1632 The Ring of Fire Series
Is anyone out there reading the 1632 series? I'm into the series pretty far and if you like alternate histories, or anachronistic stories, it's something you might get into. It's not so much as alternate history as altered history about a town in West Virginia being sent back to Germany (Thuringia) in the 30 years war. The first book is better in concept than in execution, meaning some of the writing is choppy, but he puts forth some neat themes and does a great job of pushing forward the prejudices and technological disparity that really matter when two worlds clash.
The interaction with major historical figures, clashes between culture, and technology, are the hallmarks for this series.
Were it not for the historical knowledge that was transported back in time with the village, the human town could have been a crash landed alien space ship that has to scale down their society to match resources and be sustainable in a low tech environment.
1632 (read - great concept, neat engagement, some writing segments are a little flat)
1633 (read - lots arm flexing - lots of culture clash, good book)
1634: The Baltic War (read - scaling up of the navy, good book)
1634: The Galileo Affair (reading now)
1634: The Ram Rebellion (read - hilarious, very different from others in the series)
1634: The Bavarian Crisis (read first 2/3, will read rest when I find another copy)
1635: The Cannon Law (read, most excellent about political wrangling in Rome follow on to the Galileo Affair)
Each of the books is a study in a different way 'unwilling invaders' from the future could interact with history. The first couple books are of the "overwhelming force" school of thought, but in the Ram Rebellion we see how "he who can create or destroy roads can make the rules" and was hilarious. The Cannon Law's political maneuvering around Rome is the best so far, and really shows how things can go wrong even if you come from a technologically advanced power.
Have you read any of these? If so, let me know what you think. If not, go check them out.
The interaction with major historical figures, clashes between culture, and technology, are the hallmarks for this series.
Were it not for the historical knowledge that was transported back in time with the village, the human town could have been a crash landed alien space ship that has to scale down their society to match resources and be sustainable in a low tech environment.
1632 (read - great concept, neat engagement, some writing segments are a little flat)
1633 (read - lots arm flexing - lots of culture clash, good book)
1634: The Baltic War (read - scaling up of the navy, good book)
1634: The Galileo Affair (reading now)
1634: The Ram Rebellion (read - hilarious, very different from others in the series)
1634: The Bavarian Crisis (read first 2/3, will read rest when I find another copy)
1635: The Cannon Law (read, most excellent about political wrangling in Rome follow on to the Galileo Affair)
Each of the books is a study in a different way 'unwilling invaders' from the future could interact with history. The first couple books are of the "overwhelming force" school of thought, but in the Ram Rebellion we see how "he who can create or destroy roads can make the rules" and was hilarious. The Cannon Law's political maneuvering around Rome is the best so far, and really shows how things can go wrong even if you come from a technologically advanced power.
Have you read any of these? If so, let me know what you think. If not, go check them out.