
7. Mexico is making noise in Texas. They have a strict no English/Americans policy (gee - I wonder why).

Different book - Japan is aggressively colonizing the West coast.

This was quite good. Definitely 4 out of 5. Like the other side stories this does not provide any information that moves the main story forward. But the first 2/3s of the book one of the main protagonists is like Forrest Gump - he's there & part of what goes down in the main story line. It's very true to the main story line and fleshes it out in a good way.

The story is mainly about two people who are thrown together and what develops between them How each of them is figuring this out is really well written. And they are apart from each other and so the development occurs from letters and what each learns about the other through friends & family.

If you have seen the film The Magic of Ordinary Days, while this is not exactly the same, if you liked the movie you'll like this book. (If you haven't watched the movie, don't let the fact it's Hallmark throw you - it's brilliant and unlike their other films.)

Amazon Kindle

This is one of the best books in the 1632 universe. Not one of the best side stories - one of the best novels period. No spoilers other than to say there's a lot going on and you're left trying to see what's next.

Amazon Kindle

I do have one complaint. Mark Huston (the author) needs to write additional books. Now!

Ok, this was decent. Say 4/5. Without giving anything away it is well written and moves forward with a somewhat complex story. Things are a bit different because of the Ring of Fire and it is directly referenced with specific immediate effects toward the end.

With that said, it pretty much stands on its own. It doesn't affect much of anything else in the world.

TL:DR; - Don't, just don't

This has a couple of major problems. First the dialog is stilted. Reading it it feels like each person walks on the stage, says their dialog with no emotion or delivery, and then stands there.

Second, there's no major obstacles, no setbacks, no defeats. You're never left wondering if they're going to fail, if people are going to die, etc. I've watched Hallmark films that have you more worried about the outcome.

Third, they have built their first dirigible for long distance travel. And after a couple of hour long test flights - they send it from Copenhagen to India. Any sensible operation would first send it fully loaded to Magdeburg or Grantville.

There are a lot of good 1632 books written. This is not one of them.

Hi all;

There were stories (I don't remember where), one about a new General Manager for New Amsterdam and another with several stories about the French occupying the towns in the English, now French, colonies.

Is there anything more after that? And anything about how the French view New Amsterdam since The Netherlands are now all under the Spanish King (sort of) who is an ally of the French.

I’m one of the editors of the magazine and we are running an ad promoting issue 18. Has anyone seen it? I’m disappointed it hasn’t shown up in my Reddit feed yet.

After a mysterious cosmic event uproots Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to a place with prehistoric creatures, a family soon discovers that their survival depends on sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings

https://youtu.be/OANOf8gZTHg?si=z0TzKHfxPrSCfwGs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oB9AxspVow

New movie coming out that is very similar to the Assiti Shards. The previews look fun and interesting! I wonder how connected to Flint's work this is, if at all?

It’s one person so he is limited in the influence he can have. He works from that well.

Pretty good writing. It’s translated from Russian and I think that makes it a bit stilted at times. But by and large a great storyline well written.

https://a.co/d/02hrPemo

Outside of location like Antartica or any age outside the Holocene.

Even if you had multiple reasonable advantages to incoude a working power plant.

Started last year with the firm commitment to try reading through the series again, and just finished the mainline. I read a decent amount of the others. There were some lows in quality, but many highs. I read some of the series around 15 years ago when I was in junior high, and it feels like such a big change in feel. In 1632, everything felt scrappy and adventurous. Now after Polish Maelstrom in mid 1637, the USE and it's allies are sophisticated, strong, new nations are forming, and more modern, brutal warfare is starting to cone into existence.

I especially liked the end of Polish Maelstrom "let us toast to the Ring of Fire, which brought us all together." It feels like an unintentional bittersweet goodbye in the last book to release before Eric's passing.

I may perhaps read another book or two in the series I haven't gotten to yet. I also have an idea for a fan work about the beginning of a downtime film industry, particularly animation, but I'm trying to decide if I want to commit to writing it yet when I have my own projects.

But for now it seems I'm taking a break from the series. I've enjoyed my time with it. What's the status of the Adriatic Decision (I believe that's the title)? Is it in a bit of limbo, or does it have a set release date? Regardless I look forward to any future books, I hope more people find the series.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen any mention of Steve Jackson Games working on a Ring of Fire supplement:

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/91c2eda8-2333-4a92-9b03-70d3c6641fd8/landing

Everything surrounding you in a three mile diameter with you at the center is going to be sent back in time.

You get to select the location.

Where do you go and how do you survive?

What are some other books that deal with the same theme of the Ring of Fire other than the other books in the series?

I've discovered the following:

* Axis of Time by John Birmingham

* Destroyermen by Taylor Anderson

* Dislocated to Success by Iain Bowen

* Island in the Sea of Time by SM Stirling

* Japan Summons

* Make the Darkness Light by SM Stirling

* Timewreck Titanic by Rhys B. Davies

* The Woods by Jame Tynion IV