Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond Issue #10

by 1632 and Beyond

Tom Kidd's "Grantville Gumshoe in The Pre-enactor Murder" is a special treat. Tom takes a break from his Baen Books 1632 series cover artist duties to bring us a hard-boiled detective story, a murder case involving Grantville's Civil War re-enactors. Our hero is a self-made down-time gumshoe who learned his trade from up-time detective movies, novels, and magazines. Will he solve the murder and find the hidden time machine that brought Grantville to the past? Stay tuned!

A young widow is being forced to waste away in a convent only because she is an inconvenience to her cold-hearted in-laws. Can she be rescued by a couple of very eligible bachelors? Will the wedding bells ring? Find out in Virginia DeMarce's "Here or There?"!

Down-timer NESS security agent Astrid Schäubin encounters up-time Tejana horsewoman Alyse Ballantine. The two women from vastly different times and places strike up a friendship in Sarah Hays' "Driving Force."

A proud young samurai returns to the site of a deadly crime against his family and people seeking vengeance. His quest begins in Garrett W. Vance's "Our Man Hiuchi."

Edith Wild's "Come Dig My Earth" is the fifth installment in the saga of Amalia, a young girl who has suffered severe bullet wounds during a murderous home invasion. Now she is in surgery while an unlikely duo investigates alongside Grantville's law enforcement.

209 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2025

Reviews

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uneven quality of stories this issue. I did find interesting the Asperger Syndrome main character created by Tom Kidd. I suspect some readers found him hard to take and that does affect a person's willingness to keep reading. That is not surprising, but to be expected. Modern schoolteachers deal with students like this all the time. Why shouldn't Kit get to have his stories told too? I for one, want more stories about Kit, his friend Mackie and Kit's wife who must have great patience and love. "Driving Force" was another good story. "Our Man Hiuchi" was good but incomplete, so tell the next part in the future please. "Come Dig My Earth" was a difficult read not helped by my being interrupted multiple times while reading it. "Here or There" just didn't match the previous quality of the Paolo and Carlo stories. Anyways, this was a nice addition to the 1632 Universe.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall another good selection of stories. Some linked to previous tales and some new. The detective story has some good points but our young aspiring sleuth is delusional on several points. Hope no more with this character.

[LinHigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!

These bits and pieces are pleasant way to dip deeper into the 1632 stories. More excitement from the religious nuts with hateful bloodshed. Barbie is always good to hear about.

[Kevin K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middling anthology. I think I'm going to swear off EF&B Issues for awhile, they're cheap sure, but for this issue particularly, only one of the stories grabbed me.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

More great reading in the Ring of Fire.