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Ring of Fire Anthology #3
Ring of Fire III (3)
Collection #3 of rollicking and idea-packed alternate history tales written by today’s hottest science fiction writers and edited by New York Times best-seller Eric Flint. After a cosmic accident sets the modern-day West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, these everyday, resourceful Americans must adapt – or be trod into the dust of the past.
Let’s do the “Time Warp” again! Another rollicking, thought-provoking collection of tales by a star-studded array of top writers such as bestseller Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint himself – all set in Eric Flint’s phenomenal Ring of Fire series.
Rock on, Renaissance! A cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe. It will take all the gumption of the resourceful, freedom-loving up-timers to find a way to flourish in mad and bloody end of medieval times. Are they up for it? You bet they are. The third rollicking and idea-packed collection of Grantville tales edited by Eric Flint, and inspired by his now-legendary 1632.
About Eric Flint’s “Ring of Fire”
“[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.” - Booklist
“[Eric Flint] can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” - Publishers Weekly
Let’s do the “Time Warp” again! Another rollicking, thought-provoking collection of tales by a star-studded array of top writers such as bestseller Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint himself – all set in Eric Flint’s phenomenal Ring of Fire series.
Rock on, Renaissance! A cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe. It will take all the gumption of the resourceful, freedom-loving up-timers to find a way to flourish in mad and bloody end of medieval times. Are they up for it? You bet they are. The third rollicking and idea-packed collection of Grantville tales edited by Eric Flint, and inspired by his now-legendary 1632.
About Eric Flint’s “Ring of Fire”
“[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.” - Booklist
“[Eric Flint] can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.” - Publishers Weekly
512 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2011
26 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books874 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 11, 2024
Ring of Fire 3 is another anthology of short stories created for the Ring of Fire Universe. As is always the case, some of these are really good and some of them are really... not. Honestly, I would say some of these push the extremes on both ends. I absolutely loved Milton's Choice and Cap and Gown. The first is an imprisoned John Milton facing the moral quandary of repudiating works he has not yet written (in this timeline) or being killed. The latter is an English professor trying his best to share as much of what he learned as possible before MS takes him under. On the flip side, some of the others like Frying Pan were little better than vomit-inducing garbage, the worldview of Falser Messiahs made me genuinely angry, and All God's Children in the Burning East had the potential to be incredibly well done and thoughtful... and ended up being a disappointment of trite nonsense. The novella by Flint at the end was very well done set up for more of what will be coming in future books.
July 30, 2011
Though the third book of the Ring of Fire anthology series, "Ring of Fire III" is actually the 19th book of the actual Ring of Fire/1632 series; and as such it feels it's age. Originally created as a 'what if' of events when the present met past, this series by now feels like it has lost all focus of what to do and where to go.
Some of the stories in Ring of Fire III were pretty interesting. The gem of the group was Mercedes Lackey's "Dye Another Day". Maybe it's because she's a well experienced published author, but this first story in the book had the right balance of humor, character, and plot to make it an enjoyable read. Sadly, none of the other stories come as close to creating a well balanced story. Some might have an interesting plot, but suffered from a plethora of unmemorable characters; others might have interesting characters but were in plots so convoluted as to dilute their impact. And then there were some that just plain stank as the characters were just faceless window dressing to belch out dialogue to advance a sequence of events that could hardly be called a plot.
Then there's Eric Flint's contribution. The last story of the anthology, "Four Days on the Danube" is basically a semi-sequel to the book "1636: The Saxon Uprising", and acts as the lead-in for an eventual sequel to this storyarc of the series. Being the work by the creator of the Ring of Fire/1632 series, one can be forgiven to have somewhat high expectations that this story might somewhat redeem the reader's efforts for reaching the end of this book. Unfortunately, although the second half of the story was pretty interesting, it wasn't helped by the fact that character moments in the first half of the book seems to go off on tangents that at times effectively put the brakes on any momentum from the plot, a problem Eric Flint seem to have from time to time.
Ostentatiously written as a way to give story to behind the scenes and also to branch the series off into other directions, it's no secret by now that strength of story nor interesting characters is in abundant quality in both anthology series (Ring of Fire, Grantville Gazette). While it is admirable to allow fans of the series to become amateur authors, one gets the feeling that alot of the stories in these anthologies were given second treatment by an editor or just kept as fan fiction. Not to disparage any of the others, but the majority of the short stories seen in the anthologies seems to follow the formula of characters as mouthpieces to prove a moral, technological, or cultural point. That's fine and all, but without an interesting story to propel whatever plot the characters have to progress through, you're better off just writing a non-fiction technical piece instead. It'd be like a commercial that's trying to sell an idea as coming from the common person, but lays the delivery so thick as to turn the whole thing in to a caricature, but with no one laughing.
Some of the stories in Ring of Fire III were pretty interesting. The gem of the group was Mercedes Lackey's "Dye Another Day". Maybe it's because she's a well experienced published author, but this first story in the book had the right balance of humor, character, and plot to make it an enjoyable read. Sadly, none of the other stories come as close to creating a well balanced story. Some might have an interesting plot, but suffered from a plethora of unmemorable characters; others might have interesting characters but were in plots so convoluted as to dilute their impact. And then there were some that just plain stank as the characters were just faceless window dressing to belch out dialogue to advance a sequence of events that could hardly be called a plot.
Then there's Eric Flint's contribution. The last story of the anthology, "Four Days on the Danube" is basically a semi-sequel to the book "1636: The Saxon Uprising", and acts as the lead-in for an eventual sequel to this storyarc of the series. Being the work by the creator of the Ring of Fire/1632 series, one can be forgiven to have somewhat high expectations that this story might somewhat redeem the reader's efforts for reaching the end of this book. Unfortunately, although the second half of the story was pretty interesting, it wasn't helped by the fact that character moments in the first half of the book seems to go off on tangents that at times effectively put the brakes on any momentum from the plot, a problem Eric Flint seem to have from time to time.
Ostentatiously written as a way to give story to behind the scenes and also to branch the series off into other directions, it's no secret by now that strength of story nor interesting characters is in abundant quality in both anthology series (Ring of Fire, Grantville Gazette). While it is admirable to allow fans of the series to become amateur authors, one gets the feeling that alot of the stories in these anthologies were given second treatment by an editor or just kept as fan fiction. Not to disparage any of the others, but the majority of the short stories seen in the anthologies seems to follow the formula of characters as mouthpieces to prove a moral, technological, or cultural point. That's fine and all, but without an interesting story to propel whatever plot the characters have to progress through, you're better off just writing a non-fiction technical piece instead. It'd be like a commercial that's trying to sell an idea as coming from the common person, but lays the delivery so thick as to turn the whole thing in to a caricature, but with no one laughing.
November 1, 2024
This is another of the anthologies that I originally started reading and got stuck on, and which subsequently spent the next several years sitting on my desk, waiting for me to get back to it. I finally got tired of having it sitting around and resumed reading.
This series of anthologies originally came from the brainstorming that Eric Flint's fans did on Baen's Bar in the wake of the wild success of the original Ring of Fire novel, 1632. Scenarios became bits of narrative prose, and after some discussion, Jim Baen decided to follow the model of the Man-Kzin Wars anthologies in Larry Niven's Known Space 'verse -- but with one huge difference: the writers were not hand-picked professional authors.
Of course the necessities of the publishing business meant that some of the stories in the original volume would be by well-known pros in the industry, in order to have the drawing power to make sure people who weren't already fans would buy the book. But as time went by and the Ring of Fire 'verse developed a broad fan base that would buy anything he wrote, it became less necessary to recruit big names -- and more than a few of the fan writers from the first anthology were developing their own names as professionals.
Mercedes Lackey is probably the biggest name, coming back with another story of her hippie chemist Tom Stone. Now he's in Prague in "Dye Another Day," which as the title suggests, involves more than a little spying and subterfuge. (And the characters she created have appeared in several of the novels).
Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett are among the fan writers who've had professional careers take off, doing several collaborative novels in the Ring of Fire 'verse, dealing with side-stories in various countries, as uptime knowledge ripples outward from Grantville, sometimes directly, sometimes second and third hand. "Royal Dutch Airlines" takes a look at some of the knock-on and knock-off effects of the events in 1634: The Bavarian Crisis.
The last two works are particularly interesting. Charles E. Gannon's "Upward Mobility" is about a downtimer who decides that, if airplanes are too difficult to build from downtime materials, why not try to build airships. And it is followed by Eric Flint's own novella "Four Days on the Danube," which features airships as a critical component of the desperate effort to deal with a Bavarian regiment that has run wild.
On the whole it's an excellent extension and expansion of the Ring of Fire 'verse, which has become the work of many hands. Sadly, now that Eric Flint is no longer with us, it seems likely that there will not be many more of these books, beyond what was already in the pipeline at that time.
This series of anthologies originally came from the brainstorming that Eric Flint's fans did on Baen's Bar in the wake of the wild success of the original Ring of Fire novel, 1632. Scenarios became bits of narrative prose, and after some discussion, Jim Baen decided to follow the model of the Man-Kzin Wars anthologies in Larry Niven's Known Space 'verse -- but with one huge difference: the writers were not hand-picked professional authors.
Of course the necessities of the publishing business meant that some of the stories in the original volume would be by well-known pros in the industry, in order to have the drawing power to make sure people who weren't already fans would buy the book. But as time went by and the Ring of Fire 'verse developed a broad fan base that would buy anything he wrote, it became less necessary to recruit big names -- and more than a few of the fan writers from the first anthology were developing their own names as professionals.
Mercedes Lackey is probably the biggest name, coming back with another story of her hippie chemist Tom Stone. Now he's in Prague in "Dye Another Day," which as the title suggests, involves more than a little spying and subterfuge. (And the characters she created have appeared in several of the novels).
Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett are among the fan writers who've had professional careers take off, doing several collaborative novels in the Ring of Fire 'verse, dealing with side-stories in various countries, as uptime knowledge ripples outward from Grantville, sometimes directly, sometimes second and third hand. "Royal Dutch Airlines" takes a look at some of the knock-on and knock-off effects of the events in 1634: The Bavarian Crisis.
The last two works are particularly interesting. Charles E. Gannon's "Upward Mobility" is about a downtimer who decides that, if airplanes are too difficult to build from downtime materials, why not try to build airships. And it is followed by Eric Flint's own novella "Four Days on the Danube," which features airships as a critical component of the desperate effort to deal with a Bavarian regiment that has run wild.
On the whole it's an excellent extension and expansion of the Ring of Fire 'verse, which has become the work of many hands. Sadly, now that Eric Flint is no longer with us, it seems likely that there will not be many more of these books, beyond what was already in the pipeline at that time.
June 22, 2017
Great selection of short fiction set in the 1632 universe, especially the novella telling the tale of Tom and Rita Simpson during the Bavarian raid on Ingolstadt. Even the tale by Virginia DeMarce, who can be tedious in her historical facts, was an important bit of background to larger events.
I'm still a big fan of this universe, partly because the regular folks and their reactions are such a big part of the stories being told. This volume also takes us into other parts of the world, and I look forward to the ripples the ROF caused in events in Asia and America...
I'm still a big fan of this universe, partly because the regular folks and their reactions are such a big part of the stories being told. This volume also takes us into other parts of the world, and I look forward to the ripples the ROF caused in events in Asia and America...
November 12, 2017
This was a good follow up to the last two. Some major plot threads are taken care of and some new characters developed. A bunch of solid stories were in this one.
December 11, 2019
Ring 3
I enjoyed most of the book. There were a few spots that seemed a bit slow and tedious, but overall a pretty good read.
I enjoyed most of the book. There were a few spots that seemed a bit slow and tedious, but overall a pretty good read.
June 10, 2022
History as every day stuff
Superb writing by a range of history wide folk. Storylines firm. Characters quickly exhibited and as quickly defined. Love this series.
Superb writing by a range of history wide folk. Storylines firm. Characters quickly exhibited and as quickly defined. Love this series.
October 2, 2023
More details are always best!
So the story about the psychopath killer was thrilling. Always great about the dirigables and learning to fly. Great stories!
So the story about the psychopath killer was thrilling. Always great about the dirigables and learning to fly. Great stories!
July 10, 2011
The third RoF anthology was ok but because the universe of the series got too crowded with so many stories and side novels beyond the main storyline which is still excellent, and I was left very meh overall by it; not even the usually dependable main author (E Flint) novella contribution impressed me that much - the last 10 pages were very good but a lot of the rest was truly by the numbers prose i felt the author copy/pasted from other works and changed names and a little here and there. None of the rest of the stories stood out either though they were all readable.
The first anthologies had some great stuff that fit with the novels (Wallenstein, siege of Amsterdam etc) but could not be covered at length due to space consideration, here though...
As with the side novels I feel the saturation point has been reached and there simply are not enough interesting stories to tell- or maybe not enough good authors beside Mr. Flint to tell them - since now almost all the angles of the mix between the 21 century Americans and the native 17th century people - tech, social, religion, arts, media, politics... - have been explored and what remains is an odd new world where the story crawls at the snails pace of the main plot that only Mr. Flint develops (after 100's of stories including the Gazette and tons of novels we are still in 1636 essentially, so all is compressed in 5 years from the 1631 beginning of the original RoF event)
I am pretty sure this new world has tons of good stories and indeed it is fascinating to see what happens, but that is essentially the main storyline of Mr. Flint and as mentioned it is very slow going compared with the huge output of the rest of the writers...
Bring new mainline novels and stories out, cherry pick several side stories and forget about the rest and I think the series would be much stronger for it
The first anthologies had some great stuff that fit with the novels (Wallenstein, siege of Amsterdam etc) but could not be covered at length due to space consideration, here though...
As with the side novels I feel the saturation point has been reached and there simply are not enough interesting stories to tell- or maybe not enough good authors beside Mr. Flint to tell them - since now almost all the angles of the mix between the 21 century Americans and the native 17th century people - tech, social, religion, arts, media, politics... - have been explored and what remains is an odd new world where the story crawls at the snails pace of the main plot that only Mr. Flint develops (after 100's of stories including the Gazette and tons of novels we are still in 1636 essentially, so all is compressed in 5 years from the 1631 beginning of the original RoF event)
I am pretty sure this new world has tons of good stories and indeed it is fascinating to see what happens, but that is essentially the main storyline of Mr. Flint and as mentioned it is very slow going compared with the huge output of the rest of the writers...
Bring new mainline novels and stories out, cherry pick several side stories and forget about the rest and I think the series would be much stronger for it
June 2, 2012
From the Preface of Ring of Fire III:
In one way or another, all of the stories in this volume open up or further develop various themes in the 1632 series.
Flint's short novel (“Four Days on the Danube”) provides the sub-plot hinted at in 1636: The Saxon Uprising and serves as a bridge to the next novel in the series centered on Mike Stearns.
Chuck Gannon’s story “Upward Mobility” comes just before Flint's because it provides some of the background for my story.
Mercedes Lackey’s story “Dye Another Day” lays some of the basis for a novel she and Flint will be writing later in the series.
Walter Hunt’s story “Les Ailes du Papillon” is connected to a novel that he and Flint are working on at the moment. And, as with Chuck Gannon’s other story, “Birds of a Feather,” it starts to bring the New World into the series.
Panteleimon Roberts’ “Mir Arash Khan” and Kim Mackey’s “Salonica” do the same thing for the Ottoman Empire, which will also come to play a prominent role in the series as time goes on.
The Far East has so far been almost completely absent in the 1632 series. Garrett Vance’s “All God’s Children in the Burning East” begins to change that situation. Other stories develop the series in still different ways. Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett’s “Royal Dutch Airlines” illustrates the ongoing development of air travel—as does Gannon’s “Upward Mobility.” David Carrico’s “Sweet Strings” continues his exploration of the impact of the Ring of Fire on music—and, at least indirectly, helps lay some of the basis for a novel he and Flint are writing entitled 1636: Symphony for the Devil. Aspects of Jewish history have been an important part of the series since the very beginning. Tim Roesch’s “Falser Messiah” continues in that tradition.
In one way or another, all of the stories in this volume open up or further develop various themes in the 1632 series.
Flint's short novel (“Four Days on the Danube”) provides the sub-plot hinted at in 1636: The Saxon Uprising and serves as a bridge to the next novel in the series centered on Mike Stearns.
Chuck Gannon’s story “Upward Mobility” comes just before Flint's because it provides some of the background for my story.
Mercedes Lackey’s story “Dye Another Day” lays some of the basis for a novel she and Flint will be writing later in the series.
Walter Hunt’s story “Les Ailes du Papillon” is connected to a novel that he and Flint are working on at the moment. And, as with Chuck Gannon’s other story, “Birds of a Feather,” it starts to bring the New World into the series.
Panteleimon Roberts’ “Mir Arash Khan” and Kim Mackey’s “Salonica” do the same thing for the Ottoman Empire, which will also come to play a prominent role in the series as time goes on.
The Far East has so far been almost completely absent in the 1632 series. Garrett Vance’s “All God’s Children in the Burning East” begins to change that situation. Other stories develop the series in still different ways. Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett’s “Royal Dutch Airlines” illustrates the ongoing development of air travel—as does Gannon’s “Upward Mobility.” David Carrico’s “Sweet Strings” continues his exploration of the impact of the Ring of Fire on music—and, at least indirectly, helps lay some of the basis for a novel he and Flint are writing entitled 1636: Symphony for the Devil. Aspects of Jewish history have been an important part of the series since the very beginning. Tim Roesch’s “Falser Messiah” continues in that tradition.
October 20, 2011
I have been in love with this series for 10 years now and look forward to every new book.
Now that I got that love thing out of the way I can tell you that there are 21 short(mostly) stories in the volume. Most are a whole lot of fun and some are a little off for my taste. With alternative history there is always the chance for some startling changes for real life characters we are all familiar with. The one with Milton was one of my favorite and surely rolls with what can happen when the time line is being messed with. Another fun story was the "Sound of Sweet Strings: a Serenade in One movement". I thought that the story takes the banjo to great heights when in the 1600' it becomes a classical instrument when introduced to the right people. Can you imagine that!!!
The thing about including all the different writers is that it goes in directions that you can see and can't. The world gets fleshed out but only by staying within the rules of this world.
Now that I got that love thing out of the way I can tell you that there are 21 short(mostly) stories in the volume. Most are a whole lot of fun and some are a little off for my taste. With alternative history there is always the chance for some startling changes for real life characters we are all familiar with. The one with Milton was one of my favorite and surely rolls with what can happen when the time line is being messed with. Another fun story was the "Sound of Sweet Strings: a Serenade in One movement". I thought that the story takes the banjo to great heights when in the 1600' it becomes a classical instrument when introduced to the right people. Can you imagine that!!!
The thing about including all the different writers is that it goes in directions that you can see and can't. The world gets fleshed out but only by staying within the rules of this world.
August 29, 2023
A collection of stories set in the 1632/Ring of Fire universe. Some of the stories were just about other places and people and their experiences with the consequences of Grantville’s appearance and influence. I like David Carrico’s story about the lutist, Giouan Batista Veraldi, and his desire to learn the banjo - priceless. The introduction of archeology digs; optometry and the saving grace of eyeglasses; more about Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar and Claudia, the Grand Duchess of Tyrol; and the story that gives the origins of Don Esteban Micro and how he got started with airships. The longest story concerns what happen to Tom and Rita Simpson after the Bavarians attacked Ingolstadt.
February 7, 2012
Another excellent entry to the 'Ring of Fire' canon. Stories from established authors like Eric Flint and Mercedes Lackey are supported by entries from less well known authors.
If you were given the chance to read all the work you would write in the future, what would you do. This is the dilemma facing John Milton in Mark Huston's 'Milton's Choice'. Arrest on the orders of King Charles he is given the chance to read all his fututre work and asked to re-write two works critical of the King, or face execution. What would you do? Read the book to find out what Milton decided.
If you were given the chance to read all the work you would write in the future, what would you do. This is the dilemma facing John Milton in Mark Huston's 'Milton's Choice'. Arrest on the orders of King Charles he is given the chance to read all his fututre work and asked to re-write two works critical of the King, or face execution. What would you do? Read the book to find out what Milton decided.
October 27, 2012
The continuing saga of Grantville. The Ring of Fire books (those with that title, not the series) are more connected than the Gazettes, but not as connected as, say, The Ram Rebellion. Some of the stories were good, and some of them were very good. I definitely enjoy this series, though my enjoyment has definitely morphed. Originally, it was the problem of survival in a time displacement; now, it is clear that the town is here to stay, and its a question of how will history change as a result of them being there, and the knowledge they bring with them.
July 23, 2011
Just started this book other than the first story it been very weak. Hopfully it well inprove as it goes along. There are some good storys in this book. Over all I gave it only 3 stars and very weak 3 stars. This book was not nearly as good as the early ones. Many of the stories did not grab you as the earlier books in the Ring of Fire did.
October 16, 2015
Wonderful!
Except for about 25 missing pages. I've sent the book back to the seller since the manufacturer has not replied.
I've been buying books since the second grade, maybe forty-six years now, and this is the first really defective book I've ever bought out of my library of over three thousand books. That's not too bad an average I think.
Except for about 25 missing pages. I've sent the book back to the seller since the manufacturer has not replied.
I've been buying books since the second grade, maybe forty-six years now, and this is the first really defective book I've ever bought out of my library of over three thousand books. That's not too bad an average I think.
July 25, 2011
This a collection of short stories by top writers based on characters and events from the 1632 novel. All good, some better than others and n Eric's forward,it looks like there is plenty more to come as the new Grantville changed history expands to the far east and the Americas.
January 30, 2012
I love the Ring of Fire universe but I found the short stories in this book to be more uneven than in the previous Ring of Fire anthologies. This felt more like a Grantville Gazette book than a Ring of Fire.
May 21, 2012
Though the multitude of characters is often bewildering in this series, this volume contains several excellent short stories that are largely tied together. It was enjoyable, and could even be enjoyed independently of other books in the series.
April 22, 2015
A very good update on lots of our characters.
This world is moving very fast.
I like what I see.
The change of European historty is begining to show effects in other places around the world.
I like it!
Watch the skies above. Technology is coming.
This world is moving very fast.
I like what I see.
The change of European historty is begining to show effects in other places around the world.
I like it!
Watch the skies above. Technology is coming.
Read
July 14, 2011Good collection.One story involving airships is great.This is still occuring around the 30 years War but there are changes.
April 25, 2012
A solid book for this series and much better than the Grantville Gazette book. A lot of prologue for other novels and a good Eric Flint piece.
November 3, 2012
An excellent example of the second contemporary series that seems to defy degradation with extension.
December 10, 2012
A collection of tales set in the 1632 universe that fill in gaps in the main storyline. The last tale is crucial in filling in details in the sideshow that is Bohemia. Enjoy at your own risk.
August 21, 2015
some of the stories were absolutely great, and
March 10, 2015
I read this book when it came out in 2011, and in context with the series, it was pretty good. Now, there are maybe three stories that are still good. The rest are... meh. Not bad, just boring.
August 22, 2017
VEry good stories. I am amazed at how much I enjoy these books,
January 29, 2016
A collection of short stories. Too many of them were uninteresting to me.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews