1633 by Eric Flint, David Weber
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Book Reviews of 1633
Book Review: Spinach with your meal
Summary: 4 Stars
For starters, I immensely like the 1632 series as a whole. I have felt that since the beginning, this series can and probably will be around for awhile. There is no "end" in actuality. Now, onto the actually dissection:First off, even Eric Flint admitted that 1633 was the "spinach with your steak" of the series. 1633 is highly detailed and intricately woven, with characters developing nicely. However, the tech info dump that occurs does leave one, unless suitably prepared, with a minor headache. However, this book is a MUST for any fan of the series. With Ring of Fire, and 1634: The Gallileo Affair arrived or arriving, this is the story that is the glue to it all.
Book Review: I just have one problem
Summary: 5 Stars
First I must say that I for one think that this series is only getting better. David Weber and Eric Flint are excellent at complementing each other. Don't get me wrong I loved 1632 but this book was a lot more precise and intricate than a bunch of hevily armed hillbilly's blasting there way through poorly armed inexperienced mercenaries. I still have some problems with this book but they are so minor I will not even mention them. This book proposes some interesting ideas
When the small West Virgina mining town was transported back through time did they emerge in a new universe or the old one that they came from?
What would nations in 1633 do if they had access to history textbooks? .
I just think that this book takes itself more seriously than 1632 and as such characters that we were not supposed to like(The Simpsons) were fleshed out and made more human proving that they too had a role to play in this new world the West Virginia find themselves thrown into.
My only beef is that it has been some time since I read 1632 a list of characters would have been appreciated.
Overall-All in all this is a good book and it has the potential to be a great series(highly recommended).
Book Review: Good, interesting, well thought out alternate history
Summary: 4 Stars
"1633" isn't quite the novel I expected, but it's still good.Let me try to explain. First, "1633" is deeper than "1632," which is a plus. Some characters, such as John and Mary Simpson (the CEO and his socialite wife), are fleshed out and made human. That's terrific. OTOH, because Flint and Weber are depicting a war zone, war preparations, and showing politics, there isn't as much human interaction in some ways as there was in "1632."
But the political referents are spot on (perhaps because of all the helpful folks in Eric Flint's 1632 Tech Manual conference at Baen's Bar; Mr. Flint talks about how helpful they are, and it sure seems that way), the intrigue makes sense, the worldbuilding is superlative, and I felt there was plenty of action in the "minor skirmish" sense. (Of course, at least two of the "minor skirmishes" would have become major battles if not for the modern technology the West Virginians brought with them, or at least the modern ideas they used to create or re-create the modern tech.)
However, the main relationships I enjoyed from the first book, namely Mike Stearns and his lovely wife Rebecca Abrabanel, Julie and Alex MacKay, Melissa and the Doctor, etc., are totally missing. There's a little byplay with Rita Stearns and her husband the WVA football player, Tom Simpson, but it's not enough.
And although I loved the development of John and Mary Simpson, and enjoyed very much how a few of the German princes came along as things went, and enjoyed seeing Gretchen Richter and her husband Jeff and how they got along, it just wasn't enough, character-wise, to truly suit me.
Which is why I cannot in good conscience give this book 5 stars.
However, I can't really see how they could have done things any differently; Rebecca is using her knowledge of the rulers and her new, powerful position as wife to the most important man in all of Europe to do what's necessary. And Rita Stearns, et. al., didn't know they'd get locked up in the Tower of London.
And I must admit, I really enjoyed Oliver Cromwell's characterization, and the spots of humor now and again in the book.
Also, I had no problem envisioning Mike Stearns' transformation to consummate politician; it was obvious that Rebecca saw something in him, and she helped him develop it. What's wrong with that? In addition, I bought how James the doctor could form an alliance with Tom Stone the recreational chemist (one of the best new characters in the book; thank you, Mercedes Lackey, for thinking him up -- that's yet another "thank you" Mr. Flint inserted into the remarks at the end of the book), and how the two of them could and would try to help despite having rather limited resources. And finally, I really liked the new character of Colonel Jesse Wood (Mike Spehar, a longtime fan and pilot, thought _him_ up), and appreciated the difference even a rudimentary Air Force could make in the 1632-and-beyond-universe. The new characters helped a great deal, and I look forward to seeing them developed in future books.
Even so, I'd put this as not quite as good at the original "1632," but still a worthy, interesting book. I'm hoping that "1634" will have more character development among the original characters, and that Mike and Rebecca (among others) will actually get to spend more time together in it, too.
Four stars, recommended.
Barb Caffrey
Book Review: Thirty Years Bore
Summary: 3 Stars
I must admit, almost guiltily, that I really enjoyed this book's predecessor, 1632, and looked forward to reading the sequel. Alas, it seemed that Eric Flint found it necessary to write the novel with David Weber, which basically dragged both authors down into a long-winded mire of dialogue and politics. Too bad. The strength of the first book could be found in the simplicity of the plot: what happens if you take a town of civilized rednecks from good old West Virginia and plop them down in the middle of the 30 Years War? It was a fun read, full of action, excitement and characters who seemed to act true to form.That's all gone now. The book is woefully lacking in any sort of action whatsoever, hard to believe in a book co-authored by Weber, but it's true. The former Hillbillies have almost to a man turned into waxing philisophers who ponder the politics of their era using a language and sophistication they did not possess in the first book, nor one that they could have realistically picked up given their desparate situation. I kept waiting for something to happen, but outside of a rousing sea battle at about page 200 nothing happened until a rather dull conclusion. What's worse, is that two of the best characters from the first book, Alex and Julie MacKay, are almost completely written out of this one.
There is way too much character development for a book of this genre and most of it is hard to believe (such as a discussion on the morality of Oliver Cromwell between a 20 something West Virginian and a former WVA football player) and there are way too many plot lines left unresolved. This leaves us all pondering exactly how many years these two are planning on going. Maybe Robert Jordan will co-author the next book with them and they can call it, "January, 03, 1634" or something like that.
Mr. Flint, if you read this review, please write the next one by yourself and get back to the original point of the novel. Thank you.
Book Review: More depth than 1632
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed 1633 more than 1632 as one of the larger flaws of the first book was that toward the end it became far too much action and not enough thought (sort of like watching a movie chase scene that goes on for 20 minutes, fun but tedious after a while) I thought that presenting the characters, in particualr the non-americans, as people with their own agenda and not as two dimensional "bad guys" set up to have massive battles with the "good guys" made it a stronger book. I enyoyed the action elements and would not want to have a turgid history book of a history that does not even exist, but I am very glad that the characters were more interesting and that the context of the actions made sense.