Review: 1633 by Eric Flint

Here's a follow-up review for the sequel to yesterday's book.

1633

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.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Review: 1632 by Eric Flint

1632

This is a fun, though not at all believable romp. I'm a big fan of alternative history, so I was naturally drawn to this book (and the series as a whole) by all the attention it's received. 1632 is definitely an enjoyable book, and I'd recommend it to science fiction fans in search of a relatively light read.

You're going to have to seriously exercise your suspension of disbelief when reading this book during a number of passages, but that's at least somewhat understandable. After all, it wouldn't be much fun if the protagonists all died off from diseases, couldn't communicate with the locals, or found that they couldn't support a modern level of technology using only the infrastructure of a small West Virginian town.

Flint has a couple of bad habits as a writer that really come through in this book: first, it's very clear that a couple of his major characters are his favorites, and these characters are invariably going to make all the right decisions, always succeed at whatever they do, rapidly become accomplished statesmen and military strategists, and are, in fact, moral paragons -- to an unbelievable degree -- even in the face of extremely difficult and unfamiliar situations. And second, Flint's writing style could use some editorial polish. He uses too much exposition (admittedly, the Thirty Years' War is an extremely complex period and requires a great deal of explanation, but there's got to be a better way of pulling it off than this) and he has the bad tendency to reuse trite phrases, sometimes every few pages. This gets annoying at times. The characters (mostly modern day West Virginian coal miners) also use a level of vocabulary and sentence structure that real people just don't use in conversation unless they're Boston Brahmins. People just don't speak in half-page long paragraphs, nor do they use words like "pean" in ordinary conversations.

All that aside, read this book, you'll likely enjoy it if you're at all interested in the "Baen Books" style of light, military-oriented science fiction adventure novels.

I'd also recommend S. M. Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time series, which is probably a little more engaging than 1632.

4 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Two Reviews: Captain Alatriste and Purity of the Blood by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Captain Alatriste

Perez-Reverte offers a swashbuckling adventure of one “Captain” Alatriste, a thug-for-fire, I mean, swashbuckler in 1620s Madrid. Alatriste’s adventure is a straightforward one, and is narrated by his young apprentice, who functions as a kind of nigh-omniscient narrator who tells the tale in his old age. The plot is interesting, but tends to drag between the few sharp scenes of intrigue and derring-do. I couldn’t help but wonder at times if the meandering interludes were little more than filler material, but Perez-Reverte’s writing style takes some of the sting out of that concern. If you are expecting non-stop, madcap escapades, you will be disappointed; Alatriste is a contemplative, melancholic sort with, one imagines, many regrets.

A note on the book's presentation: this is a slim volume with a relatively short page count, a large font, and plenty of white space per page. Perez-Reverte also has a tendency to intersperse his prose with numerous snatches of poetry. You may find this charming, or you may find it tedious. I am somewhere in the middle. The translation is very smooth and doesn't distract the reader.All in all, I recommend the book. It’s an extremely short, light read punctuated by some fun scenes of action and intrigue, though there’s not a tremendous amount of substance here.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers

Purity of Blood

This is the first sequel to Captain Alatriste, and is very similar in structure and tone to the original. Most of the characters made their appearance in the first book as well. As with the first book, the plot is a simple, straightforward one. That’s not a bad thing. It takes on a decidedly dark tone (perhaps more so than the original), and Perez-Reverte is certainly not above allowing bad things to happen to good people. Such is life in Spain of the 1620s. Some readers may find the prose too sparse, but it does create a fast-moving read. At times, I found the narrator’s – Alatriste’s teenage ward describing the tale in his old age – mention of events that had not yet happened to be distracting and annoying, but it does provide a sense that this is merely one anecdote in a convoluted continuity.

As with the first volume in the series, this is a slim volume with a relatively short page count, a large font, and plenty of white space per page. Perez-Reverte continues his tendency to intersperse the prose with numerous snatches of poetry. You may find this charming, or you may find it tedious. I am somewhere in the middle, vaguely wondering what the point is. The translation is very smooth and doesn't distract the reader.

I will most likely continue reading the series – as long as I continue finding them in the remainder bin – but just be aware: absolutely nothing unexpected happens in the book.

3.5 stars out of 5

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers