Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)1632 was compared by many (including myself) to S.M. Stirling's "Island in the Sea of Time". They certainly share some similarities -- small part of the USA dropped mysteriously back in time and has to find a way to deal with the problems caused thereby -- but other than that and the "rebuild civilization" general idea that follows from the premise, they're not much alike.
1632, and now 1633, are FUN books. "Island" hammered away at you with the tough details, but Eric Flint instead gives us a more engaging cast of characters overall and less vicious villains.
In fact, even the villains are painted in such a way as to give one sympathy for them on occasion.
One major complaint about 1632 was the character Simpson, a former CEO, who was a foil for the main character and appeared only in two chapters. Eric Flint has told me (and others) that Simpson was a convenience to get things moving, nothing more, and that's why he ended up looking like cardboard. The book was not intended to be a series originally, but it did so well that it would have been foolish to NOT make it a series.
Simpson-the-foil is gone, replaced by a still-obstreperous and uptight, but no-longer-cardboard character who has invaluable skills to the new "United States" that's trying to survive in the war-riddled Europe of 1633. Simpson can still be more annoying than many of the villains, which I actually count as a good thing; it's nice to make the point that someone can be on your side and still not be as nice a PERSON as some of the people who oppose you.
The characterization of Richelieu, the Cardinal who was the true Power in France at the time, is frightening. He is that (thankfully) rare sort, a man of great intellect and wide education who has charisma, empathy, warmth... and an unswervable, Machiavellian determination to achieve his goals. He regrets the loss, yet will order an execution in a heartbeat. While there are certainly other opponents, Richelieu is by far the most formidable single enemy the Americans of Grantville and their allies face.
It's true that a great deal of time is spent with the various factions' reaction to the "other" histories, but I find this more interesting than boring, overall. What's interesting about it is that the various people are reacting TO the histories as PROPHECY -- "Lo, and this shall come to pass if..." -- and trying to "fight the future" (to borrow a quote) by taking preemptive action against it. One has to wonder, though, when they'll realize that the very EXISTENCE of Grantville already changed dynamics sufficiently that their history books were pretty much useless. After this book, they might as well chuck the history books except for whatever strategic and so on material they contain -- there won't be much left to worry about in them.
I won't give many spoilers here -- this is a brand-new book -- but I will say that I find the writing easy and engaging, the main characters fun to follow, and the action enjoyable, while the logic of the reconstruction doesn't overly strain my suspension of disbelief. Buy this one, it's well worth the price.
Click Here to see more reviews about: 1633
0 comments:
Post a Comment