1632 Book Review

This science fiction alternate history story is a fun adventure that makes you appreciate just how far America has come.  By throwing together modern Americans with Germans in 1632 during the 30 years war Eric Flint can compare and contrast the societies in a very interesting way.  The reactions on both sides serve to highlight both the good and the bad that can be find in the modern American system.  It even gets into how you must act to keep and spread the freedom we all take for granted.  I have read this book many times over the years and frankly there is nothing I don't like about it.

The story starts with the West Virginian town of Grantville being mysteriously transported to 1632 Germany in the middle of the 30 years war.  It is the answer to the question "What if you dump a load of American Coal miners who self identify as rednecks into the mess of early Germany?".  What is the answer you ask?  They kick ass, take names, and spread American style freedom backed by modern firearms, vehicles, and political thought that's what.  This does not mean that everything that the uptimers(What people from the modern era are called in the book) do is good because in a whole town there are bound to be some bigot's and intolerant people.  The leaders of Grantville must deal with both internal and external threats, and work to ensure that the American melting pot mentality prevails.  One of the big threats that the main character Mike Stearns sees is the trap of fortress America.  If they are to succeed in making their new home a place they want to live they must resist the urge to hide in a bunker and instead spread their ideals to make the rest of the world more hospitable to their way of thinking.  In this book Eric Flint is truly remaking the world of 1632 and he does a great job of it.

This book will appeal to alternate history fans, science fiction fans, and anyone who likes to see a new fictional world come to life.  While there is quite a bit of violence the overall tone is positive, and while reading it there was never a sense of hopelessness that this sort of story could evoke if done poorly.

This book can be found on www.amazon.com in print or as an e-book.  As of right now this book is free as a kindle e-book.