Since reading the First of the Series 1632, I looked forward to each new book to hit the book stores. This is also one of the few series my boyfriend and I fight over, for who will get first chance to read in hardback. ( )

I think I bought this along with 1632 at a book sale which coupled with a stretch in which I was procrastinating was the only reason I read this book after 1632 ( )

(Alistair) And now, the sequel to 1632, reached at last.

Well, you can read much of my 1632 review over again (complete with comments, for full picture) when it comes to this one. It's a good sequel to the former book, and preserves its tone, merits and flaws pretty much intact, despite the addition of a co-writer to this one.

In another sense, it's also a good sequel to 1632 inasmuch as, given the premises and events of 1632, it plays out very well as a logical extrapolation of the events depicted in the prior book and their consequences, especially as the European powers of the time start gaining access to information relating to their future history and acting in accordance with what they've learned.

(As as a side note, I was especially pleased to see one of the antagonists of the prior book quote-redeemed-unquote in a manner consistent with his character and talents.)

Overall: good book. Recommended for those who enjoyed 1632, and vice versa.

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ce... ) ( )

Similar to the first, though I didn't care for the ending that much. ( )

The sequel to Eric Flint's 1632. Another great Alt. Hist. book.

I enjoyed this book very much. While continuing the story of 1632, this book goes more into politics and real history of the time. A good look at 17th century politics even if this is an alternate history book.

I cannot recommend this book enough. ( )

1633 is a fun book, but it's slightly less enjoyable than the original (1632). The basic plotline -- a small West Virginian town is transported to Germany during the Thirty Years' War and must survive and attempt to civilize Europe -- remains the same. A few new characters are introduced, though some of the protagonists from the first book get short shrift (e.g., Julie Sims) this time around.

The book is probably about a hundred pages too long, and it goes into unnecessary detail on the creation of the (new) U.S. Air Force and Navy. Military hardware nuts will love that added level of detail, but for the rest of us, it's superfluous. An inordinate amount of time is spent on the initial flight training of a couple of new pilots and the construction of the first ironclads. That would be fine if, for example, the ironclads ever saw action in the book -- they do not, however. Presumably, Flint will have them play a significant role in one of the sequels. Flint still uses way too many lengthy expository passages for my taste (even more so than in 1632). That's a real weakness.

You get the impression from reading the book that Flint sees 1633 as being just an opening chapter in a much larger story rather than as a coherent, stand-alone book. While many "epic" series suffer from this problem (I hesitate to even begin to compare 1633 to a Robert Jordan book), I do wish that 1633 had been a little more self-contained.

All that being said, 1633 *is* an enjoyable read, and if you enjoyed the first book in the series, you should definitely take a look at this one, you won't be disappointed.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers ( )

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Not quite as good as 1632, the sequel is still a very good story. Now that things have settled down a bit (following the events of 1632), we have more time to meet more characters and see the changes wrought upon Europe in a much broader scale. Once again, highly recommended (at least assuming that you liked 1632). ( )

A West Virginia town deals with the challenges of being thrown back in time to the 17th Century. They work to save themselves as well as improve things in general.

A fairly entertaining story that is overall better written than 1632. There is a lot of buildup for very little action though. A lot of the book is one character or another giving a monologue on politics or economics or history. In the end, a lot of the plot threads don't have any impact on the main storyline but just seem to be setting up scenarios for the shared world that Weber is creating. ( )

Volume 2 Nothing special Modern american town Finds itself in the midst of the thirty years war and brings Democracy, Big Guns and Apple Pie to the people. To be fair the authors do try to give the Pie a european flavour.

I learned some odds and sods about the history while grappled with an unlikely plot. Eric Flint is very much a product of the American trade union movement which gives the revolutionary ideals of this book a different feel to that usual.

For some reason this book brought home to me that many Americans do genuinely see themselves as part of an on going and continuing revolution. Democracy is for them very much a revolutionary ideal. ( )

The Series Begins: In Eric Flint's 2000 book "1632," the town of Grantville is ripped from modern-day and dropped in the middle of Germany, in the middle of the Thirty Years' War. Thanks to its citizens' modern knowledge and weapons, a lot of luck, and an alliance with the powerful King of Sweden, the town was able to keep from being wiped out in its first year in the seventeenth century. So we move on to "1633."

But in the 1630s, there are few European countries as powerful as France, which is controlled by the capable and ruthless Cardinal Richelieu. When stolen history books from Grantville make their way into his hands and show him the future development of France, Richelieu is not pleased. Along with the kings of England and Spain, Richelieu organizes the forces of absolute monarchy and established religion to stamp out the representative government, rule of law and religious pluralism that threaten to cast them into the dustbin of history. In their sights are potential revolutionary Oliver Cromwell, the insufferable Dutch Republic and, of course, Grantville.

Even though "1633" is a sequel to Eric Flint's "1632" (and incorporates a few of the short stories in the "Ring of Fire" anthology), it is really the first book in the series that Flint eventually decided to set in the "1632" universe. "1632" was originally designed to be a stand-alone novel, and it was only its unexpected success that led Flint to consider writing the full-blown series, collaborating with a series of coauthors, of which David Weber is the first.

Thus "1633" is a very different beast than "1632." Instead of being a fully self-contained novel, "1633" sets up several of the various plot strands that will be pursued in the 1634 books currently being written and published. There is much more character development, which fleshes out some of the characters who were relatively one-dimensional in 1632 (a good thing, in my opinion). On the other hand, there are fewer battles and a generally slower pace (which I did not mind). Despite leaving several threads hanging for future volumes, the book does have a solid conclusion.

If you read and enjoyed "1632," I would definitely recommend going on to "1633," though you may want to read "Ring of Fire" first - several of the short stories in that anthology were written before "1633" and incorporated into it by Flint and Weber, even though "1633" was published first. The uncertain should know that Baen offers the book for free on its Web site. I encourage them to check it out. "1633" kicks off what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable alternate history series. Flint's decision to write with a number of different coauthors should keep the series from falling into a rut, making each book fresh and approached from a slightly different angle. I'm looking forward to reading them. ( )