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1632 Universe/Ring of Fire #14
1635: The Wars for the Rhine
An exciting addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire alternate history series created by Eric Flint. Time travelers from our modern age are thrown into the deadly straits of the Thirty Years War in Europe of the 1600s.
In the year 1635, the Rhineland is in turmoil. The impact of the Ring of Fire, the cosmic accident which transported the small modern West Virginia town of Grantville to Europe in the early seventeenth century, has only aggravated a situation that was already chaotic. Perhaps nowhere in central Europe did the Thirty Years War produce so much upheaval as it did in the borderlands between France and Germany.
Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne shares the religious fanaticism of his older brother, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. He is determined to restore the power of the Catholic Church over the middle Rhine, the so-called “Bishop’s Alley,” and has unleashed a plot for that purpose. But that same middle Rhine is territory which Landgrave William V of Hesse-Kassel is determined to seize for himself, under the guise of expanding the influence of the United States of Europe.
Add to the witch's brew the deaths in battle of Duke Wolfgang of Jülich-Berg and his son, which leaves his young widow Katharina Charlotte as the heir to those much-prized territories. She is now on the run, in disguise—and pregnant. Add the unexpected arrival of Austria’s most capable general, Melchior von Hatzfeldt, along with the most ruthless spy and torturer in the Rhineland, Felix Gruyard.
The wars for the Rhine have erupted, and only the devil knows how they will end.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire series:
“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
Anette Pedersen was born and raised in Denmark where she currently resides. She grew up reading science fiction in English and Danish due to her father’s love for the genre. She has written multiple stories for anthologies edited by Eric Flint set in his Ring of Fire alternate history universe. Anette is a retired geologist and micropaleontologist. She is a church accountant and deacon, as well as a keen gardener and cook. She paints botanical illustrations to professional standards but, she claims, with far from professional speed.
In the year 1635, the Rhineland is in turmoil. The impact of the Ring of Fire, the cosmic accident which transported the small modern West Virginia town of Grantville to Europe in the early seventeenth century, has only aggravated a situation that was already chaotic. Perhaps nowhere in central Europe did the Thirty Years War produce so much upheaval as it did in the borderlands between France and Germany.
Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne shares the religious fanaticism of his older brother, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. He is determined to restore the power of the Catholic Church over the middle Rhine, the so-called “Bishop’s Alley,” and has unleashed a plot for that purpose. But that same middle Rhine is territory which Landgrave William V of Hesse-Kassel is determined to seize for himself, under the guise of expanding the influence of the United States of Europe.
Add to the witch's brew the deaths in battle of Duke Wolfgang of Jülich-Berg and his son, which leaves his young widow Katharina Charlotte as the heir to those much-prized territories. She is now on the run, in disguise—and pregnant. Add the unexpected arrival of Austria’s most capable general, Melchior von Hatzfeldt, along with the most ruthless spy and torturer in the Rhineland, Felix Gruyard.
The wars for the Rhine have erupted, and only the devil knows how they will end.
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
About Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire series:
“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
Anette Pedersen was born and raised in Denmark where she currently resides. She grew up reading science fiction in English and Danish due to her father’s love for the genre. She has written multiple stories for anthologies edited by Eric Flint set in his Ring of Fire alternate history universe. Anette is a retired geologist and micropaleontologist. She is a church accountant and deacon, as well as a keen gardener and cook. She paints botanical illustrations to professional standards but, she claims, with far from professional speed.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 17, 2018
3.5 stars. Not bad, not "Eric Flint" level, but, still, good. I look forward to more by this author. 2018 re-read: A rather slow start, but it gets interesting as one progresses.
February 12, 2017
If there's one question I've often wondered when reading the Ring of Fire books that hasn't yet been answered, it's definitely, "What's the deal with Prussia?", but if there's a second question, it would probably be, "What are these little countries wedged between the USE and the Netherlands on the map? Julich? Trier? Essen?" Well, guess what? Now I know! 1635: The Wars for the Rhine is set alongside 1634: the Baltic War, 1634: the Bavarian Crisis, and sort of leads into 1635: the Eastern Front. At the time this book starts, the newly formed United States of Europe is embroiled in fighting with the League of Ostend, but relations between the USE and the Holy Roman Empire have improved substantially with the latter staying out of the new war and choosing to be more circumspect in its territorial ambitions as the elderly Emperor nears his death and his heir presumptive is well aware that he will be fortunate if he can carve a Austro-Hungarian Empire out of the wreck of the moribund Holy Roman Empire. As such, he dispatches General Melchior to the Rhineland to act as his agent to try and secure the future of the few remaining independent Catholic polities nestled between the USE and its pseudo-ally the Kingdom in the Netherlands. His task is complicated when the ruler of Julich-Berg foolishly lashes out at his neighbor to the north, the USE-allied Republic of Essen, and gets himself and his heir killed in the process, leaving his pregnant wife in a very bad situation, while also opening up his country to invasion by not only Essen but the rulers of the USE province of Hesse-Kassel, who hope to seize Dusseldorf or Cologne and add an industrial heartland to their otherwise agrarian province. As if all that wasn't enough complications, the Archbishop of Cologne has got it in his head that with a little push, he can drive the USE out of the Rhinelands entirely. All in all, it's a mess.
On the whole, I enjoyed the Wars for the Rhine, but it's a Little League sort of political thriller. It's like if Tom Clancy switched from writing about the U.S.-Soviet Cold War to writing about the British-Icelandic Cod War (yes, that's a real thing, look it up), fascinating stuff if you're into fishery politics but it isn't exactly cat and mouse between high tech submarines. The stakes aren't the balance of power in Europe or the survival of American democracy and for the most part the Great Powers don't even care which way this conflict goes (in fact, for much of the book, the USE's leadership (apart from Hesse-Kassel) is largely in the dark that there's even a war going on in the Rhinelands (they have bigger issues to deal with)) nor does the book witness any really dramatic changes within its area of purview apart from the Catholic Prince-Bishops gradually coming to terms with the reduction of their secular authority. The protagonists themselves are generally likeable though the book is at disadvantage in that it doesn't have any major RoF characters in its cast apart from the rulers of Hesse-Kassel and there aren't any up-timers until the final few chapters, limiting its appeal to those hoping for cameos from series regulars (the best this one gets are some mentions of various Abrabanel family members (Moses and Francisco Nasi, primarily) and a couple brief appearances by Don Fernando). Moreover, while the story holds together fairly well, it doesn't really flow. Events happen and characters react to them but for the most part, everybody's plots and plans collapse in on themselves and things work out, which is necessary given context but doesn't exactly make for gripping reading. For series stalwarts like myself, it's a worthy read, but more on the level of the Grantville Gazettes or RoF Anthologies than the average side-story novel in its level of importance to the canon and the main story arcs. That said, I'm not overly bothered that this isn't really a must-read book since it comes at a time when we're being showered with RoF releases. Seriously, not only is 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught coming out in less than two weeks (FINALLY!), but there are two more RoF side story novels scheduled for the first half of this coming year (or so I thought, darn you Amazon for lying about the release date of 1637: The Volga Rules), so from my perspective the fact that this is an enjoyable but non-essential addition to the series makes it a flawed but appreciable appetizer for the coming feast.
On the whole, I enjoyed the Wars for the Rhine, but it's a Little League sort of political thriller. It's like if Tom Clancy switched from writing about the U.S.-Soviet Cold War to writing about the British-Icelandic Cod War (yes, that's a real thing, look it up), fascinating stuff if you're into fishery politics but it isn't exactly cat and mouse between high tech submarines. The stakes aren't the balance of power in Europe or the survival of American democracy and for the most part the Great Powers don't even care which way this conflict goes (in fact, for much of the book, the USE's leadership (apart from Hesse-Kassel) is largely in the dark that there's even a war going on in the Rhinelands (they have bigger issues to deal with)) nor does the book witness any really dramatic changes within its area of purview apart from the Catholic Prince-Bishops gradually coming to terms with the reduction of their secular authority. The protagonists themselves are generally likeable though the book is at disadvantage in that it doesn't have any major RoF characters in its cast apart from the rulers of Hesse-Kassel and there aren't any up-timers until the final few chapters, limiting its appeal to those hoping for cameos from series regulars (the best this one gets are some mentions of various Abrabanel family members (Moses and Francisco Nasi, primarily) and a couple brief appearances by Don Fernando). Moreover, while the story holds together fairly well, it doesn't really flow. Events happen and characters react to them but for the most part, everybody's plots and plans collapse in on themselves and things work out, which is necessary given context but doesn't exactly make for gripping reading. For series stalwarts like myself, it's a worthy read, but more on the level of the Grantville Gazettes or RoF Anthologies than the average side-story novel in its level of importance to the canon and the main story arcs. That said, I'm not overly bothered that this isn't really a must-read book since it comes at a time when we're being showered with RoF releases. Seriously, not only is 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught coming out in less than two weeks (FINALLY!), but there are two more RoF side story novels scheduled for the first half of this coming year (or so I thought, darn you Amazon for lying about the release date of 1637: The Volga Rules), so from my perspective the fact that this is an enjoyable but non-essential addition to the series makes it a flawed but appreciable appetizer for the coming feast.
March 24, 2017
A collection of shorts were used to create this, the joins were seamless enough that you would only know that reading the afterword. This is self contained story, so if you like the 1632 universe you can straight up read it without too much background to the rest of the series. A good first novel.
February 25, 2022
I was a little worried at the beginning. One of the first chapters literally had 5 paragraphs in a row in the form of 'Bob was Tom's other brother, and he went to college at, and married such and such', for 5 different characters. This was reminding me of certain other books in this series that are mostly characters sitting around reflecting on familial relations.
Fortunately things picked up from there. There were challenges, plots points, etc. The author indicated that this was a complication from a number of short stories merged together. This was somewhat noticeable in the book, as things would seem to be drawing to reasonable close and suddenly some completely new conflict would appear. Despite this, I would say that the book was still a decent read.
Fortunately things picked up from there. There were challenges, plots points, etc. The author indicated that this was a complication from a number of short stories merged together. This was somewhat noticeable in the book, as things would seem to be drawing to reasonable close and suddenly some completely new conflict would appear. Despite this, I would say that the book was still a decent read.
December 11, 2016
A good but disjointed story
An enjoyable addition to the Ring of Fire. It's only weakness is simply that the story ends up being a little disjointed, as many of the characters are operating independently and are only tangentially connected. If you like the RoF then this is a great addition. If you haven't read the rest of the series, I wouldn't start with this one.
An enjoyable addition to the Ring of Fire. It's only weakness is simply that the story ends up being a little disjointed, as many of the characters are operating independently and are only tangentially connected. If you like the RoF then this is a great addition. If you haven't read the rest of the series, I wouldn't start with this one.
March 1, 2024
This is a simply OK addition to the Ring of Fire series. It seems that Pedersen has taken a cue from the Demarce school of writing and feels the compulsive need to list every single relation and every degree of connection each time one person begins talking with another. Maybe things were different back then, but these days people don't usually start every conversation with something like,
"Your third cousin was married to my brother's nephew."
"Oh wow. I thought our only connection was that your aunt's granddaughter was my sister's housemaid until she got married to Fredrech Von Helflin who is the godson of Heidrich Wilhelm."
"Is that the Heidrich Wilhelm of Bavaria?"
"No. Heidrich from Bavaria joined Tilly's army and died at Tutter in '26. I am talking about Heidrich of Jenna."
"Ah, yes. Heidrich from Jenna was the tutor for my sister's stepchildren from her husband's first marriage."
As with VD's books, every single conversation is going to begin with such inanities. If you can get past this, the book is pretty decent. While the big dogs are fighting real wars in other parts, some of the smaller ones seek to add some territories to their own power base. Two of those are Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne and Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel. This, along with the goings on of Melchior's extended and eccentric family is the primary material in this collection of stories loosely joined into one larger narrative. The book is decent in its own right but seems important in that it gives fuller background to things referred to in other stories in this series.
"Your third cousin was married to my brother's nephew."
"Oh wow. I thought our only connection was that your aunt's granddaughter was my sister's housemaid until she got married to Fredrech Von Helflin who is the godson of Heidrich Wilhelm."
"Is that the Heidrich Wilhelm of Bavaria?"
"No. Heidrich from Bavaria joined Tilly's army and died at Tutter in '26. I am talking about Heidrich of Jenna."
"Ah, yes. Heidrich from Jenna was the tutor for my sister's stepchildren from her husband's first marriage."
As with VD's books, every single conversation is going to begin with such inanities. If you can get past this, the book is pretty decent. While the big dogs are fighting real wars in other parts, some of the smaller ones seek to add some territories to their own power base. Two of those are Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne and Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel. This, along with the goings on of Melchior's extended and eccentric family is the primary material in this collection of stories loosely joined into one larger narrative. The book is decent in its own right but seems important in that it gives fuller background to things referred to in other stories in this series.
June 8, 2020
I've been a fan of the Ring of Fire 'verse ever since Baen Books posted the first several chapters of _1632_ on their website, way back in 1999. I may not have been the most rabid of fans, and when Eric Flint opened it to other authors, my few attempts to write a story in that 'verse foundered. But I still like reading them when I find them.
That said, I have to say that this one was not one of the more memorable contributions to that 'verse. Quite honestly, there were no characters who really grabbed my imagination or stuck with me after I set the book aside to do other things.
Part of the problem may be the simple fact that this novel concerns the activities of relatively minor figures, most of them downtimers of the sort that don't tend to make the history books. I kept wondering whether any of them were historical figures, even if only the sort who are known only to specialists who delve through dusty tomes of birth, death and marriage records in obscure archives.
Yet even with all its problems, it's still an interesting look at how much change a culture can absorb without having serious issues as the previously unthinkable becomes not only thinkable, but actively discussed and implemented.
That said, I have to say that this one was not one of the more memorable contributions to that 'verse. Quite honestly, there were no characters who really grabbed my imagination or stuck with me after I set the book aside to do other things.
Part of the problem may be the simple fact that this novel concerns the activities of relatively minor figures, most of them downtimers of the sort that don't tend to make the history books. I kept wondering whether any of them were historical figures, even if only the sort who are known only to specialists who delve through dusty tomes of birth, death and marriage records in obscure archives.
Yet even with all its problems, it's still an interesting look at how much change a culture can absorb without having serious issues as the previously unthinkable becomes not only thinkable, but actively discussed and implemented.
April 21, 2021
Time travelers from 1999 West Virginia have been thrown into the midst of the Thirty Years War in Europe. In the year 1635, the Rhineland is in turmoil. The impact of the Ring of Fire, the cosmic accident which transported the small West Virginia town of Grantville to Europe in the early 17th century, only aggravated a situation that was already chaotic. Archbishop of Cologne Ferdinand Hapsburg is plotting to restore the power of the Catholic Church over the middle Rhine, the so-called "Bishop's Alley". But that same middle Rhine is territory which Landgrave William V of Hesse-Kassel is determined to seize for himself, as part of expanding the influence of the United States of Europe. Then Duke Wolfgang of Julich-Berg and his oldest son die in battle, leaving his young widow Katharina Charlotte heiress to those much-prized territories. The pregnant widow goes on the run, in disguise. Unexpectedly, Austria's most capable general, Melchior von Hatzfeldt arrives, as does the most ruthless spy and torturer in the Rhineland, Felix Gruyard. While the armies of Gustavus Adolphus battle the Poles on the Eastern Front, the Rhinelanders are left to survive on their own.
January 12, 2017
A good, satisfying book that filled in a lot of the missing pieces referred to in other RoF books, with interesting characters to root for, and a sufficiently focused plot to keep me reading. A little less idea-focused than my favorite ones in the series, and in the long run I'll probably remember it for the romance of Charlotte and Melchior and for the number of times it credibly broke my misimpressions about life in the 17th century. Well-written, with care given to turn all the necessary details into a real novel. I'll look forward to reading more from Annette Petersen.
August 16, 2023
This book deals with the various factions maneuvering to gain power in the Rhine region. Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne, the younger brother of Duke Maximilian of Bavaria; Landgrave Hesse-Kassel, who wants to expand his territory; the widow Countess Palatine von Zweibrücken, Katharine Charlotte “Charlotte” the pregnant widow of Duke Wolfgang of Jülich-Berg; various members of the von Hatzfeldt family; the Americans in Bamberg; and more. Events parallel those that happen in other 1632/Ring of Fire universe, and help move the stories along.
September 10, 2018
By the end of the book I was still confused as to who was who. Way too many characters. A lot of similar or same names. Relationships, alliances, geography all mentioned constantly.
There is a cast of characters in the back and a map in the front, but who wants to flip back and forth every other page of a 400 page book?
There is a cast of characters in the back and a map in the front, but who wants to flip back and forth every other page of a 400 page book?
June 13, 2022
A disappointing installment of a good series. The entire book is nothing but a long series of dialogues which jumps from place to place.
It may or may not accurately represent the importance of politics and wheeling and dealing in conquest.
But it makes for a boring and hard to follow narrative with an overwhelming amount of names and places.
It may or may not accurately represent the importance of politics and wheeling and dealing in conquest.
But it makes for a boring and hard to follow narrative with an overwhelming amount of names and places.
August 21, 2017
A great quilt of stories.
A widow, a General. A Bishop and a ticking clock.
This is such a good story.
Not the "Main Line" story..but very good.
Connections everywhere.
If you like the "Ring of Fire" Universe you will enjoy this one...
A widow, a General. A Bishop and a ticking clock.
This is such a good story.
Not the "Main Line" story..but very good.
Connections everywhere.
If you like the "Ring of Fire" Universe you will enjoy this one...
June 19, 2018
It was an okay bridge book. It refers to people in other stories and takes us to what’s happening on the Rhine. I am following the Flint approved reading order so it was nice to have some more blanks filled in. This one was just not out of the ballpark for me.
July 24, 2021
The” Ring of Fire” reaches across the Rhine!
A very well researched for alt-history fiction, and especially interesting since much of it is from the Catholic & Hapsburg POV, not usual for Flint’s ROF!
A very well researched for alt-history fiction, and especially interesting since much of it is from the Catholic & Hapsburg POV, not usual for Flint’s ROF!
January 2, 2023
Better left as short stories
Interesting insight into the world of 1632, but very slow and not very engaging. I felt it read more like backstory to be used in creating stories than a primary thread.
Interesting insight into the world of 1632, but very slow and not very engaging. I felt it read more like backstory to be used in creating stories than a primary thread.
May 16, 2024
It was an okay story. There was relatively little directly to do with the Grantville Americans, in fact it is possible to read the story and not even notice the minimal references to them. It was a mildly interesting story in and of itself, but made little contribution to the Ring of Fire universe.
January 27, 2025
This is the first Ring of Fire book that I've had to give up on - and I've read Virginia deMarce!. Too many characters introduced over and over again. No one speaks like real people. Unable to make us care about characters we've just met. Avoid.
December 8, 2016
I needed to keep the map handy on the opposite page. There are a lot of players in this one but it flowed fairly well.
May 11, 2018
not as dramatic as other ring of fire stories, but it does fill in the blanks to things that happen in other books
October 23, 2018
This volume of the 1632 series covers action on the western end of Germany during 1635. I am slowly getting caught up on this series and this volume filled in various chinks in the storyline.
December 31, 2019
Another filler book based on Gazette stories that add background to events mentioned in other books but not fully covered there.
February 4, 2021
Good job
Tying a bunch of short works into a novel rarely works but this was a huge success. Looking forward to more.
Tying a bunch of short works into a novel rarely works but this was a huge success. Looking forward to more.
February 6, 2024
Complex political fun!
A story of divine retribution is always so satisfying. Adventure is sometimes fun and horrible in it's course of completion.
A story of divine retribution is always so satisfying. Adventure is sometimes fun and horrible in it's course of completion.
January 23, 2017
Definitely not the best in the series.
February 25, 2017
A scramble among states, princes, and clergy to control the Rhine River. Well done.
January 30, 2017
Like “Cardinal Virtues” 1635: The Wars for the Rhine is focused on downtime characters In fact, I’m pretty sure that no Uptimers even appear until more than halfway through it – and then in very minor roles). Disappointingly, this book reminded of Virginia DeMarce’s contributions to the series (Bavarian Crisis, Dreeson Incident), where sizable blocks of text are devoted to characters sitting around explaining elaborate points of local genealogy. I don’t argue that these details aren’t necessary to the plot; just that they could be delivered in a less stultifying fashion (and, perhaps, with a wee bit less detail). On the other hand, when the author gets away from that one annoying area, the story (or, combination of stories) is actually fairly engaging. If Goodreads allowed half stars, I’d give this a 2.5.
February 10, 2017
There really isn't a central plot. The book is more a series of character interactions. It's well written, but my impression was that it fills spaces between other books.
February 6, 2017
Also available in the Ring of Fire series
Lots of loose ends tied up from books written some time ago. If you want the complete series, read this too.
Lots of loose ends tied up from books written some time ago. If you want the complete series, read this too.
July 23, 2023
There are very few known characters in this one and few Americans. Some of the characters were well developed and interesting. The novel suffered some from a confusing litany of names of who might inherit and how people were related. Not my favorite and easy to skip in any reread of the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews