Overall Rating : B+
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You'll find 1632 in the Sci Fi section of your local bookstore. But there's no science fiction, other than a brief opening reference to "the Assiti shards". Which in reality is just a literary device to transpose a West Virginia town from 2000 into 17th Century Germany and the 30 Years War. Can 20th Century technology and hillbilly determination change European history, presumably for the better? That's what the book explores.
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What's To Like...
It's obvious that Eric Flint thoroughly researched this era. And it's nice that the West Virginians get dropped into a place-&-time that most of us are unfamiliar with. Much better and more original than plopping them into, say, Pearl Harbor 1941, or Custer's Last Stand.
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Also, distracting stuff like Romance and Social Drama are kept to a bare minimum. Hey, we're reading this for the historical musing; not some sappy love story.
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Finally, Flint doesn't fall into the trap of penning a right-wing action diatribe. For instance, there are inter-racial, inter-religious, and inter-dimensional marriages for the reader to come to grips with. Plus issues like "English-only" and Women's Lib. No soapbox oratory on such subjects; they're just presented; you get to see how the 1633 Germans react to them, and you can then form (or reflect upon) your own opinions.
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What's Not To Like...
Not much. I guess my main quibble is how the main protagonist - Mike Stearns - is portrayed. This is Mr. Perfect. He's handsome, charismatic, and a born organizer and leader. He grasps 17th Century European politics and warfare instantly, like they are Sesame Street concepts. Not bad for a hillbilly.
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The Europeans come off as little more than Neanderthals. They get slaughtered in battles due to being out-gunned and out-technologied. And instead of trying to steal the West Virginians' incredible toys, they just charge again, and get chopped to ribbons again.
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Then there's the incredible talents and achievements by the rest of the West Virginians. By fortuitous chance, there's a refinery in their town. Okay, I'll allow that for the sake of the plot. But the operators are the most innovative of fellows - they know how to build a new refinery, from scratch, and via 300-year-old materials of construction. Methinks if you really wanted to accomplish this, it would have been prudent to also time-warp the Engineering Department from West Virginia University.
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Ditto for a West Virginian pilot. Not only can he fly a plane, but if you give him a couple trees and some duct tape, he can build a second plane, albeit, of WW1 design.
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Then there's the Olympics medal-winning female sharpshooter that also by good fortune gets time-warped, and who enables the out-manned Americans to constantly take out all the bad-guy leaders.
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Finally, there's the Women's Libber & Pacifist - Melissa Mailey, who finds true love and cosmic happiness in 1632 Germany, but only after she's thrown off those too-modern attitudes. I can accept that 20th Century issues might be irrelevant in 17th Century Germany. But it's quite a stretch to think that abandoning one's lifelong ideals will somehow suddenly bring you inner peace.
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In conclusion...
Wikipedia gives some fascinating background on both Eric Flint and this series. To save us both some time and space, go there and read about it.
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There is a sequel in papaerback, unsurprisingly titled "1633". A review on it will follow shortly. There are several offshoot storylines, the majority of which were written by amateur fans of 1632, and with the active encouragement of Eric Flint. A threequel ("1634" of course) is in the works, as are several other Assiti shard time-warps, one of which reportedly involves sending George Washington back to ancient Rome.
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Overall, this is a fine book. 592 pages of history, alternate history, action, social commentary, and "what-if's". Definitely worth reading.
