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cj13's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
markkaj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
amyiw's review against another edition
1.0
This is told almost completely to us, not dialog, not action, 'the duke was... while... regime was gathering forces in the north...' type of telling and it is painful. Now most of the first three had a lot of set up, but there were great plot lines and interaction between the character. This did not have that, in fact, the interaction we did get was with a minor character who helps a new character and another downtimer that is new to Grantville. I'm not even going to try to remember any of the newer names, if I do, it is lucky as there are so many that there is an index several pages long just for the characters that had very little interest to me.
So to show what the main character plot lines and how little happens, I'll put it in the spoiler. The rest was new politics and agreements that read like a history book, of historical points that no longer happened and the ones that replace them.
Spoiler
Anna Marie the Archduchess was to marry her uncle, Duke Maximilian but realized that he had very little to no interest in the wedding other than furthering his politics and religion. They are Catholic (very and this is boring to me also) she becomes slightly less dogmatic through Mary Simpson and Veronica Dreeson Reicter of Grantville, who are on the run with her. Mary and Veronica get attacked while walking in the town where Veronica is trying to finalize her late husbands holdings. Some people have taken possession and want to keep possession, this resolves on its own as ... they are "saved" but not because their saviors puts them in shipping barrels and they end up at the feet of Maximilian and Anna Maria when they are parading welcome to Anna Maria. They then traipse through Germany until finally to 'friendly' allies. They then get a message to Grantville crew, a plane is sent to pick them up and Anna Maria is betrothed to a Spanish(?) Duke, Duke Ferdinand. Which seems like a better fit by far. Also Catholic.
Anna Maria's seamstress escapes but ends up separated. She encounters Mark, who is the son of a Downtime Grantviller that knows about Iron and Iron mines. While he is working and gathering information, he is separated from his father. He wants to leave so offers to go with her. This is the side story, or 2ndary character story. They travel being pursued by armies that would like to conscript them (she is traveling as a boy) and/or question her as one of the possible servants that might know where Anna Marie is. There are a few encounters but they end up safe and send a message home. Mark is smitten with her though they are different religions and she as a Catholic wont live in a Calvinist city (he is a Calvinist). They have a kiss and he considers living in an open Catholic city where other religions are accepted. They will write.
And there is a very short 3rd story of the niece in-law of Veronica that turns up on Veronica's doorstep before the abduction into barrels. The niece is pregnant and Veronica sends her and her boyfriend to Grantville as they can marry as Catholic and Protestant. They end up at Annalise's steps in Grantville when no one knows what happened to Veronica yet but Annalise accepts her even with the bad father that killed her father.
I realized after reading 2/3s of this book, that it is not one of the main line books. There are so many secondary books co-written with other authors or outright just written by a different author than Eric Flint. These are not the main books and for certain, I will not pick another co-written or written by Virginia DeMarche. I believe she is a historian like Eric but she writes even more like a historian and teacher. I felt like I was being taught the history and the politics of the book rather than read about how the town's people from Grantville were integrating and thriving or surviving. I get that to survive, they had to forge out a nation but the first book showed how the people came to accept new people and put their skills to use in the new world. This did none of that, NONE. The Iron finding was by downtimers even though we get how the Iron is going to used. There was none of that magic, that was even in the 2nd and 3rd books, [b:1633|57261|1633|Eric Flint|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316336041l/57261._SY75_.jpg|55789] & [b:1634 The Baltic War|57256|1634 The Baltic War|Eric Flint|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389584038l/57256._SY75_.jpg|55784], which together were about as good as the first. The 2nd left too many plots hanging but they were finished nicely in the 3rd. This had NONE of that magic.
---------my slog through updates----------
update--
I'm 174 pages in (21%) and this has very very little of Grantville, two times it asides to Mike sterns and he decides something in a matter of a phrase or two and then it goes back to politics, lots and lots of politics. The Grandmother of Gretchen is the only other Grantville resident that we have seen though the admirals wife is talked about, since both of these characters have left Grantville on mission/travel, it seems their books though they have received very little time. Veronica Dreeson Reicter is supposedly going to settle her first husbands estate. That is pretty much it in 174 pages. I have read pretty good stories that are complete in less time.
To be fair these books usually are top heavy (beginning) for set up but I just don't see these two ladies becoming much interest.
267 pages- This reads like a history book and the characters are mostly not Grantville cast, a few sentences from Mike Sterns and a side story of Mary Simpson and Gretchen's grandmother who is now married to the mayor of Grantville, Veronica Dreeson Reicter. This is maybe 20 pages of the story. The rest is all of Dukes and other royalty or church leaders and positions and marriage, a big story of the marriage from one Duke to his niece that would unite a territory. The niece very young and is realizing that her betrothed has no interest in the marriage other than the power it brings, or at least we are. This is another maybe 20 pages or the 267 at 40% in. All the rest is political and history and really does read like a history book with 100s of characters, no kidding and you don't know which ones might play a part in the ending here. I would really not finish this except that I am thinking the end will bring something? Some reviewers have said the second half is where things happen. So far it is NOT. For this 40% I give it 1 star and would give it a big zero. Big push just to move on.
brandt's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly the best book so far in the series. Really ties in with some of the previous novels that was happening around the same time (Galileo Affair, Ram's Rebellion). A great mix of a subdued version of Murphy's Law.
julis's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What a clusterfuck of a book.
It’s too long, it’s following too many plots, it’s trying to address too many ideas, and there is way too much detail–except for when I badly want to know how a conversation went down and then we get telling-not-showing. For idk how long cause kindle doesn’t have a useful page count.
It’s not as “holy shit Flint, you can’t say the Americans are just people like everyone else and then have them accidentally take over Europe” as, well, Flint’s books are, but it’s also…slow…very, very slow…
EDIT I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT THE THING I YELLED ABOUT THE MOST: yes, Francisco is a better spouse in that he’s the same age as Maria Anna and not 40 years older (kind of the books to finally care about that) but um, inbreeding depression is not some unsubstantiated liberal idea. it’s a thing. Francisco and Maria Anna have at least (the website crashed when I tried to extend it beyond 5 generations) a COI of 10%, which is the point where dog breed clubs politely ask you to find someone else, and they’re hardly radical exogamists. yikes.
brandt's review
5.0
Possibly the best book so far in the series. Really ties in with some of the previous novels that was happening around the same time (Galileo Affair, Ram's Rebellion). A great mix of a subdued version of Murphy's Law.
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