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Mood: Happy ]
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Currently: Watching My Son Sleep in My Lap ]
A lot of people want to live in the past, enchanted by the romance. A lot of them have written fanciful, romantic stories about travelling back in time. 1632 is not one of these.
The small town of Grantville, West Virginia has been transported back in time to 1632 (hence the title) due to a side effect of an alien tecnology. They are deposited into the middle of the Thirty Years War in the German province of Thuringia. (That’s in the middle part of Germany, in the mountain forrests)
Exploring their new environment, some of the townsfolk stumble across war attrocities in the making. Specifically the rape and torture of peasants. Rescuing some of the locals, the Americans quickly realize that they need to band together if they have a hope of survining. They also realize that their current level of technology is not sustainable, that they have to "gear down" as it were.
The residents of Grantville are also faced with the realization that, in order to survive, they need to get involved in what is going on around them. This means takinging in the refugees that are hiding in the forrest around the town, as well as showing the various military forces that the Americans are a force with which to be reconned.
Author Eric Flint has struck a perfect balance between historicity and fiction. There are overwrought moments of American patriotism and pride (I found myself mentally chanting USA! USA! a few times.), but there are also uniquely human moments that make this alternate past seem so real and engaging.
I must also stop and compliment Flint on his remarkably strong female characters. Of particular note is Gretchen, the printer’s-daughter-turned-unilling-camp-follower-turned-Grantville-citizen. Strong, practical, but completely human, Gretchen is compelling and real. You want to spend as much time with her as possible. This holds true for many of the women that Flint has created.
If there was any fantasy book that should be optioned for a TV series, this in one. Showtime, HBO listen up. A rich series, full of lots of interesting characters, thrilling battle scenes and love, lots of sweet love. Think of it as Jericho meets the Tudors. AWESOME!