1634: The Ram Rebellion (Assiti Shards)
by Eric Flint
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eric FlintEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-04-25
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Baen
Book Reviews of 1634: The Ram Rebellion (Assiti Shards)
Book Review: Bad fit for the 1632-verse
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is a little more of a thinky piece than the typical 1632-verse story, and as such it suffers from two problems: (1) the writing quality is uneven and largely amateurish; and (2) the 1632-verse can't withstand too much thinking.
The first issue is obvious enough, and has been covered adequately by other reviewers. Suffice it to say that if there is anything about Eric Flint's writing that annoys you, that flaw will be magnified in the contributions by other authors. The one that really bugs me is the tendency to establish things by having characters talk about them instead of being shown the thing directly (the biggest offenders here are the various conversations that go: "Gee Ann, these Brillo stories sure are hilarious!" "I agree!").
The second problem is a little more subtle. Eric Flint has stated in text or in author's notes that the big themes here are that Life is Shades of Grey and Great Men are Overrated. But the entire 1632-verse presents us with a black and white world where your goodness can be judged by how far you deviate from the ideals of Mike Stearns. Moreover, no character ever really goes from good to bad or bad to good--the closest thing is John Simpson, and he doesn't really change, we're just supposed to like him more once we discover that he's more like Mike Stearns than we originally thought.
Meanwhile, this whole story is about how Great Men are super-cool. Not only is Mike Stearns Better Than You, we also get a cameo by Gretchen Richter to illustrate that she is Better Than You, and the other characters mention in passing that her husband is probably Better Than You too. None of the mainline characters is ever outsmarted, out-toughed, or shown to be wrong about anything (except by other mainline characters, and always in strict accordance with the deviation-from-Stearns hierarchy). I think some of these problems come from the warmed over fanfiction origin of a lot of the writing, but they're creeping into the series as a whole, and they're a lot more noticeable when a book is as devoid of action as this one.
This book can safely be skipped unless you are a 1632 completist or you (like me) desperately need reading material for a long plane flight.
Summary of 1634: The Ram Rebellion (Assiti Shards)
The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, but a new force is gathering power and influence: the Confederated Principalities of Europe, an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident. Inspired by the example of American freedom and justice, a movement in Franconia among the peasants, who have revolted several times even before the arrival from the future of the town of Grantville, an independent revolutionary movement has arisen, flying the banner of the head of a ram. The West Virginians fully approve of liberating the peasants from the nobility, but they are also aware of how revolutionary movements can lead to bloodbaths. And avoiding that deadly possibility will require all of their future knowledge and all their plain old American horse-trading diplomacy. . . .Alternate History Books
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