1636: Seas of Fortune

Assiti Shards #20

by Iver P. Cooper

A new addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a place for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, the up-timers and their allies take on continental America and the Japan!A cosmic catastrophe, the Ring of Fire, strands the West Virginia town of Grantville in the middle of Europe during the Thirty Years War. The repercussions of that event transform Europe and, in a few years, begin spreading across the world. By 1636, the Ring of Fire's impact is felt across two great oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific.Stretching The United States of Europe seeks out resources -- oil, rubber and even aluminum ore -- to help it wage war against the foes of freedom. Daring pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony on the Wild Coast of South America. The colonists hope that with the up-timers' support and knowledge they can prosper in the tropics without resort to Indian and African slavery. Then a slave ship visits the colony, seeking water.... and the colonists must make a fateful choice.Rising In 1633, the wave of change emanating from the Ring of Fire reaches Japan. The Shogun is intrigued by samples of up-time technology, but it's a peek at what fate had in store for Japan in the old time line that has the greatest impact -- setting events in motion whose tremors are felt thousands of miles away and for years to come, as Japan pulls back from a policy of isolation and stakes out its own claim in the brave new world created by the Ring.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).About Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire “This alternate history series is…a landmark…”—Booklist“[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist“…reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis…”—Publishers WeeklyIver Cooper has been an active contributor to Eric Flint's Ring of Fire universe, with 22 short stories and 40 articles published so far in the online Grantville Gazette, and another short story in the hardcover anthology Ring of Fire II. Cooper is an intellectual property law attorney with Browdy & Neimark, Washington DC. He has received legal writing awards from the American Patent Law Association, the U.S. Trademark Association, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and is the sole author of Biotechnology and the Law, now in its twenty-something edition. In his spare time, he teaches swing and folk dancing, and participates in local photo club competitions. Cooper is married with a son and daughter.

Genres: Alternate History, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure

573 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2013

Reviews

[Debrac2014 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Caribbean/South American stories, but I lost interest while reading the Rising Sun and didn't finish!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

2018 re-read: A series of somewhat related short stories. As such, they are less engrossing than a full novel, but still enjoyable.

[Amyiw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is going for a 2 even though it started as a 4. It just drags and then doesn't really go anywhere though has a new set of characters and there life and how the knowledge is now changing many of the ways some of the people think and react. How do you release a bunch of slaves in a captured boat that are not completely peaceful and of different tribes, all while trying to create a new society that is based on a combination of current and future beliefs. Many of the beliefs coming from the old world and some from native tribes and then others from different factions of religions of Europe. It was interesting enough but drags a lot in places. And then it changes to a completely different place from Amazon to Japan and the Japan drags from the beginning with only the leaders there and how they discover what there isolation does, yet the leader have a want to keep their control (as always) still it doesn't keep my attention well and 1/2 way through I'm ready to throw in the towel.

I read 3/4 of the book, which really is two books in one as they don't overlap, at least not yet and I doubt other than the knowledge of the future, the characters, not the same at all. Should have been 2 books as I wouldn't have started the 2nd after finishing the first as I didn't really like the first part more than a tepid 3, bumped up from 2.75, and since I'm not finishing the second part, I'll leave that rating, even though I believe it would be lowered after Japan. It is no Shogun, or Tai Pan which both I loved.

[Michael Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent addition to the Ring of Fire series

Europe is where the Ring incident occurred and the main subject of the series. But what about the rest of the world. This is a collection of stories incorporating South America and Japan into the series. Well written and very enjoyable. Recommend.

[Joel Tone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it hard to connect with the characters.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seas of Fortune is a dual collection of short stories based on the Ring of Fire and its impact in populating the New World. The first group of stories is built around a USE colony created in Suriname. This colony is created to supply raw materials like oil, rubber, and bauxite (for aluminum) for the burgeoning industrial needs of the USE and her allies. But how will they deal with problems from the natives, the Spanish, English colonists, slavers (and the African warlike tribal mindset of recently liberated slaves), and such? Worse, a gold rush soon threatens to depopulate the local workforce in these other industries, and at the same time, how do you keep such a discovery under wraps and avoid a '49ers type gold rush upsetting the delicate balance of the colony?

Although some other reviewers complained of retcon going on, I felt it did a decent job of weaving itself around the events of Commander Cantrell. After all, that book takes place mainly on Trinidad and St Eustatius in the West Indies. This one is primarily inland in the jungles of Suriname and Guyana, South America. Only the geographically illiterate would insist these stories could never have happened if they weren't mentioned in that book.

The second set of stories presents a huge, unbelievable "what if?" What would have happened if Japan decided to exile the Christians to California rather than killing them all off in the mid-1600s as they did in our timeline? The author of these seems to know nothing of how such a colony would be possible, even less about ancient Japanese or Native American cultures on the Pacific from this time. And practically nothing of Japanese Christian culture from around the same time as Silence by Shusaku Endo (GREAT book btw) was written.

The first half of this book deserved a 4 stars. The second half... I will generously round up to 2. It was a chore to suffer through.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually two smaller books slapped together. The general theme is the world of 1632, but limited to The uptimers influence on Brazil (searching for oil/gold/rubber/aluminum) and on Japan and its move into California. In the 1600s it was difficult to track who owned what. If you showed up and could hold an area, it was yours until someone stronger showed up to take it from you.

The first part of the book is about the uptimers establishing a colony in South America. One of the characters is a Sephardic Jew and that makes sense since the first synagogue in the New World was a Sephardic synagogue established in what is now Brazil. That synagogue moved to North America when the Portuguese became too insistent that the Jews convert to Christianity. The story itself is about a man in debt who escapes with his freed slave (now his friend). In those days if you owed money the debtors could capture your freed slaves and place them under slavery again to collect your debt. (It was a heck of a world back then. Wasn't it?) People also found they could pan for gold in South America. The rumors of El Dorado stirred up a lot of gold seekers, and unsavory characters.

The Japanese story dealt with the idea of Japanese Shoguns sending out Samurai to establish colonies in California, mostly to look for gold and other valuable metals but also to establish rice farms. (Yeah. rice farms in California. Not likely. But what did they know?) They wanted rice (still do) and looked for likely prospects.

Overall, I liked the book, but I really couldn't get involved with the characters.

I might read this book again as part of reading the series again.

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another of the volumes in the Ring of Fire series that are collections of short stories by a single junior author, dealing with events on the periphery of the 'verse and dealing entirely with characters created by that author. As a result, Eric Flint's name does not appear on the cover -- which can make it difficult to find it in a library catalog.

Quite honestly, I enjoyed the second half better than the first. The first, which deals with an attempt to establish rubber production in South America by the USE, is well-written, but just never quite clicked with me. By contrast, the stories about a Japanese attempt to colonize California and the Pacific Northwest were fascinating. I loved the idea of the Tokugawa Shogunate deciding to solve their Secret Christian problem by exiling them to the colonies, much as England did with its Calvinists in the Primary World. Quite honestly, I'd love to read more stories about how the Japanese colonies develop over subsequent years in the Ring of Fire 'verse, whether they make connection with the English and French colonies on the Atlantic side of the continent or the Spanish missions further south in California, etc.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two separate stories in one volume.

The first tale follows Maria Vost, a downtime artist/plant illustrator/would-be plant discoverer as she accompanies a Dutch sea captain who is planting a colony on the northern coast of South America. Plenty of action, jungle exploration, and even a bit of romance.

The second tale follows the colonization of New Nippon on the California coast by exiled kirishitan Japanese. Interesting look at the possible interactions of Japanese culture and West Coast native tribes. It will be interesting to see what the author does with these titles in the future.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sideline set of novellas

The first part of the book was much easier to follow as it was set in the Caribbean and had more relatable characters and settings.

Perhaps the problem I had with the last half of the book was simply my lack of knowledge about Japanese history and culture. Some of the description confused me more than it helped, and while I am glad I read the book, the California settlement doesn't have the same appeal to me as the European or even the Caribbean tales.

Luckily, the next book in the ROF universe is set in more familiar geography...

[LinHigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Americans become part of the stories.

Can the south Americans keep from dieing of yellow fever? can the rice fields of the Sacramento feed the world? Will the blood sucking bugs drain the life out of all before any rice is planted? I have traveled to the Sacramento delta and Mosketoes are a force to be reaconed with.

[Marilyn Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good add to the alternative history saga of ring of fire series. It's two main sections, one on the Caribbean, but not part of the Eddie Cantril saga. The other section is interwoven short stories on Japan settling the west coast. Interesting and fun.

[Teresa O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has on of my favorite real historical people

The second half of the book brings Date Masamune into the ring of fire universe and is quite interesting. The first half isn't bad either

[Michael D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pay Heed…

… This book is not a cohesive story, but several stories, with ties to a lot more. Some may not like it as much as others in this series. However, the remains well written, adventurous, and enjoyable. It IS worthy of the rest of the series.

[Luci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun jaunt to other places in the 1632 universe. It was cool to see what else was going on outside of Germany.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The citizens of Grantville voyage to South America and Japan.

[John Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Caribbean half of this far more than the Californian/Japanese section. Both pieces were well written and interesting - I just have less interest in the far east.

[Daniel Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine but it's just so separated from the rest...

[Paul Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read

Better then average exposition of the impact on Japanese society and politics of the Ring of Fire moving beyond Europe

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed Eric Flint's 1632 series (even most of the side-arc books) as he (and his army of co-authors) puts an amazing amount of thought into the concept and has developed the story in interesting and unexpected directions while also keeping his stories entertaining. In most respects, Iver Cooper's Seas of Fortune manages to succeed at following in Flint's established formula. The book is notable mainly for being the first in the extensive series to actually take the action to the western hemisphere as Cooper tells the stories of two colonial efforts in the Americas, both brought about by the Ring of Fire. The first story, Stretching Out, tells of a colony established (under the USE flag) by a mix of Germans and Dutch (with Up-Timer assistance) in modern day Suriname, hoping to farm for rubber and mine bauxite (to make aluminum) to fuel the on-going industrial/technical revolution in Europe. Cooper manages to craft an interesting tale about the difficulties keeping colonists focused on useful tasks (rather than gold-hunting), the strange relationship between colony-founding and privateering, and the difficulty of colonizing without slaves (and the complexities of tribal politics among slaves). It's an interesting concept, it has some technological candy to keep things fresh, and the main characters (a Dutch sea captain/privateer, a Dutch female botanist/artist, an Up-Time teen looking for a place to belong, a Portuguese secret Jew from Brazil and his freed slave adoptive brother) are likeable and intriguing. If Seas of Fortune had been just a longer novelization of Stretching Out, I'd undoubtedly have given the book 4 stars and while not as good as 1636: the Devil's Opera, I'd consider it one of the better side-stories. The second half of the book, however, was less impressive.

In Rising Sun, Cooper tells the story of a Japanese effort to establish a colony on the American west coast, deporting Japanese Christians for that purpose (with the promise of freedom of religion in the new land). The point of this colony is to avert a bloody rebellion by Japanese Christians and Ronin (angry at Tokugawa policies) not long thereafter (in our timeline) and to give the shogunate the mineral resources necessary to compete with China and the European powers. There are a number of problems with Rising Sun. For one, the lack of Up-Time characters (or technology) makes the story less, well... exotic than is normal for the series. For another, not much really happens in the story: the Japanese test out some Up-Time knowledge given to them by the Dutch (in order to win points against their Portuguese trading rivals), they decide to send Christians to America to solve a number of problems, and the colony settles in with only minor difficulties. The most interesting plot twist is the Japanese conquest of the Philippines, which happens entirely off-page (especially as one has to wonder if this would've been within the abilities of Japan ca. 1634 given their lack of a Navy and their only experience with "overseas" military operations were rather underwhelming efforts to conquer Korea). Otherwise the Japanese colony has a shockingly easy time of it (particularly considering how little the Japanese knew of long distance colonization in the 17th century). There's suggestion of eventual clashes with the Homeland as New Nippon grows and considerable discussion of strife with the Spaniards of New Spain (aka Mexico) but nothing happens with regard to either. Lastly, Rising Sun suffers from an over-abundance of characters (there has to be at least 4 times as many main characters in Rising Sun than in Stretching Out and most of them aren't particularly memorable) and a lack of any really interesting protagonists (apart from the outcast tanner/bear-slayer, who is only in one chapter). All in all, Rising Sun has some interesting ideas but it isn't really particularly enjoyable for all that it's one of the more dramatic departures from history in the entire Ring of Fire series.

So, altogether 1636: Seas of Fortune was an interesting addition to the Ring of Fire meta-series, but not a must-read except (possibly) as a precursor to the coming Flint/Gannon collaboration, 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. As a reviewer I would have to say it is easier to read them in some form of chronological order and definitely begin with 1632 by Eric Flint 1632 . If History or alternate history interest you, you'll probably like them too!

[Sylvia McIvers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't think too hard. This book is fun like popcorn, you can't put it down, but don't overthink the plot.

There are 2 'braided' stories, one plot with a bunch of shorts featuring different narrators.
One centers around Brazil, Nicaragua, Surinam, and Delaware.
The other centers on /J/a/p/a/n/ Nippon & California. Maps!

The Good:
* When the slaves are freed, they are not instantly transformed into noble, misunderstood creatures. They have their culture and continue on this new shore. With mixed results :)
* Not every European is a Christian, thank you.
* When the Japanese Christians are exiled to new shores, there are interesting cultural conflicts within their own group(s) as well as with the local tribes.

The Bad:
* All the conflicts are solved, handy-dandy. Why is that bad? There seem to be no long-term issues between Native Americans and the newcomers. My suspension of disbelief wobbled.
* When Frauline Maria sighs that her brother is ruining the family property and undervaluing the work she does to keep it up (read, does not value at all), she never wonders if she could do the job better.
* From short story to short story, information is repeated and repeated. And sometimes information changes. The repeats are because the shorts were published separately, but why the changes?

The Double Take:
* The kayak story. Oh wow.
* The obligatory romances almost never end the way I expected.
* Frauline Maria realizes that the famous women naturalists will never be born, so she decides to Do Something about that.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has two parts: the first section is stories of Europeans influenced by the uptimers in the Caribbean and Suriname (and a limited story in Brazil). The second section is the Japanese colonization of California.

The first part was fairly interesting and a good contribution to the series. The second part read more like a history book - first this happened, then this happened, then this happened, etc. It could have been interesting but wasn't. There were also times where the author used colloquialisms that threw me out of the story. (Mention of an "early bird" made me try to figure out how a bird had done what was mentioned, before realizing it meant someone who had awoken early. Since the Japanese did not have direct contact with uptimers, it didn't make sense to have an American phrase used.) There were also too many references to something which had happened earlier (such as a character having lost his position in 1602) as if this were something that the reader should have known but was being reminded of. The Japanese portion of the book may be a useful contribution to the overall history, but reading about it was dull.

[Redsteve · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. While it did help advance the series and developed some previously neglected parts of the alternate history 17th Century world (South America, Japan, and the west coast of North America) it had little connection to the other books. Japan's changes caused by the Ring of Fire (altering their actions based on future histories) was interesting. Issues with slavery and relationships with indigenous peoples are important topics in these stories. Science/technology mining (gold, bauxite, and cinnabar), rubber tree cultivation, and lighter-than-air transports. A competent addition to the RoF books, but not great. 2.5 stars.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of connected tales from the 1632 series with adventures in the Caribbean and South America as a group of Dutch and others hope to start a colony on Caribbean coast and start tapping for Rubber and mining for Bauxite. The second tale deals with the Japan of the time and the rulers decision to send all the Christian into exile on the west coast of America. The politics of the time in Japan and the trial of setting up new settlements in the new world, searching for iron and gold, dealing with the Indians, being wary of a Spanish arrival and just the day to day trials of food and shelter at settlements along the California coast keep this an absorbing and interesting read.

[Frode · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it scattered. It is really a series of short stories with some characters crossing paths in multiple stories. It hops around way too much in my opinion, and some of the little sub-stories inserted here and there don't move the story forward and provide little if any help other than some color to the main story. The book itself is two separate groups of stories, and the Japanese-American one is loaded with terms and names that create lots of distractions unless you really want to know about all the social distinctions of 17th century Japan. This is one of the lesser lights in the series.

[Beau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two story lines offer lots of great food for thought. Europeans settling in South America, and Japanese settling in the Bay area. Both stories have interesting characters, lots of sailing, and the classic clash of cultures that are the basic diet of time travel stories.

When you have to wait for more Mike Stearns, it's always good to have a variant 1632 book. Plenty of action, and lots of opportunity to continue both story lines.

Does it seem to you like everyone but the Spanish is trying to get with it?

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to see the 1632 universe branching out to the western hemisphere. Stretching Out is a compilation and expansion of a series from the focused on the USE settlements in the Guianas of South America. The Rising Sun describes the settlement of 'California' by Christian Japanese exiles.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not within the mainstream canon of the Ring of Fire but introducing new charaters and expanding the horizons to show how the japanese responded to the changes.
By the end of the book the third fleet of Japanese exiles had arrived in California and the colony had receied on going support from Japan.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been cobbled together from several short stories and it shows. I do like the idea of the Japanese settling California and the Amazon episodes were OK as well. Nothing totally implausible, the 1632 crowd does good research and world-building. A good selection of shorts but not the best book to start reading in this series.