1632

Ring of Fire, Book 1

By: Eric Flint

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

The Ring of Fire

The bend of modern and several hundred years ago is great. Not just the action sequences but the political upheaval between the two times. Loved it

Had to read it again

I really loved this book—I couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and have already recommended it to my friends.

great what if story

very interesting and fun story. what if a town in the US gets sent to 1632. love the characters and story is great.

Fascinating exploration historical differences

This book generates reviews that are either negative or very positive. Why is that? If you are looking for great fiction and writing and character development, this may not be the book for you. If you are looking for an interesting comparison and contrast of modern, contemporary society with the Europe of 1632 in the middle of the 30 years war, then yes this is a very enjoyable book.

The author Eric Flint is a historian who clearly knows a lot about the 30 years war in which France eventually won and Germany was one of the losers. His erudition extends to understanding of modern and primitive technology. This is where he invests his (and our) time in the book. It is not "Pride and Predjudice". I found the material fascinating and was not "bored" by the historical setup material explaining the key characters and political dynamics and relative resources of the countries involved in the 30 years war. I wish I could personally express my appreciation and thanks to the author for writing about this important historical period and the difficulties of transitioning from the non-democratic societies of the day to our modern systems of government and morality.

The basic plot is of a small, contemporary West Virginian town that is mysteriously scooped out of the earth and transported back in time to 1632. It settles/lands in north central Germany. Because it is a small town in West Virginia, while they know about modern technology, they don’t have access to a lot of it. This gives them some advantages but not overwhelming so they have to figure out how to integrate with the culture and societies of the day including navigating its way through the 30 years war.

The author does a great job of exploring the differences between our modern society and the political and governments typical of the day especially notions of nationhood vs territorial conquest and enlightened government versus the governance of the time. Because they are small and vulnerable the Americans have to interact with the rest of the world including countries such as France and Spain which naturally want to destroy them, and use their advantages plus political guile to push European societies to create a new world system. All of the political leaders of the day are explored especially Cardinal Richelieu of France, Gustav II Adolf of Sweden, England, Spain, and Holland including their motivations, resources, etc. Germany’s weakness is explained as a result of many different principalities with rulers of varying ability and no cohesion. Basically it was a mess in the middle of it all which made it a brilliant choice to land the West Virginia town.

If this sounds interesting to you, then this is a great book. If the dynamics of modern political, economic, and technology interacting with the society of 1632 where characters serve this emphasis, then the book is not for you.

Interesting idea but author opted to spend lots of time on sex & rape

Interesting idea but author opted to spend lots of time on sex & rape. I won’t go Freud on the author but he does emphasize these a lot.

The story lets down the premise

The idea is great. It starts off well enough. Good pace. And I enjoyed much of the last half of the book. There is just not enough done with the core idea. Ultimately, most listeners will feel let down at the end. The performance is good but he mispronounces words and his voice isn't the clearest. I'm not mad I spent time on it but I wouldn't recommend it.

Good Alternative History Story

If you are a history buff, then you'll like this story. I love series, but I don't know if I want to invest in a dramatized history story.

The narration was great. I'll have to wait and see if I will continue the series.

top marks.

great writing, wonderful story plotlines woven majestically into the actual historical record. I love the character development given to 100s of characters. quite epic and worth your time and money.

Fantastic story-unneeded fixation on profanity/sex

Fantastic story line--it became apparent why the author chose the 30 year war as a background soon after starting--I had absolutely no clue when I began.

First let me say that I grew up in a coal mining community (Carbon County, no less). I understand that in order to portray miners that there is a certain amount of profanity. I also understand that the author needed to illustrate the contrast between the West Virginia mining community and the depravity of the 30 Year War. However, even a coal miner knows how to speak properly in the presence of his mother or commanding officer or president of the United States. It almost seemed that instead of a profanity or mention about sex that fit the story line, the author purposely went back after the book was written to see if he could insert even more profanities (instead of one or two, he would add six or eight in a string). The same thing about unneeded sexual description. I don't see this in most of the best seller novels that make it big. It is unfortunate, because the plot development is quite good. There was no need to go back and add "extra." I fear that it will hinder this books mainstream popularity. I hoped that it would settle down in book 2, but unfortunately, it didn't.

Fantastic premise. Lukewarm execution.

The idea of transporting a modern American town to the 1600s is a great idea and the result was imaginative and complex. But there was just too much explaining and detail about King so-and-so or Captain what's-his-name. It bogged down the action.

The reader was adequate.

I'm not sure I'll read any more of this series.