1633 by Eric Flint, David Weber
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Book Reviews of 1633
Book Review: Good reading is hard to find.
Summary: 4 Stars
This type of story is what I'm most addicted to and it's hard to find. While this isn't the first alternative history type book I've read(i.e I've read Turtledove, S.M. Stirling, and Forstchein) it's still one of the more balanced...in a political sense. I've just read the other reviews where somebody called Flint "a socialist". Speaking as a leftist radical myself---(I'm not afraid to admit it),(Not a "liberal" if you ever studied the use of that word),-- Flint does a little bit if sometimes not a lot more than the other authors I mentioned above to more accurately portray the United States of our own time(or if a W. Virginia small town and its miners' union were the model), and the diversity of people that could go with it, i.e. White Trash, Hillbillies, a Black Man that made it out of the ghetto, a lefty schoolteacher, and a CEO type.
I definitely compare Flint's and Weber's novel favorably to Harry Turtledove, Guns of the South, and World War Series where Blacks and anyone darker than Asian is just a two dimensional character to be pitied or seen from the outside and not the inside. Although I love what Turtledove does with Robert E. Lee, and the Confederate infantry men(and woman), Nate, and Molly...it still doesn't excuse his obvious pattern, also evident in his world war series of making African-Americans into cardboard figures, and American Indians as practically non-existent.
I also compare Flint and 1632 with 1633 favorably to Forstchein and his Lost Regiment Series where "free" market, neo-liberalism(free trade), and the motives for the Civil War were all just shining stars of the Great White American past. Compare it on those aspects and 1632, and 1633 are both breaths of fresh air.
If you just looked at the covers you might think the books are just Manifest Destiny(looking at the stars and stripes) only centuries earlier and a continent away, but that tells you "Don't judge a book.""" You know the rest.
So far overall I like it because I know that a CEO who makes literally 100 times the salary that his average laborer makes(and that's on this side of the border), and will downsize, or cut jobs, and lives without blinking an eye can't be somebody I can comfortably sit at the table with. John Simpson the CEO is actually treated pretty good as that goes, because he's given a chance to be human even if he is the 21st century's counterpart to those nobles of the 17th century.
I read Flint's statement at the end where he asserts that rural people in the United States aren't necessarily ignorant and racists, and I agree with it. I've come across white people from places like Texas, and Montana, and I've found them easier to talk to and more open minded than some of the "cosmopolitans" that live around me in Southern California. I remember the family( I don't remember where exactly they were from but somewhere in the South), and they were eating the ice cream in Tijuana Mexico, something most white Southern Californians will never know the pleasure of because they're afraid of it because of their prejudice while they trust McDonald's and Carl's Jr. like it was their mother's cooking.
I also compare Flint, and 1632, and 1633 to S.M. Stirling and his Island in the Sea of Time who tries to make me believe that 20th Century dojo practioners are going to beat ancient warriors of Europe and America in hand to hand combat. That's just not reality. We don't know what those ancient warriors could do if we put them amongst us today and it doesn't matter if their martial arts were Asian or not. Somebody whose combat tested with swords, or his hands would not be somebody to take lightly by somebody whose done it for a hobby, sport, or "self-defense" in our own time.
I'm addicted to the basic concept of the books, that is mixing people and places from different times. It's always fascinating to entertain the fantasy of changing history with what we know today. My only criticism so far would have to be that things go too often into the American Republic's favor with out too much complication or challenge. Aside from that though it's great reading because of the detail and authenticity. When you read these books you get a feel for what 17th century life, nobility, and squalor was like, and what would happen if it collided with 21st century idealists(and not everybody in this century is an idealists, i.e CEOs). You're also getting very good basic introductions into people, places, and events should you for some reason want to do research on them for school or some other reason.
If nothing else it'll incite your interest in the actual recorded facts. Four stars, or what to me would be an A-, not perfect or ideal but damn good, and definitely riveting.
Book Review: Resolve Something Please!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
1632 was an excellent novel in the tradition of the Islander series or the classic Lest Darkness Fall about present day people who unexpectedly end up in the past. 1633 was a decent follow-up and I would like to see where all this is going (now that the sequel beast is out of the bag). Unfortunately, 1633 is way too much a bridge novel, neither beginning nor ending in its own right.I understand that 1633 is meant to be a midpoint in a series but it would have been helpful is at least one of the plotlines got resolved. Instead everything is left up in the air. Rebecca and company are still in Amsterdam, Melissa and company are still in the Tower, Gustav and Mike are still facing a huge war with sulky German princes as allies, and finally the commoners seem to have gotten something, but it is totally unclear what.
Surely in 600 pages Weber and Flint could have resolved or at least moved forward one of these lines. Instead nearly everything that happens in this book happens in the first third and the reader is frustrated by the sheer length with so little effect. So for 1634 and beyond...move it along!!!
Book Review: A Horrible Disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
"1632" was a great book. While the plot device is as old as alternate fantasy--see "Sideways in Time" by Murray Leinster--the characters were not only interesting in themselves but also true to type in the way they dealt with their changed circumstances. In "1633" however, they seem sadly out of their depth. Furthermore, if there is to be one book for each remaining year of the 30 Years War, this is going to be a very LONG series, which explains why there are so many unresolved plot lines in "1633" which show no hope of being resolved before several more volumes of this series have arrived. Basically, though,my dissatisfacton lies in my answer to a question posed by an earlier reviewer--are the characters of rednecks from 20th (or 21st) century West Virginia strong enough to stand up to the intrigues of 17th century politics? My answer--and I live among similar people--has got to be "No". This is, of course, a mere personal opinion and therefore not of general application suitable for a book review, but it makes the whole premise of "1633" (and "1634","1635 and "1636" when they appear) increasingly remote from what I believe is possible. As a result, I cannot get involved with or care about the protagonists any more than I could about Batman or Superman (or the characters in all the many "Star Wars" books), or about the situations they get themselves in. There are very few authors, like David Eddings, who can sustain a series over five or ten books. Even J.R.R. Tolkien stopped at three.Book Review: Please spare me politcal intrigue!
Summary: 3 Stars
I downloaded 1632 from the Baen website and devoured it in a few hours. I was drawn into a book and story that had me caring about the characters and cheering for their accomplishments.I assumed 1633 would bring more of the same but I was wrong. Perhaps the partnership with David Webber is to blame, but I found myself skipping pages when the plot strayed from what I considered to be the major storyline, to long and, at least for me, uninteresting discussions on 17th century politics.
I'm sorry guys, but most of us are not reading this series for the politics. Tone it down, and the next books will draw in the readers.
Book Review: WOW! Dude please write alone!
Summary: 1 Stars
1632 was awesome. 1633 was horrible. It was a very hard read and was a depressing purchase.