Paperback, 208 pages
English language
Published Dec. 30, 2004 by Battlefield Press, Inc.
I picked this to sleep through but I ended up liking it so I listened while awake. Didn't care for the war stuff, but the rest of it was good
Alternate history fiction is something I used to enjoy immensely, but I haven't read any in quite some time having given it up in favor of reading actual history.
1632 reminds me of everything I like about the genre. By dropping a bunch of pre-9/11 Americans into the middle of the 30 Years War, the author creates a story of hope set in one of the most hopeless periods of European history. The emphasis of the story is on action, character, and romance; but the author also takes time to go over the politics. Both the contemporary politics of the 30 Years War, and the complications of trying to create a Democratic Republic in the midst of it are touched upon.
There's even a bit of prophetic warning about becoming too defensive and creating a Festung Amerika that would end up representing the opposite of the ideals they set out …
Alternate history fiction is something I used to enjoy immensely, but I haven't read any in quite some time having given it up in favor of reading actual history.
1632 reminds me of everything I like about the genre. By dropping a bunch of pre-9/11 Americans into the middle of the 30 Years War, the author creates a story of hope set in one of the most hopeless periods of European history. The emphasis of the story is on action, character, and romance; but the author also takes time to go over the politics. Both the contemporary politics of the 30 Years War, and the complications of trying to create a Democratic Republic in the midst of it are touched upon.
There's even a bit of prophetic warning about becoming too defensive and creating a Festung Amerika that would end up representing the opposite of the ideals they set out to defend. Published in 2000, this warning seems to apply to our modern post-9/11 world as much as it does to the United States of the novel.
Leaving politics aside, the author does a good job of telling a story without falling back on silly "plot twists." I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but to discuss this further requires me to discuss one, although I think it's pretty minor, discussing something that doesn't happen rather than something that does.
Potential Spoiler:
Early in the novel we are introduced to a pair of unlikable characters. I spent most of the novel in dread that they would eventually betray the young Republic, probably coming to a sad end at the hands of their new allies as a result, but doing great damage in the process. It was such an obvious plot twist that I've seen done so many times before, and it looked like it was going to happen again here, but it didn't. I was greatly pleased by this.
End Spoiler
The only real complaint I might have is that the protagonists of the story are all a bit too competent at everything they set out to do, but I think that's a failing of the genre more than it is of this particular author.
Overall, a fun read, and I'll probably go ahead and read some more in the series eventually.
