1632

Ring of Fire, Book 1

By: Eric Flint

Narrated by: George Guidall

New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint has received glowing critical praise for his Ring of Fire alternate history series. In this first installment, a West Virginia town is transported from the year 2000 to 1631 Germany at the height of the Thirty Years’ War. Thrust into conflict, the town residents must also contend with moral issues, such as who should be considered a citizen.

©2000 Eric Flint (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“Gripping and excellently detailed.... A treat!” ( Publishers Weekly)

NOT ALL THAT BAD

Good idea for a story! An entire town is somehow transported back in time, over 400 years. The town and the surrounding land is also moved to medieval Germany. They are immediately drawn into a battle, which is part of a larger war.

While the idea is good, the actual writing is not. It seems puerile and weak. They are taken back in time , but have all sorts of illegal weapons and plenty of ammo. I'm all for lots of guns and good action in books, but where does all this stuff come from and how do the never run out of it?

The author has heavy left leaning background, so you get an unrealistic cast of heroes and characters. I can certainly overlook his lefty drivel and enjoy the book. I just keep in mind that the author is a bit simple .

I am looking forward to the next in this series.

Interesting Premise well treated

How do you create a fair and democratic society in the middle of 17th century Europe? Where the divine right of kings is accepted and if you are not of noble birth you can be murdered by any mercenary without consequence.

I’m not going to hold my breath until the initial starting conditions happen. It’s not every day that a whole town gets moved back to 1631. It was interesting to see how they actually BUILT a fair and democratic society.

What I particularly enjoyed was the absence of paranoid right-wing prepper drivel! The lack of make and model of every gun used was a plus also.

By George he's got it

It's been a while since I have listened to a narration by George Guidall, IMO he is one of the best readers to listen to. I originally heard him reading the "The Cat Who..." series by Lilian Jackson Braun's about James Qwilleran and his clue sleuths Koko and Yum Yum.

1632 is a romanticist story about small town America suddenly being trust back into the 30 years war. Not on the top tier story lines I prefer, though Eric spins the history, with it's historic personalities, cultural challenges, and political currents, that kept my interest and enlighten me. I just have a problem with the fictional part of the story line concerning modern weapons against hundreds and then thousands of aggressors - Isandlwana kept coming to mind.

This is a good read, you won't regret listening and may even be educated on one of the darkest periods in European history...

Best alternate history ever

Fantastic in audio format. Looking forward to listening to them all. Keep writing for us Mr. Flint. Entertainment and a worthy history lesson wrapped up together.

Alternative history at its finest.

If you like alternative history you’ll love 1632. With fast paced action and great character development and a strong story line, you can’t go wrong.

Eric Flint weaves a tale that both entertains and a very thoughtful what if story, of taking the small West Virginia town of Grantville and plopping it in the middle of the thirty years’ war in 1631 Germany.