1632 series
Eric Flint's Ring of Fire Press | |
Published | February 2000 – ongoing |
---|---|
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book |
No. of books | 90+ |
The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Baen Books.[1]
The series is set in 17th-century Europe, in which the small fictional town of
As of 2019, the series has seven published novels propelling the main plot and over ten published novels moving several subplots and threads forward.[citation needed][original research?] The series also includes fan-written, but professionally edited, collaborative material which are published in a bi-monthly magazine titled The Grantville Gazettes and some collaborative short fictions.[2]
In terms of the history of
Since both The Grantville Gazette and the Ring of Fire Press had ceased operations just shortly after Eric Flint's death in 2022,[3][4] the series was originally expected to be concluded after manuscripts that had already been submitted to Baen prior to Flint's death were published in the upcoming year or so.[5] In June 2023, it was announced that a new company, Flint's Shards Inc., had signed a contract with Lucille Robbins, Eric Flint’s widow and heir, to produce a new electronic magazine called Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond that will be released bimonthly on the first day of odd-numbered months with Bjorn Hasseler as Editor-in-Chief starting September 2023.[6]
Series overview
The 1632 series began with Flint's stand alone novel 1632 (released February 2000). It is, excepting the lead novel and the serialized e-novel The Anaconda Project (2007), virtually all collaboratively written, including some "main works" with multiple co-authors. However, Flint has mentioned contracts with the publisher for at least two additional solo novels he has in planning on his website. Flint, whose bibliography was dominated by collaborative work, claims that this approach encourages the cross-fertilization of ideas and styles, stimulating the creative process and preventing stale, formulaic works.[7]
As stated in the first Grantville Gazette and on his site, Flint's novel 1632 was an experiment[8] wherein he explores the effect of transporting a large group of people back in time, in this case an entire American town.
1632 occurs in the midst of the
The series was initially continued with two collaborative works that were more or less written concurrently: 1633 (with best selling novelist David Weber) and an anthology called Ring of Fire (with other established science-fiction writers, including long, "deep background" stories by both Weber and Flint).
Overall, the narratives are not oriented on one group of protagonists with a strong lead character, but instead are carried by an ensemble cast—though most books or short stories do have several strong characters who carry the action and plot forward. Flint had intended from the outset that the whole town would be the collective protagonist; a reflection of his philosophy that historic forces are not centered in the main on the actions of one or two key individuals, but on the many small independent actions of the many going about their daily lives and coping as best they can.
By late in 1632, the New United States-led coalition of the Confederated Principalities of Europe had become the arsenal and financier (through Jewish connections of real historical interest) for Swedish King
Richelieu forms a four-way alliance, the League of Ostend, to oppose the New United States, Gustavus' expeditionary army, and allied princes of the German states. After the first book, the series begins multiple plot lines or story threads reflecting this independence of action by a multitude of characters. The sequel 1633 spreads the Americans out geographically over Central Europe. Next, the novel
Co-author of 1633,
Without waiting for Weber, other sequels such as 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1635: The Cannon Law, and the Grantville Gazettes continue in one thread or another with in-depth looks at societal ramifications from technology, religion, and social unrest as Europe deals with the outlandish ideas of Grantville's influential presence, to machinations of Europe's elites trying to maintain their hold on power, or leverage off of Grantville-triggered events or knowledge for reasons of self-interest.
Collective collaborative effort
Grantville Gazette (2003–2022)
When the novel 1632 was written, Flint did not intend to write an immediate sequel. However, following popular demand for a sequel Flint (a relatively new writer, but an experienced editor) invited other authors contracted to Baen to share the universe to rapidly develop its potential. As a result, while the first long sequel was being written, Flint concurrently put together the Ring of Fire anthology of short fiction by a wide range of authors.
In parallel, the online message board
The end result had become a collaborative alternative history series consisting of interlinked novels and short stories, that can be regarded as adding additional layers of depth into the canon - the first level consisting of the "mainline" novels; the second level consisting of novels that take place in parallel "threads" (usually representing events in separate geographic regions); the third level consisting short fiction that has been published in print form (either drawn from the Grantville Gazette, or commissioned separately as part of the Ring of Fire anthology series); and the fourth level consisting of the stories published in the Grantville Gazette. The third and fourth levels frequently provided more in-depth background, and showed the impact of the events in the novels on the ordinary population. The entire series canon was maintained by Flint.
1632 & Beyond (2023–present)
A year after the demise of the Grantville Gazette, some of Flint's fellow 1632 co-authors got together to form a new company called Flint's Shards Inc., which is dedicated in producing a new electronic magazine called Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond (colloquially referred to as 1632 & Beyond) that would specialize in publishing short stories in the 1632 and other Assiti Shards universes on a bimonthly basis.[6][9]
The first issue was released in September 2023 and it included short stories by Jody Lynn Nye,
The second issue was released in November 2023 and it included short stories by Sean Little, Marc Tyrrell, George Grant, Iver Cooper plus the writing team of Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett are all set in the 1632 universe with Bethanne Kim contributing a nonfiction article.[11]
The third issue was released in January 2024 and it included short stories by Robert E. Waters, Bethanne Kim, Marc Tyrrell, and Garrett W. Vance, all set in the 1632 universe, with Iver Cooper contributing a nonfiction article.[12]
Th forth issue was released in March 2024 and it included short stories by Bjorn Hasseler, Edith Wild, and Jack Carroll set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed another short story set in the Queen of the Seas universe.[13]
1632 plot threads
The "mainline" novels (many of which were written by Flint alone) focus on the principal political developments within the series, along with several key characters. However, the opening of the canon to other writers allows for plot threads in other geographical regions to be explored in more details. As with real history, none of these are in isolation, and plot threads converge and diverge according to the needs of the story.
Main thread
- Novel: 1632 (2000)
- Novel: 1633 (2002) with David Weber
- Novel: 1634: The Baltic War (2007) with David Weber, the direct main thread novel sequel to 1633.
- Novel: 1635: The Eastern Front (2010)
- Novel: 1636: The Saxon Uprising (2011)
- Novel: 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught(2017)
- Novel: 1637: The Polish Maelstrom(2019)
North-Central and Western European thread
The Central European thread or more correctly, the Central and Southwest Central European thread, is the main plot thread of the series. It concerns events in the region from west to east of the
- Anthology: Mike Speharwhich begins the Eastern Europe thread, "In the Navy" by David Weber, and other stories antedating 1633 in the neohistory.
- Novel: 1634: The Ram Rebellion (2006) with Virginia DeMarce, crafted as a collection of related "key developmental events". This is structured more as an anthology and includes substantial material from Paula Goodlett and other authors, but classed as a novel by the publishing trade since the stories all come together as having a related overall story arc.
- Novel: 1634: The Bavarian Crisis (2007) with Virginia DeMarce, chronological sequel to 1632, but continues the Eastern European thread.
- Anthology: Ring of Fire II (2008)
- Novel: 1635: The Dreeson Incident (2008) with Virginia DeMarce
- Novel: 1635: The Tangled Web (2009) by Virginia DeMarce
- Novel: 1635: Music and Murder(2013) by David Carrico
- Novel: 1636: The Devil's Opera (2013) by David Carrico
South European thread
The Southern European thread, or Western South Europe and South Central European thread, or perhaps more appropriately, the South-Central and Southwestern European thread, involves characters introduced in the short story "
- Novel: Andrew Dennis
- Novel: Andrew Dennis
- Novel: 1635: The Papal Stakes (2012) with Charles E. Gannon
- Novel: 1636: The Vatican Sanction (2017) with Charles E. Gannon
Eastern European thread
The Eastern European thread is taken to be east of modern-day Germany, Austria, and western Hungary, to include mainly modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and parts of Ukraine and Belarus, but not Russia. The first fiction written within this thread was the novelette "The Wallenstein Gambit" and the prequel short stories leading up to it, all published in the 2004 anthology Ring of Fire.[citation needed]
- Novelette: "The Wallenstein Gambit", continues from two plot lines suggested in "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "A Lineman for the Country" in the same anthology.
- Serialized novel (discontinued): The Anaconda Project by Eric Flint, directly continues "The Wallenstein Gambit" and follows the establishment of a new empire with its capital at Prague. The serial was interrupted (and ultimately discontinued) in late 2009 due to the author having an unscheduled medical procedure that caused serious problems to his writing schedule.[14] Ultimately, only 10 episodes were published in the Gazette with only eight episodes incorporated into two Baen novels.
- Novel: 1635: The Eastern Front (2010) by Eric Flint[15]
- Novel: 1637: The Polish Maelstrom (2019) by Eric Flint (includes episodes 1–4, and 7–8 of The Anaconda Project)[16]
- Novel: 1637: The Transylvanian Decision (2022) by Eric Flint, Robert E. Waters [17]
Russian thread
The Russian thread was started by authors Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff in the eighth issue of the Grantville Gazette with their introduction of the serial Butterflies in the Kremlin, which later became the novel 1636: The Kremlin Games. Goodlett and Huff has since written at least 5 novels within this thread with more on the way. The latest Russian novel, 1638: The Sovereign States, was released in September 2023.[18]
- Novel: 1636: The Kremlin Games (2012) by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, and Paula Goodlett
- Novel: 1637: The Volga Rules(2018) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, and Gorg Huff
- RoFP Novel: A Holmes For the Czar (2020) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett
- RoFP Novel: Two Cases for the Czar (2020) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett
- RoFP Novel: A Mission for the Czar (2021) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett
- Novel: 1638: The Sovereign States(2023) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff
- H&G Novel: A Diogenes Club for the Czar (2023) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett
Publishing notes: RoFP Novels are books that were first published by the defunct Ring of Fire Press (2013-2022) and might be republished later by a different company under contract. H&G Novels are books that was first privately published by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett via Amazon (new company yet to be named). Other novels listed are books published by Baen Books.
This line of stories begins with the naval actions in the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic Sea and the connecting straits between the bodies of water in 1633. With the conclusion of the northern European sea actions at the end of the novel 1634: The Baltic War, the action moves to the Caribbean Sea and Western Atlantic coast of North America. At the conclusion of 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line, the naval forces are recalled to serve in the conflict with the Ottoman Empire in a forthcoming 1638 novel about the naval battles in that war.
- Novel: 1633 (2002) by Eric Flint, David Weber
- Anthology: Ring of Fire (2002) by Eric Flint et al.
- Novel: 1634: The Baltic War (2007) by Eric Flint, David Weber
- Novel: 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies (2014) by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon
- Novel: 1636: The Atlantic Encounter (August 2020) by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt
- Novel: 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line(2020) by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon
The Americas thread
This agreement for Weber to leave aside European threads likely will follow up foreshadowings of overt dislike evinced by various Grantville natives for both the African slave trade and the Amerindian encounters with colonizing Europeans—and Flint has already written a very sympathetic, two-volume alternate history from the American Native's viewpoint in his Arkansas Wars series—and he'd written similar foreshadowings into the series' earlier works that were spun into
Stories in 1632 Slushpile regarding obtaining strategically important materials, and some that have reached publication in regard to the Essen Steel Corporation and Essen Chemical, are foreshadowing activities (mining
- Ring of Fire Press (RoFP) novel: The Danish Scheme (June 2013) by Herbert Sakalaucks and Eric Flint
- Two novellas in one book: 1636: Seas of Fortune (December 2013) by Iver Cooper
- Stretching Out: the United States of Europe seeks out oil, rubber and aluminum ore. Pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony in South America.
- Rising Sun: the changes caused by the Ring of Fire are reaching Japan. The Shogun, impressed by samples of up-time technology and influenced by information about Japan's possible future, decides to end a policy of isolation and change his country's fate forever.
- Novel: 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies (June 2014) by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon
- RoFP novel: 1635: The Battle for Newfoundland (January 2018) by Herbert Sakalaucks
- RoFP novel: A Red Son Rises in the West (September 2019) by John Deakins and Herbert Sakalaucks
- RoFP novel: Fire on the Rio Grande (March 2020) by Kevin H. Evans and Karen C. Evans
- RoFP novel: A Red Son: Not Without Honor (July 2020) by John Deakins
- Novel: 1636: The Atlantic Encounter(August 2020) by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt
- Novel: 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line(November 2020) by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon
- Novel: 1636: Calabar's War(April 2021) by Charles E. Gannon and Robert E. Waters
- Novel: 1637: The Coast of Chaos (December 2021) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, and Gorg Huff, plus authors of seven related and intertwining short stories.
East Asia thread
- RoFP Novel: The Chrysanthemum, the Cross, and the Dragon (August 2018) by Iver P. Cooper
- Novel: 1636: The China Venture(September 2019) by Eric Flint and Iver Cooper
South Asian Indian thread
- 1636: Mission to the Mughals(2017) by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber
- 1637: The Peacock Throne(2021) by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber
Books in the 1632 Series
The Ring of Fire Press
In June 2013, Ring of Fire Press was created to reissue certain materials originally published online in the Grantville Gazette.[19] First, it would publish certain stories that were serialized across several issues of the Gazette, so they can be read without hunting through the various Gazette issues. Second, it would publish several themed collections of fact articles.[20]
In 2018, the scope of Ring of Fire Press expanded, with the hiring of managing editor Walt Boyes and Joy Ward, and graphic artist Laura Givens. The release schedule was increased to two books per month, including original novels in the 1632 series (the first being 1635: The Battle for Newfoundland), collections of serialized 1632 stories, and non-1632 related novels - both new and reprinted.[21]
The initial volumes were made available through Amazon as Kindle editions or print on demand paperback books. Later Baen began distributing selected titles for Ring of Fire Press through their web store and their other distribution channels.[22]
On August 16, 2022, Lucille Robbins, the widow of Eric Flint, officially announced the immediate shutdown of both The Grantville Gazette and the Ring of Fire Press. Without a huge infusion of new cash, it was determined that both business ventures would not be economically viable without Flint's participation.[3][4]
Assiti Shards novels
Following the success of the 1632 series, two other alternative history series were started by Eric Flint, following the same concept as 1632—that there was a time displacement caused by an "Assiti Shard".
Literary significance and reception
As of 2014, four books in the series had significantly large number of sales of hardcover editions to become eligible for The New York Times Best Seller list. 1634: The Galileo Affair was on the best seller list for hardcover fiction for two weeks during April 2004 while reaching number 27.[23][24] 1634: The Baltic War was on the same list for two weeks during May 2007, peaking at number 19.[25][26] 1634: The Bavarian Crisis was on this list for a week in October 2007 at number 29.[27] 1636: The Kremlin Games was on the NY Times list for a week during June 2012 at number 30.[28]
Almost all of the books in the series sold well enough to get listed on the various Locus Bestsellers Lists, with some titles listed multiple times, and a few even reached the top spot for the month.[29][30][31]
1635: The Papal Stakes is the first book in the series to get listed on the Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Books list.[32]
A few titles were nominated for the
See also
References
- ^ "1632 Series Reading Order". ericflint.net. September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ "Eric Flint: Remaking History". Locus Online. December 4, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ a b "Our Fellow Members of the Ring of Fire Press Family". The Grantville Gazette. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022.
- ^ a b "Our Fellow Members of the Ring of Fire Press Family". The Ring of Fire Press. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022.
- ^ Glyer, Mike (August 16, 2022). "Ring Of Fire Press Shutting Down". File 770.
- ^ a b Glyer, Mike (June 23, 2023). "New Eric Flint 1632 Magazine". File 770.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-2051-1.
Beginning with 'Which is the way I intended things, from the moment I decided to turn 1632 from a stand-alone novel it was originally written to be into a series.' ... through 'where revolutions have typically been depicted as the product of magical hand waving by a handful of big-shot heros. They decree, and therefore it is done.'
- ISBN 978-1-4165-2051-1.. In particular, it was written from a desire on my part to make a relatively ordinary small American town the collective protagonist of the story. And then, as the story unfolded, to keep the focus as much as possible on what you might call the level of the common man and woman—understanding that, as the story unfolded, more and more seventeenth-century Europeans would become an integral part of that collective protagonist.
...which has to do with the way I see this entire story in the first place—and did from the beginning. 1632 was written as much as an American novel as a science fiction or alternate history novel. More precisely, as a novel that fits within that loosely defined literary category known as Americana
- ^ Hasseler, Bjorn (June 23, 2023). "FAQ". Flint’s Shards Inc.
- ^ "1632 & Beyond Issue #001 (description)". Flint’s Shards Inc.
- ^ "1632 & Beyond Issue #002 (description)". Flint’s Shards Inc.
- ^ "1632 & Beyond Issue #003 (description)". Flint’s Shards Inc.
- ^ "1632 & Beyond Issue #004 (description)". Flint’s Shards Inc.
- Grantville Gazette. Vol. 27. December 13, 2009. Archived from the originalon October 17, 2021.
- ^ "1635: The Eastern Front (publisher's page)". Baen Books.
- ^ "1637: The Polish Maelstrom (publisher's page)". Baen Books.
- ^ "1637: The Transylvanian Decision (publisher's page)". Baen Books.
- ISBN 978-1-9821-9287-7.
- ^ "About Us". Eric Flint's Ring of Fire Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ R Boatright, "Ring of Fire Press – Formal Announcement", posted June 19, 2013, to the 1632 Tech forum on Baen's Bar, bar.baen.com
- ^ Flint, Eric (May 12, 2020). "Where we're going with Ring of Fire Press". EricFlint.net.
- ^ "Ring of Fire Press – Publishers". Baen Books.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. April 18, 2004. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. April 25, 2004. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. May 13, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. May 20, 2007. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. October 21, 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014.
- ^ "Hardcover Fiction". The New York Times. June 24, 2012. Archived from the original on April 5, 2014.
- Locus Magazine. July 2004.
- Locus Magazine. November 2005.
- ^ "Locus Bestsellers, December 2005". Locus. December 2005.
- ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Oct. 28; With data from Nielsen BookScan". The Wall Street Journal. November 3, 2012. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Dragon Awards Shortlist". Locus. August 12, 2016.
- ^ "2017 Dragon Awards Shortlist". Locus. August 4, 2017.
- ^ "2020 Dragon Award Ballot". Dragon Con. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Recipients – The Dragon Award". Dragon Con. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- ^ "2022 Dragon Award Ballot". Dragon Con. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
External links
- Official 1632 Fan Site
- grantvillegazette.com
- Eric Flint's website
- Assiti Shards series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- 1632Tech Wiki
- BAEN Free e-library
- Grantville Gazette Archived February 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Volume 1 free e-book
- 1633 Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine free e-book
- 1632 Archived April 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine free e-book
- 1632 series reading order
- 1632 series reading order flowchart