ISBN: 0-7434-3542-7 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A solid sequel in this alternate history series, this novel is full of politics as well as personal changes in the lives of its likable characters, but is flawed by too many viewpoints and frequent hopping between them.
Reviewed by David on October 19, 2002
Genre: Science Fiction (Time Travel, Alternate Reality, Historical, Bootstraping Civilization, Politics, War)
Synopsis: A mysterious phenomenon transported a mining town in West Virginia to Germany in the 17th century. The Americans are trying to survive, in the process building a democratic society, and improving the lot of their neighbors.
Obviously not every transplanted American agrees with the best course of action. But more importantly, most of the surrounding monarchs are terrified of the concept of democracy, and are eager to crush the new, fragile republic.
In the first book in the series, 1632, the smll colony has defeated several attacks and allied itself with Gustav, King of Sweden. Now, the feared Cardinal Richelieu has decided to take a part, by concentrating the resources of France—and much of Europe—to isolate and destroy the Americans. Desperately seeking allies, the colony is also trying to create weapons to stave off the invasions.
Full Review: This book is a well-written sequel to 1632. The environment, including politics and technology, appears solid and well-researched, The characters are mostly likable or worthy of respect. Even most of the enemies of the tiny republic are shown with some sympathy or at least respect.
The biggest issue with this book is the frequent view-hopping. Since there are so many aspects to the coming Europe-wide war, the book follows a dozen viewpoints. The fact that all of them present an interesting set of events and people makes it even more difficult to keep switching attention between the threads, thus avoiding true sympathy for any single character.
View-hopping aside, this if one of the better alternate histories in print, with enough fighting, politics, and likable characters to satisfy most readers.
Overall: 5.5; Plot: 6; Characters: 6; Style: 5.5; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 5;
Copyright date 2002, Baen Publishing Enterprises (Baen), August 2002, Cloth, 598 pages
ISBN: 0-7434-3542-7 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com