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Ring of Fire Main Line Novels #6
1636: The Ottoman Onslaught (21)
Book #21 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. The uptimers and their allies take on the Ottoman Empire at its height of power.
The modern West Virginia town of Grantville has been displaced in time to continental Europe in 1632. Now four years have passed. The long-feared attack on Austria by the Ottoman Empire has begun. Armed with new weapons inspired by the time-displaced Americans of Grantville, the Turks are determined to do what they were unable to do in the universe the Americans came capture Vienna.
The Ottomans have the advantage of being able to study the failings and errors of their own campaigns in a future they can now avoid. They are led by the young, dynamic, and ruthless Murad IV, the most capable emperor the Ottomans have produced in a century. They are equipped with weapons that would have seemed fantastical to the Turks of that other airships, breech-loading rifles, rockets—even primitive tanks.
And this time they won’t have to face massive reinforcements from Austria’s allies. In fact, the only force Emperor Gustav Adolf can think of sending to Austria is the United States of Europe Third Division under the command of Mike Stearns. It’s an army currently engaged in a desperate struggle for Bavaria.
The emperors of the USE and Austria share the same problem. They have one too many enemies, one too few allies, and only one general to cover the gaps. Fortunately, that general is Mike Stearns, also known as the Prince of Germany.
About 1635: A Parcel of Rogues :
"The 20th volume in this popular, fast-paced alternative history series follows close on the heels of the events in The Baltic War , picking up with the protagonists in London, including sharpshooter Julie Sims. This time the 20th-century transplants are determined to prevent the rise of Oliver Cromwell and even have the support of King Charles."— Library Journal
About 1634: The Galileo Affair :
"A rich, complex alternate history with great characters and vivid action. A great read and an excellent book."— David Drake
"Gripping . . . depicted with power!"— Publishers Weekly
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 Weekly
The modern West Virginia town of Grantville has been displaced in time to continental Europe in 1632. Now four years have passed. The long-feared attack on Austria by the Ottoman Empire has begun. Armed with new weapons inspired by the time-displaced Americans of Grantville, the Turks are determined to do what they were unable to do in the universe the Americans came capture Vienna.
The Ottomans have the advantage of being able to study the failings and errors of their own campaigns in a future they can now avoid. They are led by the young, dynamic, and ruthless Murad IV, the most capable emperor the Ottomans have produced in a century. They are equipped with weapons that would have seemed fantastical to the Turks of that other airships, breech-loading rifles, rockets—even primitive tanks.
And this time they won’t have to face massive reinforcements from Austria’s allies. In fact, the only force Emperor Gustav Adolf can think of sending to Austria is the United States of Europe Third Division under the command of Mike Stearns. It’s an army currently engaged in a desperate struggle for Bavaria.
The emperors of the USE and Austria share the same problem. They have one too many enemies, one too few allies, and only one general to cover the gaps. Fortunately, that general is Mike Stearns, also known as the Prince of Germany.
About 1635: A Parcel of Rogues :
"The 20th volume in this popular, fast-paced alternative history series follows close on the heels of the events in The Baltic War , picking up with the protagonists in London, including sharpshooter Julie Sims. This time the 20th-century transplants are determined to prevent the rise of Oliver Cromwell and even have the support of King Charles."— Library Journal
About 1634: The Galileo Affair :
"A rich, complex alternate history with great characters and vivid action. A great read and an excellent book."— David Drake
"Gripping . . . depicted with power!"— Publishers Weekly
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 Weekly
592 pages, Hardcover
First published January 3, 2017
107 people are currently reading
382 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 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 21, 2017
I consider The Ring of Fire series by Eric Flint to be one of my guilty-pleasures. I find the whole premise, a bunch of plucky Americans changing the whole of 16th century life's ills from Antisemitism to Russian serfdom with the power of sheer determination, to be silly. I also think it's about as far from my usual preferences for dark morally ambiguous fantasy as you can.
Yet, goshdarnit, I can't put them down and pick up all of the main books as well as numerous side books. There's just something relentlessly charming about the damn things where true love conquers all and all the Renaissance world needs is a high school library.
Anywho, I picked this one up because I liked the premise of the Ottoman Empire beginning an invasion of Europe with their own reverse-engineered "Uptime" technology. Surprisingly, the actual invasion takes place mostly off-screen with only about half the book covering the conflict with the Sultan. The rest of the book deals with the invasion of Lower Silesia by Gretchen Ritcher's citizen militias as well as dealing with the finality of the war against Duke Maximilian.
For fans of the Ring of Fire series, Duke Maximilian is something of a non-starter as a villain as the ruler of Bavaria never actually became much of a threat to our heroes despite having a big set-up as one (due to the heroes spiriting away his historically unhappy bride to marry the King of the Netherlands). His resolution here feels like an anti-climax. The invasion of Lower Silesia is also somewhat questionable as it turns Gustavus Adolphus' unjustified invasion of Poland into a "just" war to defend the peasantry against the deprivation of evil mercenaries. Despite this, I'd rather have the heroes doing "good" rather than "evil".
I'm pleased Gretchen Ritcher plays such a big role in this book as she's one of my favorite characters since the series began and we get to see her evolve into not just a revolutionary firebrand but a nation-builder. I also loved the parts based around Josef the poor Polish spy who continually ends up helping the United States of Europe--even against his own country (though for his country).
The Ottoman Sultan gets a better treatment than I expected as it's shown their empire is a tyranny but a cosmopolitan one that many individuals are happy to serve. The number of Jews and Christians in the army is highlighted for example. Yes, he's trying to conquer Europe but that's what Gustavus Adolphus is trying to do and the only real difference between the two is our heroes are on Gustuv's side. So, I suppose this book actually subverts the "villain" treatment which most of our heroes' enemies possess.
A major part of the story is also the romance between an Archduke of the Hapsburg Empire with Millie, a Uptimer friendly woman he has decided to make his mistress. Their relationship starts off as very pragmatic but ultimately grows deeper when they're caught behind enemy lines. This is the sort of thing which the series excels at--romances are always front and center. I have to say I'm rooting for them.
So is it worth buying? Well, probably not as your first book. New readers could probably follow along pretty well but I'd suggest they start at the beginning. The books are a bunch of fluff but are highly readable entertaining fluff. This one is no exception.
Yet, goshdarnit, I can't put them down and pick up all of the main books as well as numerous side books. There's just something relentlessly charming about the damn things where true love conquers all and all the Renaissance world needs is a high school library.
Anywho, I picked this one up because I liked the premise of the Ottoman Empire beginning an invasion of Europe with their own reverse-engineered "Uptime" technology. Surprisingly, the actual invasion takes place mostly off-screen with only about half the book covering the conflict with the Sultan. The rest of the book deals with the invasion of Lower Silesia by Gretchen Ritcher's citizen militias as well as dealing with the finality of the war against Duke Maximilian.
For fans of the Ring of Fire series, Duke Maximilian is something of a non-starter as a villain as the ruler of Bavaria never actually became much of a threat to our heroes despite having a big set-up as one (due to the heroes spiriting away his historically unhappy bride to marry the King of the Netherlands). His resolution here feels like an anti-climax. The invasion of Lower Silesia is also somewhat questionable as it turns Gustavus Adolphus' unjustified invasion of Poland into a "just" war to defend the peasantry against the deprivation of evil mercenaries. Despite this, I'd rather have the heroes doing "good" rather than "evil".
I'm pleased Gretchen Ritcher plays such a big role in this book as she's one of my favorite characters since the series began and we get to see her evolve into not just a revolutionary firebrand but a nation-builder. I also loved the parts based around Josef the poor Polish spy who continually ends up helping the United States of Europe--even against his own country (though for his country).
The Ottoman Sultan gets a better treatment than I expected as it's shown their empire is a tyranny but a cosmopolitan one that many individuals are happy to serve. The number of Jews and Christians in the army is highlighted for example. Yes, he's trying to conquer Europe but that's what Gustavus Adolphus is trying to do and the only real difference between the two is our heroes are on Gustuv's side. So, I suppose this book actually subverts the "villain" treatment which most of our heroes' enemies possess.
A major part of the story is also the romance between an Archduke of the Hapsburg Empire with Millie, a Uptimer friendly woman he has decided to make his mistress. Their relationship starts off as very pragmatic but ultimately grows deeper when they're caught behind enemy lines. This is the sort of thing which the series excels at--romances are always front and center. I have to say I'm rooting for them.
So is it worth buying? Well, probably not as your first book. New readers could probably follow along pretty well but I'd suggest they start at the beginning. The books are a bunch of fluff but are highly readable entertaining fluff. This one is no exception.
August 31, 2017
I've always had one specific problem with this series - at least after the first two or three books - there are about a billion characters (give or take a million), and, while not all of them are in each book, enough of them are there presenting their own point of view that it gets super . . . . annoying to have one particular storyline start to get interesting, only to jump to twelve different POV's before getting back to that other one that was beginning to get interesting. Of course, by that point, I'm somewhat less than intrigued to find out more about that paused story-line.
A . . . well, no, not secondary. Another problem I have is the simple fact that there are these fat books filled with 'stuff', and we are way past 30 books by this point (title says 21, but there are both lots of side books, and, in addition, a ton of short story books) and yet the story started in 1632 and we have gotten, after 30+ books, to 1636. The vast majority of the time, inside the Germanies (or, at least, Central and Eastern Europe - a lot more central than eastern). Occasionally bouncing around in Italy, France, England, and other locations in Europe - once in the Americas. Basically, what I'm saying is that a ton of words have been written, and the series has barely gotten anywhere, nor travelled that far from it's starting location in the Germanies during the 30 years war.
An issue I had more with the side book that followed a cruise ship to ancient Greece, but one that I noticed here again - I do not mind, tremendously, if a story/series decided to be purely heterosexual in nature - or, I meant to say, seemingly asexual. But when so many story lines keep shoving people together, coupling up, etc., it gets tiresome to see m/f, m/f, m/f - man female over and over again. Again, this is a cast of billions. A cast of 10? 20? Sure, fine, 100% heterosexual stories. Whatever. But a cast of 100s? Yeah, some of those people are going to be something other than heterosexual. Again, I don't mind if 'nothing' gets seen that doesn't follow this pattern, if the series had only followed one or 8 people. Wait, no, I meant that plus - felt the need to include romance. I happily read any and everything, heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, asexual, aromantic, etc. etc., it's just that we are at book 30+ here . . .. Hell, there's rapes, there's jokes about 'even the pope screws around in this time period', and I believe we've even encountered a few eunchs, but no-one who wasn't 100% heterosexual.
Except - some of the 'uptime' youngsters are working at doing diplomatic stuff, political stuff, war stuff, in Vienna - and one of the people the uptimers 'work with', 'encounter' has a sister - who suddenly got thrust forward and became a character in her own right. Well, admittedly she started saying and showing signs that others have done before to 'mark' that they have a romantic interest in someone else in this series. It occurred once. And that individual was one of the female uptimers. But even though she was 'stuck' with that other woman for months in a dark cellar region - with the brother and another of the youngsters (not an uptimer but closely working with them), that romantic spark never showed itself again (meanwhile, in this small area, the other two people down there fuck like bunnies).
Right. Normally I'd have had something like 'character x does stuff, continues doing stuff, the end'. But, as noted, there's this massively large cast so I can't really do a 'this is the important person/these are the important people' thing.
Boiled down: The Germanies are continuing their unification under the hands of the Swedish king, and the 'American' uptimers. Both by expanding territory, and by political elections. Oh, and diplomacy and alliances. The Uptimer/Swedish entity is currently at war, in this book, with Poland and Bohemia. But, the book is called 'Ottoman Onslaught'! Yeah, eventually the Ottoman empire makes military advances against Austria-Hungry. Way later in the book than I'd expect for a book with that specific book title.
pfft. poor review.
Rating: 3.65
August 31 2017
A . . . well, no, not secondary. Another problem I have is the simple fact that there are these fat books filled with 'stuff', and we are way past 30 books by this point (title says 21, but there are both lots of side books, and, in addition, a ton of short story books) and yet the story started in 1632 and we have gotten, after 30+ books, to 1636. The vast majority of the time, inside the Germanies (or, at least, Central and Eastern Europe - a lot more central than eastern). Occasionally bouncing around in Italy, France, England, and other locations in Europe - once in the Americas. Basically, what I'm saying is that a ton of words have been written, and the series has barely gotten anywhere, nor travelled that far from it's starting location in the Germanies during the 30 years war.
An issue I had more with the side book that followed a cruise ship to ancient Greece, but one that I noticed here again - I do not mind, tremendously, if a story/series decided to be purely heterosexual in nature - or, I meant to say, seemingly asexual. But when so many story lines keep shoving people together, coupling up, etc., it gets tiresome to see m/f, m/f, m/f - man female over and over again. Again, this is a cast of billions. A cast of 10? 20? Sure, fine, 100% heterosexual stories. Whatever. But a cast of 100s? Yeah, some of those people are going to be something other than heterosexual. Again, I don't mind if 'nothing' gets seen that doesn't follow this pattern, if the series had only followed one or 8 people. Wait, no, I meant that plus - felt the need to include romance. I happily read any and everything, heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, asexual, aromantic, etc. etc., it's just that we are at book 30+ here . . .. Hell, there's rapes, there's jokes about 'even the pope screws around in this time period', and I believe we've even encountered a few eunchs, but no-one who wasn't 100% heterosexual.
Except - some of the 'uptime' youngsters are working at doing diplomatic stuff, political stuff, war stuff, in Vienna - and one of the people the uptimers 'work with', 'encounter' has a sister - who suddenly got thrust forward and became a character in her own right. Well, admittedly she started saying and showing signs that others have done before to 'mark' that they have a romantic interest in someone else in this series. It occurred once. And that individual was one of the female uptimers. But even though she was 'stuck' with that other woman for months in a dark cellar region - with the brother and another of the youngsters (not an uptimer but closely working with them), that romantic spark never showed itself again (meanwhile, in this small area, the other two people down there fuck like bunnies).
Right. Normally I'd have had something like 'character x does stuff, continues doing stuff, the end'. But, as noted, there's this massively large cast so I can't really do a 'this is the important person/these are the important people' thing.
Boiled down: The Germanies are continuing their unification under the hands of the Swedish king, and the 'American' uptimers. Both by expanding territory, and by political elections. Oh, and diplomacy and alliances. The Uptimer/Swedish entity is currently at war, in this book, with Poland and Bohemia. But, the book is called 'Ottoman Onslaught'! Yeah, eventually the Ottoman empire makes military advances against Austria-Hungry. Way later in the book than I'd expect for a book with that specific book title.
pfft. poor review.
Rating: 3.65
August 31 2017
March 30, 2019
The Ottoman Onslaught marks a welcome return to the main thread of the story of time-space displaced Americans, picking up where 1636: The Saxon Uprising left off 6 years ago. We've certainly had plenty of side novels and short stories to tide us over in the interim but it's good to be back to the main story where big world-shaking events are free to happen without undermining the established canon, and Flint certainly isn't afraid to make waves as once again the map of Europe shifts under the stresses of uptime knowledge and technology and downtime politics and religion.
Anyone who's been following the series for the last few books (or who reads the title) will not be surprised that the focus this time is on the Ottoman Empire's latest attempt to take Vienna. In our history the Ottomans made a number of attempts to take Vienna, which they saw as the key to conquering central Europe; however, thanks to poor planning and a couple rare moments of unified action by the Christian powers of Europe, they never quite pulled it off despite being the superpower of that era with a peerless Army and nearly limitless resources thanks to their vast superbly-organized and ruthlessly-governed Empire.
Unfortunately for Austria-Hungary, Murad IV, the new young sultan of the Ottoman Empire has read the histories and he's set out to rectify this historical anomaly. Murad has plotted in secret since the Ring of Fire and consolidated power while introducing and combat-testing a number of new weapons inspired by uptime knowledge. Now the time has finally come to launch his bold scheme.
In the meantime, the United States of Europe is recovering from the political chaos of Swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna's pseudo-coup with American-led political elements poised to win back control of the government thanks to the division of the reactionary and Crown-Loyalist political parties and the introduction of a number of new democratic provinces as well as Gustavus Adophus's tacit support as he adapts to his new limitations after his long convalescence. At the same time, the USE is still engaged in a pseudo-war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (largely because King Wadyslaw refuses to make peace) tying up the majority of its forces. As for General Mike Stearns and the USE Army's 3rd Division, they've been called upon to respond to a Bavarian attack across the Danube (launched with Oxenstierna's connivance) with Emperor Gustavus Adolphus's personal command to remove Duke Maximilian for good.
In Austria, rumors of the coming war are forcing changes on the reluctant Hapsburg court, forcing them to swallow their pride and seek friendship with the USE and Bohemia, their only practical allies against the Ottoman threat (France is in civil war, Spain is less interested in Catholic unity than it is in seeing the Austrian and Netherlands' Hapsburgs brought to heel in their war against the USE (even if the two are only actually fighting in the Caribbean at present), Poland's King is more interested in his dynastic squabbles with USE Emperor Gustavus Adolphus than in the threat of the Ottomans, and Russia is bitterly divided between pro-USE and pro-Ottoman factions, with the latter largely in control of the major cities). However, many Austrians are less than concerned by the threat due to their certainty that since (in our universe) the Ottomans failed in their next attempt to take Vienna, there's no chance they'd succeed by rushing the attack.
If you're a fan of the series (and if you're not, you really shouldn't be starting here), this book doesn't really come as a surprise. Many of the last few side novels have teased the coming Ottoman war (especially 1636: the Viennese Waltz) and most of the rest of its subplots are natural continuations of 1636: the Saxon Uprising. What is more surprising is that the actual Ottoman onslaught doesn't really start until half-way through the book while the majority of the story is focused on events in the USE, Saxony-Silesia, and Bavaria. That isn't to say that Flint holds back from the good stuff, but he takes his time setting things up and it pays off well as the book climaxes with the initial stages of the Ottoman war, though it must be noted that much like 1633 and 1635: the Eastern Front before it, this is JUST the initial stages of what is obviously a 2 or 3 book story arc and I can only hope we won't have to wait too long to find out how things turn out (please, please PLEASE! 1637: The Bloody Danube ETA 2018! Okay, I can dream anyway... (UPDATE (3/30/19): so... yeah, I didn't get any of that right, but HEY! It was only a 2 year wait, compared to the wait between the previous volume and this one, not bad...)).
All in all, despite being the better part of 2 decades old and incredibly extensive (by my count 26 novels, 11 short story anthologies, and a massive body of e-magazine content), the Ring of Fire series continues to be consistently entertaining and exciting and Eric Flint's writing here is as good as ever, with a well thought-out story with plenty of research and understanding of the sociopolitical and technical issues inherent in its premise though Flint never forgets that the point is to have fun, and his characters continue to be both entertaining and endearing. Bring on the next entry ASAP!
Anyone who's been following the series for the last few books (or who reads the title) will not be surprised that the focus this time is on the Ottoman Empire's latest attempt to take Vienna. In our history the Ottomans made a number of attempts to take Vienna, which they saw as the key to conquering central Europe; however, thanks to poor planning and a couple rare moments of unified action by the Christian powers of Europe, they never quite pulled it off despite being the superpower of that era with a peerless Army and nearly limitless resources thanks to their vast superbly-organized and ruthlessly-governed Empire.
Unfortunately for Austria-Hungary, Murad IV, the new young sultan of the Ottoman Empire has read the histories and he's set out to rectify this historical anomaly. Murad has plotted in secret since the Ring of Fire and consolidated power while introducing and combat-testing a number of new weapons inspired by uptime knowledge. Now the time has finally come to launch his bold scheme.
In the meantime, the United States of Europe is recovering from the political chaos of Swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna's pseudo-coup with American-led political elements poised to win back control of the government thanks to the division of the reactionary and Crown-Loyalist political parties and the introduction of a number of new democratic provinces as well as Gustavus Adophus's tacit support as he adapts to his new limitations after his long convalescence. At the same time, the USE is still engaged in a pseudo-war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (largely because King Wadyslaw refuses to make peace) tying up the majority of its forces. As for General Mike Stearns and the USE Army's 3rd Division, they've been called upon to respond to a Bavarian attack across the Danube (launched with Oxenstierna's connivance) with Emperor Gustavus Adolphus's personal command to remove Duke Maximilian for good.
In Austria, rumors of the coming war are forcing changes on the reluctant Hapsburg court, forcing them to swallow their pride and seek friendship with the USE and Bohemia, their only practical allies against the Ottoman threat (France is in civil war, Spain is less interested in Catholic unity than it is in seeing the Austrian and Netherlands' Hapsburgs brought to heel in their war against the USE (even if the two are only actually fighting in the Caribbean at present), Poland's King is more interested in his dynastic squabbles with USE Emperor Gustavus Adolphus than in the threat of the Ottomans, and Russia is bitterly divided between pro-USE and pro-Ottoman factions, with the latter largely in control of the major cities). However, many Austrians are less than concerned by the threat due to their certainty that since (in our universe) the Ottomans failed in their next attempt to take Vienna, there's no chance they'd succeed by rushing the attack.
If you're a fan of the series (and if you're not, you really shouldn't be starting here), this book doesn't really come as a surprise. Many of the last few side novels have teased the coming Ottoman war (especially 1636: the Viennese Waltz) and most of the rest of its subplots are natural continuations of 1636: the Saxon Uprising. What is more surprising is that the actual Ottoman onslaught doesn't really start until half-way through the book while the majority of the story is focused on events in the USE, Saxony-Silesia, and Bavaria. That isn't to say that Flint holds back from the good stuff, but he takes his time setting things up and it pays off well as the book climaxes with the initial stages of the Ottoman war, though it must be noted that much like 1633 and 1635: the Eastern Front before it, this is JUST the initial stages of what is obviously a 2 or 3 book story arc and I can only hope we won't have to wait too long to find out how things turn out (please, please PLEASE! 1637: The Bloody Danube ETA 2018! Okay, I can dream anyway... (UPDATE (3/30/19): so... yeah, I didn't get any of that right, but HEY! It was only a 2 year wait, compared to the wait between the previous volume and this one, not bad...)).
All in all, despite being the better part of 2 decades old and incredibly extensive (by my count 26 novels, 11 short story anthologies, and a massive body of e-magazine content), the Ring of Fire series continues to be consistently entertaining and exciting and Eric Flint's writing here is as good as ever, with a well thought-out story with plenty of research and understanding of the sociopolitical and technical issues inherent in its premise though Flint never forgets that the point is to have fun, and his characters continue to be both entertaining and endearing. Bring on the next entry ASAP!
March 31, 2018
Quite good, there were rather a few threads taking place in a few isolated areas, but Flint tied them together quite satisfactorily. 2018 re-read: I hope the wait isn't too long for the sequel good reading!
October 28, 2016
Još samo da nema tog cliffhangera na kraju....da je malo dulje...eh...
October 24, 2016
The ongoing Ring of Fire saga continues with the Ottoman invasion of Vienna, almost 50 years early. Uptimer history books show that the Ottomans were defeated when they invaded in 1683, so no one is worried. But Sultan Murad has a huge army and several new technologies that no one saw coming. And there are also wars and unrest going on in Poland, Saxony, Bavaria, and Bohemia.
By now there are a lot of continuing characters to carry various parts of the story. Flint handles them ably, both his originals and the ones invented by other writers in the series. The military action is well-done. Altogether, a solid entry in the ongoing series, as one would expect from Flint.
Recommended for fans of military fiction, historical fiction, and alternate history.
By now there are a lot of continuing characters to carry various parts of the story. Flint handles them ably, both his originals and the ones invented by other writers in the series. The military action is well-done. Altogether, a solid entry in the ongoing series, as one would expect from Flint.
Recommended for fans of military fiction, historical fiction, and alternate history.
October 15, 2021
The Ottomans attack and are defeated. Gretchen runs wild in Poland. Big wedding happens.
January 7, 2017
Solid read
Keeping it simple. The book is a nice continuation of the various big strands in the ring verse. While the romance was a little forced. The fact that the antagonist in the piece is not dumb and not a stereotype, a plus in my book.
Keeping it simple. The book is a nice continuation of the various big strands in the ring verse. While the romance was a little forced. The fact that the antagonist in the piece is not dumb and not a stereotype, a plus in my book.
February 16, 2017
Looks like the start of a new mini-arc, after reading some of the early ones for background, you can read this. Has a somewhat cliffhanger ending.
September 28, 2018
Very enjoyable! Gretchen, the Lady Protector of Lower Silesia! I wonder what Harry is up to!
March 28, 2024
I read this one a little bit out of order. The Eric Flint webpage has a "Novels in the Series" as well as a "Series Reading Order" list and I was looking at the wrong one when figuring out which book came next. I blame the small print from my phone's version of the page. (I really need to update my glasses perscription.)
Anyways, The Ottoman Onslaught is a part of the "Main Thread" series and so Mike Stearns is the main character for much of the book. At least, you would expect him to be. He takes a smaller role here than I thought he would have.
Everyone knows the Ottomans are going to make a push sooner or later. They were stopped at Vienna in 1529 and they were stopped again in the uptime histories in 1683. So most people are thinking, "No problem. We will just stop them once again." Problem. Thanks to Grantville, the Ottomans have knowledge of uptime technology. And since they are the biggest beurocracy with the biggest population and the most resources on the European playing field, they aren't quite the "Sick Man of Europe" they were already on the road to becoming in Uptime history. So they are bringing a fleet of derigibles and rockets and... stuff nobody knew or anticipated. The threat is real. And Europe isn't ready.
Anyways, The Ottoman Onslaught is a part of the "Main Thread" series and so Mike Stearns is the main character for much of the book. At least, you would expect him to be. He takes a smaller role here than I thought he would have.
Everyone knows the Ottomans are going to make a push sooner or later. They were stopped at Vienna in 1529 and they were stopped again in the uptime histories in 1683. So most people are thinking, "No problem. We will just stop them once again." Problem. Thanks to Grantville, the Ottomans have knowledge of uptime technology. And since they are the biggest beurocracy with the biggest population and the most resources on the European playing field, they aren't quite the "Sick Man of Europe" they were already on the road to becoming in Uptime history. So they are bringing a fleet of derigibles and rockets and... stuff nobody knew or anticipated. The threat is real. And Europe isn't ready.
May 2, 2019
I always want MORE, MORE, MORE. but since I waited to read this till the polish Maelstrom came out I'll get my wish. Great seeing main line Characters back in the fold. curious to see the prognostications of Mr. Flint. What's gonna happen who'd gonna die and will the whole collapse in on it's self. Doubtful the last one but I'd like to see the series reach out to ten years at least, to see the long term effects, and the short term affects. no spoilers, go read the book.
April 15, 2022
One of the better installments of a very entertaining series.
June 20, 2017
Eric Flint published 1632 in the year 2000. So I have been totally enjoying this alternate history series for the past 17 years!
There are many, many characters in this sprawling alternate history series. Some few of them are core canon characters, specifically the original gang featured in the first book. I had particularly enjoyed Mike & Rebecca's story in the first book. Many years seemed to go by and only occasionally would we see Mike or Rebecca in one of these books.
I had almost given up hope of seeing the core central gang again in one book. To my delight, they are all over 1636: the Ottoman Onslaught! This was such a terrific surprise for me! I had understood that we'd see Mike in his role as General Stearns but I had no idea that we'd get so many of the original core characters showing up in this book!
So this book is an especial treasure for me. I am also interested in reading about the adventure to India (and the Mughals), just as I enjoyed the adventure to Russia (and the Kremlin) and the adventure in the Caribbean, etc. I expect most of the characters in this next India book to be secondary, downtimer characters. But that is OK.
Another thing I particularly liked about the Ottoman book was that all of the uptimer-downtimer [that is, American-German/Polish/Hungarian, etc.] romances covered in the earlier books now are seen as established couples, including the two that get married at the end of the Ottoman book!
The Americans had two choices in 1631 when they realized that they were no longer in West Virginia [or even Kansas, as it were] but were in fact in central Germany during the Thirty Years' War and the "Little Ice Age" [Grantville was now at a considerably more northern latitude than before PLUS the climate, in general, was extra cold during this time period].
The choices were to bar the gates and try to make it on their own OR welcome their German neighbors [i.e. the downtimers] and in fact intermarry with them. Not only did they open their gates but they brought uptimer technology, political systems, engineering, etc. to their neighbors. By 1636, the United States of Europe was the largest/most powerful nation on the continent and was still growing!
Not only does Eric Flint not write ALL of the 1632 series books but there is now an entire community of established and beginning authors turning out these books! Some have even been written wholly by the new authors (after usually serving as co-author once or twice first). I'm always happy to see new writers become published authors, of course!
So, thanks, Eric Flint for bringing back the core group for 1636: the Ottoman Onslaught. Now I'm ready for some new characters to be introduced into the mix again with the India adventure!
There are many, many characters in this sprawling alternate history series. Some few of them are core canon characters, specifically the original gang featured in the first book. I had particularly enjoyed Mike & Rebecca's story in the first book. Many years seemed to go by and only occasionally would we see Mike or Rebecca in one of these books.
I had almost given up hope of seeing the core central gang again in one book. To my delight, they are all over 1636: the Ottoman Onslaught! This was such a terrific surprise for me! I had understood that we'd see Mike in his role as General Stearns but I had no idea that we'd get so many of the original core characters showing up in this book!
So this book is an especial treasure for me. I am also interested in reading about the adventure to India (and the Mughals), just as I enjoyed the adventure to Russia (and the Kremlin) and the adventure in the Caribbean, etc. I expect most of the characters in this next India book to be secondary, downtimer characters. But that is OK.
Another thing I particularly liked about the Ottoman book was that all of the uptimer-downtimer [that is, American-German/Polish/Hungarian, etc.] romances covered in the earlier books now are seen as established couples, including the two that get married at the end of the Ottoman book!
The Americans had two choices in 1631 when they realized that they were no longer in West Virginia [or even Kansas, as it were] but were in fact in central Germany during the Thirty Years' War and the "Little Ice Age" [Grantville was now at a considerably more northern latitude than before PLUS the climate, in general, was extra cold during this time period].
The choices were to bar the gates and try to make it on their own OR welcome their German neighbors [i.e. the downtimers] and in fact intermarry with them. Not only did they open their gates but they brought uptimer technology, political systems, engineering, etc. to their neighbors. By 1636, the United States of Europe was the largest/most powerful nation on the continent and was still growing!
Not only does Eric Flint not write ALL of the 1632 series books but there is now an entire community of established and beginning authors turning out these books! Some have even been written wholly by the new authors (after usually serving as co-author once or twice first). I'm always happy to see new writers become published authors, of course!
So, thanks, Eric Flint for bringing back the core group for 1636: the Ottoman Onslaught. Now I'm ready for some new characters to be introduced into the mix again with the India adventure!
March 19, 2024
3rd Reading - Need to catch up on the series (I'm more than a few books behind at this point), so I'm starting in with a re-read of the last two "Main Line" novels (this and 1637: The Polish Maelstrom). I've read to bring myself back up to speed. The 1632/Ring of Fire series is my favorite alternate history AND shared universe series, for all that its premise sounds completely stupid. The real history and alternate history are both excellent.
Classic Ring of Fire: big battles, little battles, politics, intrigue, religion. and 20th/17th Century technology.
2nd Reading 2019 (needed to bring myself up to speed before starting 1637: The Polish Maelstrom). Despite the title, while war with the Ottoman Empire is not the most important conflict involved, more than half of this novel is devoted to other issues: war in Bavaria against Duke Maximilian, war in Lower Silesia against mercenary General Holk (both of which are more-or-less "clean-ups" of earlier plots), politics/elections in the USE, and development of next generation airships. In the first half of the book, war with the Turks is mentioned less than the ongoing war between the USE/Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Conflict with the Ottoman Empire only becomes key to the story in the last third of the book, as the armies of Murad IV invade the Austria-Hungarian Empire and lay siege to Vienna. Flint's treatment of the Ottomans is interesting on several levels. Even though He's shaping up to be the main antagonist of this arc, Emperor Murad is not presented as a two-dimensional villain. Definitely an autocrat with little sympathy for the uptime ideas (freedom of religion, representative government) espoused by Grantville, but not a monster. Also, the Ottoman Empire appears to be the first government that has successfully developed uptime technology without hiring any uptime consultants.
WARNING: Do not read this as your first (or even second/third/etc.) book of the series. The alternate history of the RoF Universe is VERY complicated at this point (5 years after the events of the first book), with many important characters and deviations from our timeline, and RoF is not one of those series where the later books spend a lot of text getting the reader caught up with previous events. There are a number of orders that you can read this series: in the order that the books were published, chronologically (which can be problematic as there is more than a little overlap), or by "thread". For a list of threads (and more generally about the series, see this Wikipedia article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_se...
Classic Ring of Fire: big battles, little battles, politics, intrigue, religion. and 20th/17th Century technology.
2nd Reading 2019 (needed to bring myself up to speed before starting 1637: The Polish Maelstrom). Despite the title, while war with the Ottoman Empire is not the most important conflict involved, more than half of this novel is devoted to other issues: war in Bavaria against Duke Maximilian, war in Lower Silesia against mercenary General Holk (both of which are more-or-less "clean-ups" of earlier plots), politics/elections in the USE, and development of next generation airships. In the first half of the book, war with the Turks is mentioned less than the ongoing war between the USE/Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Conflict with the Ottoman Empire only becomes key to the story in the last third of the book, as the armies of Murad IV invade the Austria-Hungarian Empire and lay siege to Vienna. Flint's treatment of the Ottomans is interesting on several levels. Even though He's shaping up to be the main antagonist of this arc, Emperor Murad is not presented as a two-dimensional villain. Definitely an autocrat with little sympathy for the uptime ideas (freedom of religion, representative government) espoused by Grantville, but not a monster. Also, the Ottoman Empire appears to be the first government that has successfully developed uptime technology without hiring any uptime consultants.
WARNING: Do not read this as your first (or even second/third/etc.) book of the series. The alternate history of the RoF Universe is VERY complicated at this point (5 years after the events of the first book), with many important characters and deviations from our timeline, and RoF is not one of those series where the later books spend a lot of text getting the reader caught up with previous events. There are a number of orders that you can read this series: in the order that the books were published, chronologically (which can be problematic as there is more than a little overlap), or by "thread". For a list of threads (and more generally about the series, see this Wikipedia article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_se...
January 3, 2021
I didn't realize that this book was part of a series when I bought it. It was my final pandemic read - the libraries were closed, so I read books that we had around the house. This was on my son's shelf - I bought him several books a couple of Christmases ago hoping to get him to read more. This was the only book that I bought at that time that I hadn't read before. I think based on the picture on the cover, that I would be getting more of a steampunk-type mashup of eras, and less of a rah-rah USA type book.
Credit where credit is due, Flint has obviously done his research on the period. He is also a decent writer in terms of the actual writing. Less so in terms of plotting and characters.
There are a lot of characters in this book, too many to keep track of, but it doesn't really matter because they're all basically cookie-cutter versions of each other. I didn't find one that stood out from another, male or female, Flint's writes them all more or less the same. He makes the sympathetic non-Americans just the same, just slightly less intelligent, and the antagonist non-Americans a little stupid, a little arrogant, and a little cruel.
There is no drama in this book. I was ready to give up on it about halfway through but I soldiered on because I thought "there's got to be some decent battle coming up. There's a tank on the cover!" but alas, that was not to be. Flint's real passion seems to be in writing about endless meetings between different characters, where they talk about (mostly) diplomatic strategy, and then describing diplomatic meetings between characters. There is little drama in the book - a scene where one of his female protagonists and her escort are surprised by superior numbers, quickly resolves itself as she jumps from the saddle and makes like Dirty Harry. The few battles are dispatched with quickly, with no threat to any of the main characters, who escape unscathed.
Is it a one star book? Probably more like a two, but the fans of this series have it sitting above four stars, and there's no way in hell that it's worthy of that.
A good book for Americans who like to read books that confirm their already very high opinion of themselves, as Flint tries to rewrite history in such a way that shows a small town of plucky West Virginians showing Europeans how it's done. Bravo to Flint for actually looking outside the borders of his own country, but he undoes that good work by coming to the conclusion that everything American is good, everything else is crap.
Credit where credit is due, Flint has obviously done his research on the period. He is also a decent writer in terms of the actual writing. Less so in terms of plotting and characters.
There are a lot of characters in this book, too many to keep track of, but it doesn't really matter because they're all basically cookie-cutter versions of each other. I didn't find one that stood out from another, male or female, Flint's writes them all more or less the same. He makes the sympathetic non-Americans just the same, just slightly less intelligent, and the antagonist non-Americans a little stupid, a little arrogant, and a little cruel.
There is no drama in this book. I was ready to give up on it about halfway through but I soldiered on because I thought "there's got to be some decent battle coming up. There's a tank on the cover!" but alas, that was not to be. Flint's real passion seems to be in writing about endless meetings between different characters, where they talk about (mostly) diplomatic strategy, and then describing diplomatic meetings between characters. There is little drama in the book - a scene where one of his female protagonists and her escort are surprised by superior numbers, quickly resolves itself as she jumps from the saddle and makes like Dirty Harry. The few battles are dispatched with quickly, with no threat to any of the main characters, who escape unscathed.
Is it a one star book? Probably more like a two, but the fans of this series have it sitting above four stars, and there's no way in hell that it's worthy of that.
A good book for Americans who like to read books that confirm their already very high opinion of themselves, as Flint tries to rewrite history in such a way that shows a small town of plucky West Virginians showing Europeans how it's done. Bravo to Flint for actually looking outside the borders of his own country, but he undoes that good work by coming to the conclusion that everything American is good, everything else is crap.
March 20, 2017
1636: The Ottoman Onslaught by Eric Flint
Perhaps jaded is my first reaction to this book. It has the feel of it's predecessors but not the excitement.
I really enjoyed the first books in this series but I have missed to many of the intervening books and consequentially I've lost touch with them.
If memory serves me, the premise was introduced in 1632 (book title not year) when a chunk of West Virginia was dropped in East Germany in 1632 (hence the title).
I will guess that my blasé reaction to this book will offend die hard Flint fans but since the election process of 2016 did nothing if not teach us that offensive remarks can pay off, I really didn't care for this book. I am sure the die hard fans will enjoy it.
Perhaps jaded is my first reaction to this book. It has the feel of it's predecessors but not the excitement.
I really enjoyed the first books in this series but I have missed to many of the intervening books and consequentially I've lost touch with them.
If memory serves me, the premise was introduced in 1632 (book title not year) when a chunk of West Virginia was dropped in East Germany in 1632 (hence the title).
I will guess that my blasé reaction to this book will offend die hard Flint fans but since the election process of 2016 did nothing if not teach us that offensive remarks can pay off, I really didn't care for this book. I am sure the die hard fans will enjoy it.
July 23, 2023
Still madly in love with this series. Lots of great characters and interesting politics. (This is one of the main line novels).
August 16, 2017
New characters added but great use of well known favourites. The influence of Grantville has now had a major effect on the Holy Roman Empire.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2023
This novel brings together the threads of several novels, particularly 1635: The Eastern Front, 1636: The Saxon Uprising, and 1636: The Viennese Waltz. We're seeing the consequences of the events in the first two as events in Poland and Silesia unfold, while down in Vienna the alliances in the latter book bear fruit as the Ottoman forces move in several decades earlier, thanks to uptime knowledge, both technological and historical.
It's interesting to discover that Gustavus Adolphus isn't quite as bad off as he'd seemed at the end of The Saxon Uprising, nor has he given up as much of his power as it had seemed. Although he's still having occasional seizures from his head injury, he's still very much in command -- albeit from HQ rather than at the front of the fighting as he had previously been. And he does keep his uptime doctor close at hand, in case he should have another medical crisis.
His decision to insist that Gretchen Richter must join a Protestant church has interesting repercussions. Gretchen was raised Catholic, but had become irreligious (apparently somewhere between an outright atheist and an agnostic in the Huxleyan tradition) and very much keeping her own counsel. So she wants nothing to do with the Lutheran church or any of the downtime or uptime Calvinist churches -- but the uptime American Episcopal Church is just enough like Catholicism in its liturgy to tweak the right emotional strings, but sufficiently far away from downtime Anglicanism to avoid certain other problems.
Which makes for an interesting situation as she moves into Silesia in the effort to dislodge the vile Holk and his goons. Holk was once the commander of a mercenary company, but has descended to being more of a bandit chieftan who's settled into a castle. One that has attracted the attention of the USE Air Force, in a scene that initially led me to think that the crew of the airplane was going to buy the farm, whether as the price of success, or as failure, I couldn't tell -- than then we discover that the "golden BB" is the one that takes out the bad guy.
OTOH, things aren't so good in Vienna, as the Emperor and the government flee to Linz (a city that has certain associations in the present, but is just a sufficiently defensible place to downtimers). Two of the Emperor's siblings stay behind, hiding in the secret cellars under the Hofburg along with two other women, one an uptimer and the other a downtime woman who had befriended her. An oversight leads to a daring -- and rather disgusting -- trip into the streets of the occupied city to retrieve a vital piece of equipment.
It's interesting how we simultaneously see the continued growth and change of the major characters we've been acquainted with since the original book, and various bit POV characters who we may only see once or twice, but in those moments make some choice or take some action that shifts the arc of history, even just a little bit. No one, no matter how small, is utterly insignificant, and anyone can have a moment of agency that transforms a situation.
It's interesting to discover that Gustavus Adolphus isn't quite as bad off as he'd seemed at the end of The Saxon Uprising, nor has he given up as much of his power as it had seemed. Although he's still having occasional seizures from his head injury, he's still very much in command -- albeit from HQ rather than at the front of the fighting as he had previously been. And he does keep his uptime doctor close at hand, in case he should have another medical crisis.
His decision to insist that Gretchen Richter must join a Protestant church has interesting repercussions. Gretchen was raised Catholic, but had become irreligious (apparently somewhere between an outright atheist and an agnostic in the Huxleyan tradition) and very much keeping her own counsel. So she wants nothing to do with the Lutheran church or any of the downtime or uptime Calvinist churches -- but the uptime American Episcopal Church is just enough like Catholicism in its liturgy to tweak the right emotional strings, but sufficiently far away from downtime Anglicanism to avoid certain other problems.
Which makes for an interesting situation as she moves into Silesia in the effort to dislodge the vile Holk and his goons. Holk was once the commander of a mercenary company, but has descended to being more of a bandit chieftan who's settled into a castle. One that has attracted the attention of the USE Air Force, in a scene that initially led me to think that the crew of the airplane was going to buy the farm, whether as the price of success, or as failure, I couldn't tell -- than then we discover that the "golden BB" is the one that takes out the bad guy.
OTOH, things aren't so good in Vienna, as the Emperor and the government flee to Linz (a city that has certain associations in the present, but is just a sufficiently defensible place to downtimers). Two of the Emperor's siblings stay behind, hiding in the secret cellars under the Hofburg along with two other women, one an uptimer and the other a downtime woman who had befriended her. An oversight leads to a daring -- and rather disgusting -- trip into the streets of the occupied city to retrieve a vital piece of equipment.
It's interesting how we simultaneously see the continued growth and change of the major characters we've been acquainted with since the original book, and various bit POV characters who we may only see once or twice, but in those moments make some choice or take some action that shifts the arc of history, even just a little bit. No one, no matter how small, is utterly insignificant, and anyone can have a moment of agency that transforms a situation.
November 30, 2020
In this series, it's difficult to get too wrapped up in the lives of any single character because so many plot lines are followed at once. The cast of characters is huge. In most books, this would be a criticism, but not here. None of these characters are the protagonist. The central character is the world of the 1630s. In following all of these different sets of characters at once, Europe becomes the protagonist. Will Europe become more democratic? Will Europe reduce the level of violence and war? Will Europe avoid massacres in what would have been its near-future?
These are compelling "what-if" questions that drive the narratives forward. As such, the potboiler-type ending is expected in a way it wouldn't be for a "hero's journey" book--Europe continues evolving.
The title is at once misleading and accurate. In picking this book up, I expected it to be set mostly in the Ottoman empire. It wasn't. There are a few scenes with the sultan deliberating and a few battle scenes showing off his new tech, but together, they make a very small part of the book. This book is mostly the story of the conquest of Vienna from the point of view of the Europeans dealing with it, not the Ottomans doing it. One hopes the series will ultimately delve into the Ottoman realm. Reference abound to the brutal authoritarianism of the Ottomans--understandable, as they are coming from a 17th-century Christian perspective in-story. In reality, treatment of religious minorities and woman were better under the Ottomans than under real-world Christian Europe, and human rights were at least as well respected. Okay, impressing Christians into slavery and then making them warriors wasn't so good. Neither was slavery, colonialism, or pogroms in the Europe of the time.
The fun of this book is all the rabbit holes it draw the reader into. Reading was slow because of all the Googling to remind myself of the history of the time. And to get definitions for the words unfamiliar to this reader--Flint's vocabulary is more typical of literary fiction than genre. Flint refuses to dumb things down for the reader, a feature of his novels much appreciated by this reader.
So, in looking forward to the next book, it's not what happens to Mike Stearns (or any of the other characters) that motivates me to read it, it's what happens to the world. Following so many different features of the world at once and the butterfly effect of changes is a remarkable endeavor, much worth appreciating.
These are compelling "what-if" questions that drive the narratives forward. As such, the potboiler-type ending is expected in a way it wouldn't be for a "hero's journey" book--Europe continues evolving.
The title is at once misleading and accurate. In picking this book up, I expected it to be set mostly in the Ottoman empire. It wasn't. There are a few scenes with the sultan deliberating and a few battle scenes showing off his new tech, but together, they make a very small part of the book. This book is mostly the story of the conquest of Vienna from the point of view of the Europeans dealing with it, not the Ottomans doing it. One hopes the series will ultimately delve into the Ottoman realm. Reference abound to the brutal authoritarianism of the Ottomans--understandable, as they are coming from a 17th-century Christian perspective in-story. In reality, treatment of religious minorities and woman were better under the Ottomans than under real-world Christian Europe, and human rights were at least as well respected. Okay, impressing Christians into slavery and then making them warriors wasn't so good. Neither was slavery, colonialism, or pogroms in the Europe of the time.
The fun of this book is all the rabbit holes it draw the reader into. Reading was slow because of all the Googling to remind myself of the history of the time. And to get definitions for the words unfamiliar to this reader--Flint's vocabulary is more typical of literary fiction than genre. Flint refuses to dumb things down for the reader, a feature of his novels much appreciated by this reader.
So, in looking forward to the next book, it's not what happens to Mike Stearns (or any of the other characters) that motivates me to read it, it's what happens to the world. Following so many different features of the world at once and the butterfly effect of changes is a remarkable endeavor, much worth appreciating.
June 15, 2017
The Ottoman's Are Coming, The Ottoman's Are Coming! The rulers of Austria/Hungary know this, but since in the Grantville Universe timeline the invasion of the Ottomans were not successful, they are confident that the invasion will play out the same way in their here-and-now. But the Sultan Murad also reads the strange up time books with emphasis on the technical books he could get his hands on, and those silly Grantville people are very free with what should be their military secrets. His scholars and artisans have been very busy indeed.
Meanwhile things have changed with the government of the USE and the recovered Emperor Gustav II Adolf. The Emperor's schemes have both Becky and Gretchen very, very busy. Gretchen as the head of state for a new province or two? Just watch her. Don Fransisco may be an independent contractor but his agents- Denise, Noelle, Minnie and Denise's mom Christin are very much busy acting for the USE.
Saxony, Swabia, Bavaria, Bohemia, Poland, Austria/Hungary... there are some very busy women.
And when a crack shot is needed to fend off the Ottoman's flying machines, who to call but one Julie Sims Mackay?
I had trouble putting this book down. The only disappointment was coming to the end of the book, and in typical Ring of Fire style where some things resolve- a wedding happens- and many loose ends and a siege are left to be resolved. If there had been more books at hand to just keep on reading I would have dived into them.
Bring Them On, Mr. Flint!
Meanwhile things have changed with the government of the USE and the recovered Emperor Gustav II Adolf. The Emperor's schemes have both Becky and Gretchen very, very busy. Gretchen as the head of state for a new province or two? Just watch her. Don Fransisco may be an independent contractor but his agents- Denise, Noelle, Minnie and Denise's mom Christin are very much busy acting for the USE.
Saxony, Swabia, Bavaria, Bohemia, Poland, Austria/Hungary... there are some very busy women.
And when a crack shot is needed to fend off the Ottoman's flying machines, who to call but one Julie Sims Mackay?
I had trouble putting this book down. The only disappointment was coming to the end of the book, and in typical Ring of Fire style where some things resolve- a wedding happens- and many loose ends and a siege are left to be resolved. If there had been more books at hand to just keep on reading I would have dived into them.
Bring Them On, Mr. Flint!
August 24, 2017
This is a series that has fizzled, for me. I liked the promise of the original volume, an alternative history (silly though of course it is) without the absolute black and white viewpoint and delight in torture and costume that has turned Sterling's work into an unreadable fetish.
But Flint seems to have tried to turn it into a vast oeuvre chronicling the effect on the whole world of his group of Americans, to do which he's drafted in other authors to help. Without exception, none of the side novels are legible to me - I finally gave up after the volume on Russia, which was the most boring work of fiction I think I've ever read.
This book is, finally, a return to the main thread, written by Flint alone, and thus is worth reading. It advances the main plot to some degree (though possibly not really enough to justify the page count), and is mostly entertaining with enough history and alternative history speculation to be interesting, without drowning the action in endless exposition.
But Flint seems to have tried to turn it into a vast oeuvre chronicling the effect on the whole world of his group of Americans, to do which he's drafted in other authors to help. Without exception, none of the side novels are legible to me - I finally gave up after the volume on Russia, which was the most boring work of fiction I think I've ever read.
This book is, finally, a return to the main thread, written by Flint alone, and thus is worth reading. It advances the main plot to some degree (though possibly not really enough to justify the page count), and is mostly entertaining with enough history and alternative history speculation to be interesting, without drowning the action in endless exposition.
October 12, 2017
It's nice to see Eric Flint devote a little time to this project again. It is great that he has given so many authors the opportunity to contribute to this series but a touch from the masters hand was over due.
There have been several story lines building across the past few books; the war in Poland, Wallenstein in Bohemia, the troubles in Bavaria and confused relations with Austria. This book adds the backdrop of an impending invasion from the Ottomans and does a grand job of tying it all together. I don't want to offer up spoilers but while very little reaches a conclusion in this book, it does a good job of taking the multiple threads and weaving them into whole cloth.
There is too much tied to previous books for this to stand well on it's own but it is a very solid return to the core elements of the series.
There have been several story lines building across the past few books; the war in Poland, Wallenstein in Bohemia, the troubles in Bavaria and confused relations with Austria. This book adds the backdrop of an impending invasion from the Ottomans and does a grand job of tying it all together. I don't want to offer up spoilers but while very little reaches a conclusion in this book, it does a good job of taking the multiple threads and weaving them into whole cloth.
There is too much tied to previous books for this to stand well on it's own but it is a very solid return to the core elements of the series.
October 26, 2017
Another excellent addition to the series.
In this novel affairs in Europe come to a head as the Ottoman Empire, capably lead and using ideas from uptime books and advisors, attack Austria yet again with an eye towards conquest. I was having doubts when the Ottoman invasion stayed off stage for such a long portion of the novel. The battles and events of the first third of the novel are in the fashion of tying up loose ends f the earlier novels before diving headlong into the new subject matter, but well worth reading in there own right for anyone who has read the prior novels of the series.
In this novel affairs in Europe come to a head as the Ottoman Empire, capably lead and using ideas from uptime books and advisors, attack Austria yet again with an eye towards conquest. I was having doubts when the Ottoman invasion stayed off stage for such a long portion of the novel. The battles and events of the first third of the novel are in the fashion of tying up loose ends f the earlier novels before diving headlong into the new subject matter, but well worth reading in there own right for anyone who has read the prior novels of the series.
February 13, 2019
If you like this series, this book is more of it and if you don't... this book is still more of it.
I'm a bit iffy on the Ottomans being the major antagonists here. On the one hand, they were a major political force at the time and ignoring that would be weird. On the other hand, there is So Much Islamophobia going on these days and I'd worry about things feeding into it. I think in the end, where I come down is that the book is okay: the Ottomans aren't depicted as any worse than any of the other empires around, and the characters' depictions aren't relying on stereotypes (at least ones I'm aware of). I do think the title is rather unfortunate, though.
I'm a bit iffy on the Ottomans being the major antagonists here. On the one hand, they were a major political force at the time and ignoring that would be weird. On the other hand, there is So Much Islamophobia going on these days and I'd worry about things feeding into it. I think in the end, where I come down is that the book is okay: the Ottomans aren't depicted as any worse than any of the other empires around, and the characters' depictions aren't relying on stereotypes (at least ones I'm aware of). I do think the title is rather unfortunate, though.
November 23, 2017
We are back to the uptime characters of Stearns and company for much of this book, and I am still in awe of the way Flint takes his reader back and forth and up and down, interweaving story lines in such a way that everything makes sense.
This tale ends with a bit of a cliffhanger regarding some of our younger characters, and since the upcoming titles seem to emphasize other locations, the fates of those young adults won't be determined anytime soon.
As usual, the Ring of Fire series continues to fascinate me, and I look forward to the next volume.
This tale ends with a bit of a cliffhanger regarding some of our younger characters, and since the upcoming titles seem to emphasize other locations, the fates of those young adults won't be determined anytime soon.
As usual, the Ring of Fire series continues to fascinate me, and I look forward to the next volume.
March 18, 2018
Enjoyable, interesting and fun
The 1633 series has beguiled me from the start. I've read all the books and most of the associated material. Unlike some of the others, this is a slightly blokey book, with lots of action, and some battles. The evil Holk meets a suitably nasty end, while Thorsten Engler, one of favourite characters, performs heroically again. It even has some romantic comedy. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, having enough action to satisfy grognards and sufficient romance (even a wedding) to satisfy those who enjoy the human narrative.
The 1633 series has beguiled me from the start. I've read all the books and most of the associated material. Unlike some of the others, this is a slightly blokey book, with lots of action, and some battles. The evil Holk meets a suitably nasty end, while Thorsten Engler, one of favourite characters, performs heroically again. It even has some romantic comedy. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, having enough action to satisfy grognards and sufficient romance (even a wedding) to satisfy those who enjoy the human narrative.
October 16, 2019
I love Eric Flint! In this book of the long winding series, we are reconnected with much of the original cast of characters from Grantville and it is delightful! I started laughing out loud with Mike Sterns first wry cracks and hung on every word to the cliff-hanger conclusion.... Eric! Really? and so now I have had to order "1637 The Polish Maelstrom" (skipping over a few volumes) so I can find out what happens next! "The Barbies" are featured, new technology comes to the fore, the butterfly effect is in full force and I can't wait to get back to listening to the "next one"!
November 13, 2018
Really liked this book. There are far ranging plot lines all over the map. It really advances the main story line of the 1632 series. My main frustration with the book is that it ends on several cliff-hangers. That being said, love hanging out with the characters again. Eric knows how to create characters you want to spend time with. Thankfully, the next book is going to be published in April 2019, so hopefully my wait to see what happens next will end soon.
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