gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Eye of Horus)
Douglas Berry ([personal profile] gridlore) wrote2005-11-29 02:00 pm
Entry tags:

As I lay dying...

The creeping crud that's been bothering for the better part of a week has reached a crescendo, resulting in me taking a "I think I'll hang around plumbing" day. Ick.

As I awaited the grim specter of Death, or the even grimmer specter of Yet Another Screaming Run to the Commode, I finished 1632, by Eric Flint, which I picked up while Wintergift shopping.

What, you don't buy stuff for yourself too?

Anyway, I really enjoyed the book, and am eagerly waiting for the chance to grab the sequels. Basic summary: In the year 2000, an spherical chunk of West Virginia, six miles across, trades places with a chunk of Southern Germany from 1632. All the German chunk has is some burned farmhouses and slaughtered peasants.. the West Virginian chunk contains the town of Grantville. The residents of which have just been dropped into the middle of the Thirty Years War. Hilarity ensues.

Flint handle the American's pre-knowledge of many historical events by keeping the newcomers out of the big events until the end. By the time they do get involved, enough changes have occurred to make a history textbook useless (There is a nice scene where Gustav Adolphus mentions that he was supposed to die in three months time in a cavalry charge.)

My favorite character had to be the perky head cheerleader who becomes the frigging Angel of Death as the first sniper on Earth. (See, she was training for the biathlon...) Fictional characters mingle with historical characters, and the entire thing just feels right. Worth a read. Also piqued my interest in a period of history that I've overlooked before.

I read a few of the Cross-Time Engineer books, and enjoy the entire "OOP" (Out Of Place) subgenre of AH fiction a great deal.

[identity profile] freetrav.livejournal.com 2005-11-29 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
If you don't insist on dead-tree editions, there are legally-distributabe free copies of the ebook versions of 1632, 1633, and Grantville Gazette #1 (the GG is a compilation of "canonized" fanfic in the same setting). Baen makes them available in HTML, MS-RTF, MS-Word DOC, MS .LIT, Mobipocket PDA .PRC, and Rocket .RB formats. I think all three are available in the Baen Free Library; if not, they're on some of the CD ROM Library volumes.

[identity profile] gridlore.livejournal.com 2005-11-29 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm a big fan of dead trees (kill 'em everyday at work) but this will feed my desire until I can grab the printed versions.. thanks!
kengr: (Default)

[personal profile] kengr 2005-11-30 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
And you can read the first parts of two of the books set in 1634 here:
http://jiltanith.thefifthimperium.com/

You can also get copies of the *10* freely distributable CDs here:
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/

Well, you cvan except when folks have over-run his bandwidth for the month.

It'll be back the 1st.


seawasp: (Torline Valanhavhi)

Um, that's Eric FLINT.

[personal profile] seawasp 2005-11-30 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
And yes, 1632 is very cool. And it's Eric's major bread and butter now.

We're hoping that Boundary, which we co-wrote together, can hit the same level. If it does, who knows, I might actually be able to make a living doing this. :)

Re: Um, that's Eric FLINT.

[identity profile] gridlore.livejournal.com 2005-12-01 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know why I keep making that mistake. Fixed.

I'm trying to track down your books (I really hate amazon.com) and want to do my piece to help you make it as a writer.

[identity profile] collie13.livejournal.com 2005-12-01 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I read it last night on the web, and you're right -- it's fun. Thanks for recommending it! :)