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1632; Some thoughts I've had
Topic Started: Dec 25 2007, 01:56 PM (991 Views)
Custer
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Pretty good book. I'll have to get started on the sequels come the new calendar.

Still, some issues I feel the need to address.

1. What the FUCK was up with Julie Sims? Hot young high school cheerleader becomes Berenger-esque sniper machine? I refuse.

2. I don't mind these characters, really, but the biggest problem I have with the lot of them (Stearns, Becky, guy who rescues German gal, Dr. James, etc.) is that they all seem too good to be true. They don't have much in the way of flaws, and they're always on the up. This is the biggest problem I have with Flint's characters in both series of his I've read so far.

3. I hated how Wallenstein's appearance two-thirds of the way through was ended abruptly near the end by the Berenger-esque sniper machine. I think he would have made an interesting antagonist in later volumes.

4. That high school teacher, Melissa, sucks ass. Really. And the fact that she has a history degree and still ended up teaching high school history in a small town West Virginia is one of the biggest arguments I can think of to NOT to get a history degree (though to be fair she did have other options, but threw them away with her reckless radicalism).

5. I really enjoyed the Breitenfeld sequence. Ditto for the political discourse scenes setting up the new United States.
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TR1
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1. Sims was weird. I know Flint told us later in the novel that she'd been an Olympic finalist, but it was pretty tacked on after she'd been portrayed as a cheerleader stereotype.

2. The characters become more rounded as the series moves on. Flint does idealize his characters, though.

3. Keep reading, Wallenstein isn't dead yet.

4. Mailey just gets more tiresome as the series progresses. Sorry.
"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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Custer
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Wallenstein lives on? Sexcellent... B)
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Makkabee
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I really liked Melissa Mailey, she's one of my favorite characters. And as for Julie Simms, I thought showing the stereotypical image you get from a first meeting and then shattering it utterly as we get to know it better was a pretty good idea. And speaking of shattering images, wait until you see what they do with Chip in the Grantville Gazette. Or was it Ring of Fire? I can't remember any more.
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TR1
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Yes, her name was Mailey. Not that other name, belonging to a person I've dealt with at work.
"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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Wyldstaar
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The book immediately following 1632 is Ring of Fire, an anthology from various authors. The longest, and most important, story in the book is the final tale: The Wallenstein Gambit. You will be pleased. The latest issues of The Grantville Gazzette have featured a sequel to The Wallenstein Gambit titled, "The Anaconda Project" which is being written by Eric Flint. The stories in the Grantville Gazzettes have timelines that vary. The first book is all set before 1633. After that, it tends to vary wildly from one story to the next.

As for Julie Simms, you might be surprised. While her character will evolve, Flint didn't just pluck the notion of a pretty young girl who was also a sniper out of thin air. The fictional town of Grantville is heavily based on the real town of Mannington, WV: home of Anna Lou Ballew McQuade. Anna Lou was named athlete of the year, won the title of National Rifle Champion under 18 twice, and qualified for the US Olympic rifle team. Instead of being a cheerleader in high school though, she was a drum major. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

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TR1
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The character is a little less "weird" now that I know that Julie has a real world analog.
"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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Custer
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Ring of Fire is next, eh? I shall have to read it come the new orbit. I think it's even available on Baen online.
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Wyldstaar
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The order for the novels of the Ring of Fire universe, not including the Grantville Gazzettes is-

1632
Ring of Fire
1633
1634: The Galileo Affair
1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Ram Rebellion
1634: The Bavarian Crisis
1635: The Cannon Law

The novel The Ram Rebellion actually begins in 1631, but the meat and potatoes of the story take place in 1634, hence the title. It actually fits pretty much anywhere in the order of the 1634 novels I suppose. The spot I stuck it in is as good as any. Few if any references to events taking place in the other titles are mentioned. Since Ring of Fire II isn't due to be released until next week, I can only guess that it takes place in 1635 for the most part. 1634 seems to have been covered quite adequately already.
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Makkabee
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I'm looking forward to that one. I hope there's a story set in the Ottoman Empire in it. We got some tantalizing mentions of what goes on in Constantinople, but never a firsthand view.

Of course, I think Flint overstated the Ottoman Empire's importance in the 1630s. A century before it had unquestionably been the strongest power in the Europe and the Middle East. However things had changed a lot since Suleiman the Magnificent had died, and the empire was closer to the entity that got squished by the Poles in the second siege of Vienna than the juggernaut that seemed to only lose by a miracle in the first.

I also want to see something in the Americas. Again, we've had these tantalizing mentions of events in Brazil and the northern colonies, but I want a PoV story or two that puts us right in there.
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Bignate
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I dunno. I only read The Ram Rebellion and wasn't al that impressed. HT he is not. :unsure:
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Custer
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Bignate
Dec 29 2007, 10:31 PM
I dunno. I only read The Ram Rebellion and wasn't al that impressed. HT he is not. :unsure:

To be fair to Flint, The Ram Rebellion is way down the series from the first volume.
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TR1
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Custer
Dec 30 2007, 12:52 AM
Bignate
Dec 29 2007, 10:31 PM
I dunno. I only read The Ram Rebellion and wasn't al that impressed. HT he is not. :unsure:

To be fair to Flint, The Ram Rebellion is way down the series from the first volume.

To be fairer still, it's also the weakest entry in the series thus far.
"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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Wyldstaar
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To be even more fair still, The Ram Rebellion was mainly written by Virginia DeMarce. Eric Flint got top billing credit because he's the known author, and creator of the series. He did contribute to the book's creation, but the majority of it's content didn't originate with Flint. And as TR1 said, it is indeed the least interesting book in the series. It's also the least influential. The events in the book are very isolated, and have little effect on the RoF universe as a whole compared to the other novels.
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Bignate
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Well, which book do you recommend as the most interesting in the series? I'm willing to give it another try. :unsure:
By the way, off the subject, was anyone impressed with the latest addition to the "I am Legend?" I'm about to go see it, but only because my son insists. The previous two movies based on that novel were not very impressive.
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