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Ring of Fire (anthology)
Encyclopedia
Ring of Fire is the third published book by editor-author-historian Eric Flint
of the 1632 series
, an alternate history series
begun in the novel 1632
(February 2000). The Ring of Fire is both descriptive of the cosmic event as experienced by the series' characters, but also is at times used as the name for the series itself. The series is set in war-torn Europe during the middle of the Thirty Years' War
.
Ring of Fire is a collection of short stories —half by a variety of established science fiction
authors invited into the setting, half fan-fiction by enthusiasts who helped take the stand alone novel into a series numbering works in the tens of books; all set in the universe initially created by Flint's science fiction novel 1632 written as a stand-alone novel and turned into a series by popular demand. Unlike most short works in a novel created series, the stories within are important milieu shaping creations—story threads which are formalized into the series canon
for they helped establish it, and act as a spring board for further developments in the books. Many characters debut in these short stories who play an important role in subsequent longer works.
and collaborative fiction
writing in large series fiction. As in other shared universes, the stories are set in a milieu shared with other writers, but usually it's done with other author's stories being set safely somewhere off to the side of the main story threads. Flint demonstrated that a series could be successfully written by ignoring convention, and deliberately asking the other writers to share in creating the main threads and plot lines of the milieu. The first two novels in the series, 1632
and 1633
, were written contemporaneously so that story threads started in one novel could intermingle and generate matching action or background in the other, and vice versa.
Flint is on record saying that large portions of 1633 were adjusted drastically, even thrown out and rewritten as later submissions to the 1632 series impacted the various and diverse story threads. For a fuller look on this literary development see Assiti Shards series
. For the fullest enjoyment of all three books, it is best to read them in the order 1632
, Ring of Fire, and then 1633
. Interchanging the last two has a relatively minor cost to understanding and in appreciation that can be avoided.
Weber's short story sets up major story elements that play out in 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War
. In particular, the story tells how the New United States Navy (and that of future Empire of the United States of Europe) came to be in the resource strapped days of 1632–33. Most notably, through the eyes and experiences of young Eddie Cantrell, the story begins the rehabilitation of John Chandler Simpson who was cast as quite unlikeable in 1632. Through the eyes of Simpson, Cantrell and fellow up-timers Jere Haygood and Pete McDougal we get a picture of the chaos involved in rebuilding Magdeburg
after the city was sacked by Tilly's forces.
To Dye For introduces the absent minded purveyor of Wacky-Tabbacky
Tom Stone and his three boys as he strives for respectability in the eyes of guildmaster Karl Jurgen Edelmann, father of spinster Magdalena Edelmann and main head-over-heels love interest of Tom "Stoner" Stone. As a daughter of a guildmaster, Magdelena Stone was wasting away as a spinster in her early thirties until a delegation from her town visited Grantville and she met her soul-mate, Tom Stone. His initial courting was received with favor, until her father decided "Stoner" wasn't the man of means he'd mistaken him to be.
"Stoner" is the last adult in the former seventies "Lothlorian Commune" and had been enticed away from Pharmacology
graduate school by a hippy "Chick" named Lisa, who is Faramir's (Frank Stone) mother as acknowledged son of Stoner. In the free love community of Lothlorien, whether "Elrond" (Ronald Stone) "might be his is a question he has long abandoned, but it is genetically certain that the "Stop sign red" colored hair of "Gwaihir" (Gerry Stone) makes him someone else's boy, who is nonetheless being raised as one of his own.
As this story opens, a glum Stoner is introduced to Dr. James Nichols by Mike Stearns, and the two have come by to pick up a horse drawn cart load of Stoner's "patented West Virginia Wildwood Weed" (which originated in a pilgrimage to Holland) that Stoner uses as an emergency cash crop grown in his ramshackle home-made greenhouse from various junk automobile sections, windows thrown in the trash, and a lot of effort and ingenuity. At the same time, interjected into this conversation are barbs by the German boy driving the horse cart just identified as 'Klaus' such as "Und Magdalena vould haf better prospects elsewhere, you haf no income, Stoner. Effen der Veed, you gifs to der Doc".
Stoner, who is particular adept with recreational extra-sensory stimulatory compounds, especially as a pharmacological graduate school drop-out from Purdue University
refuses to take payment for the weed, saying repeatedly that he wouldn't make money off of other peoples pain. Klaus turns even that, "Dat earns you a place in Heaffen, maybe, but on Earth, no income." A matter which becomes the topic of a general family discussion after the medical visitors have left, brought up by the boys. Soon, the family conference reminded Stoner of a past fiasco at a town fair where a cloud-burst had ruined the sales of many exotically tie-dyed tee-shirts, also ruining what would have been a great day as the tee-shirts hadn't been processed to set the dye into the cloth—inadvertently dyeing many a now irate customer. But Stoner knew how to make things colorfast, he was in fact a very good chemist, and had loads of left over dyes here and there on the grounds.
Soon, with the boys eager help, the Stones had gone into series production of embroidery
yarns, as the product which would stretch the dyes and return the maximum in income. Karl Edelman was impressed and Stoner had a new life partner, one who had a ruthless business savvy that he'd never own. As the story closes, Stoner is recalling the history early organic dyes leading up to the Mauve Decade, when coal-tar dyes such as Perkin's mauve were developed and generated huge fortunes for the ready market existed in the mindset of status-conscious Europeans of the day, as they did in 1631-32 Germans. The neat thing, was it would be ecologically sound for the dyes needed could be taken from the coal fired power plant with the addition of scrubbers on the chimneys. Splitting the profits bothered Stoner not a bit. They would be huge.
impact on the milieu
In the after-story, the sequel 1634: The Galileo Affair
, Magda accompanies her antibiotic analgesic and clothing dye wizard of a husband to a years posting to lecture at the University of Padua
, as part of the Embassy sent to Venice
. There, she takes her husbands wealth and shows the business acumen learned at her father's side and a shrewd judgment of men and ruthlessness which built it into a fortune, and turns the couple into the wealthiest family in Europe with the able assistance of Sharon Nichols, who builds up a goodly fortune of her own.
Scottish military dispatch carrier Douglas Lawrey falls in with telephone repairman Len Tanner and irascible coal mine switchboard operator Ellie Anderson. Due to their limited people skills, the technologically stranded pair have been unable to convince anyone to develop telecommunications abilities beyond Grantville. After Ellie reveals the old-tech phone she has been prototyping, Douglas talks them into forming a corporation.
While stringing the first phone line to nearby Saalfeld, Len and a downtime assistant are captured by a group planning to hijack a Grantville gun shipment. In the struggle, the prototype phone is damaged, but the trussed up Len finds the battery and wires and manages to send an SOS to Grantville.
After foiling the hijack, Ellie realizes that the old-tech phone was still too high tech for the time period. Morse keys can be manufactured quickly, and investors found to fund the telegraph wire network.
Set before and during the Croatian attack on Grantville, this story revolves around the Catholic Church. Papal diplomat Monsignor (not yet Cardinal) Mazarini sends Jesuit Father Heinzerling to report on Grantville. Due to political issues with Rome, France and Spain, Mazarini cannot open diplomatic discussions, so when Heinzerling returns, he unofficially sends him back to be the curate for Grantville's Catholic church. Uptimer Irene Flannery, a faithful but harsh elderly widow who has always helped the church, is horrified and offended by Heinzerling's girlfriend and three children, even after Father Mazarre marries them. Irene quits her charity work and becomes entirely isolated. She refuses to take shelter during the Croatian attack, and dies in her front yard. Father Mazarre is wracked by guilt, as well as anger that the current wars all claim to be for the sake of religion. He resolves not to stand by silently any more, and sends his uptime Catholic books to the Vatican.
A technically plausible description of what happens at the power plant in the immediate aftermath of the Ring of Fire event. There is panic, of course, but also resourcefulness as the plant's staff struggles to recover from an event they don't understand.
"A Matter of Consultation" by veteran science fiction author S. L. Viehl expands on the character Sharon Nichols created by Flint, who becomes one of the lead characters in both 1633
and the South European thread's two novels, 1634: The Galileo Affair
and 1635: The Cannon Law
. Also in "A Matter of Consultation" Viehl introduces the nurse Ann Jefferson, a classmate of Nichols whom he pairs with Nichols in this story. Flint later will make her into an American poster girl of sorts in his purpose written short stories in each of the Grantville Gazettes I, II and III where she is caught up in the Siege of Amsterdam and ends up as the common subject of many famous down-time artists starting with Peter Paul Rubens and including Rembrandt, who is a virtual unknown at the time. Those three stories set canon for increased information flow and detail the beginning of a common postal system across Europe.
Viehl has Nichol's and Jefferson face off against Dr. William Harvey
, the "discoverer" of the circulatory system, and the two nurses "give him some pointers", including a severe dressing down. Concurrently, Anne Jefferson meets her future husband, diplomat and mathematician Adam Olearius
, who is traveling as diplomat and guide to Harvey in this story. In canonical importance, Dr. Harvey visits Grantville, and its libraries, and as a courtesy, has some medical books copied for him. While killing time he discovers encyclopedia's and has pages detailing English History copied at the end of his stay. Charles I of England
uses these warnings of the revolution to change England to repress the future revolution, thus setting the stage for the English international politics in the series.
Johannes Grünwald, an artist forced by his mother's family to become a Jesuit priest, returns hunted, poor and starving to his family estate near Grantville. Johannes is welcomed by his old playmate Frank Erbst, who is now caring for the estate.
The Grünwald family has a complex religious history. Johannes' stiff-necked Protestant brother Marcus allowed his beloved Catholic wife to raise their son Martin Catholic. After his wife's death, however, Marcus tried to force Martin and his wife Louisa to baptise their son Johann as a Protestant. To escape, Martin joined Tilly's army. Due to the turmoil of war, young Johann went missing. He is believed to be in Grantville, but Marcus regards Grantville as evil and has forbidden Frank to go there.
Johannes explains that he lost faith after the sack of Magdeburg and was unable to continue his task of drawing pictures of the war. He was arrested for heresy and blasphemy, and placed under guard. He escaped and walked to the estate, but the corpses he found in farmhouses along the way tormented him. Frank gives drawing materials to Johannes, who wrestles with his demons. When soldiers arrive on the estate, Johannes expects to be taken prisoner. However, they are Americans, and they take him back to Grantville.
"When the Chips are Down" explores some of the issues involved in "gearing down". Larry Wild is one of the Four Musketeers introduced midway through the novel 1632
, and is the central character in this tale. Larry's employment in one of Grantville's machine shops goes poorly: he demonstrates a regrettable inconsistency and an inability to pay proper and timely attention, and so breaks valuable and irreplaceable machine tool cutting heads. Most of the story involves preparations for a Christmas celebration which Larry presses forward with despite experience and difficulties. While trying to recreate a formerly enjoyed uptime snack, there are humorous adverse interactions with members of the extended family of Jeff Higgins and Gretchen Higgins, especially her formidable grandmother Veronica Richter.
Former star high school athletes decide to start a baseball league and try to interest downtimers in the sport.
Downtimer Gerd is concerned that many Germans who were formerly Tilly's soldiers have been welcomed into Grantville's army. He recognizes a trio that he served with, whose atrocities sickened him until he fled the group. The trio deserts, taking their valuable uptime guns and robbing several Grantville houses to get ammunition. Gerd knows their destination: a farm where they tortured and killed an old man for his wealth, then hid the loot in an outhouse. He ambushes them, and the loot is donated to a Grantville church.
Veronica Junius, daughter of the burgomaster of Bamberg who was burned as a witch, has also been tortured and found guilty of witchery by ecclesiastical court. She escaped, but was captured. Inquisitor Eberhardt suggests taking her to Würzburg for civil trial before she can be burned, but the Captain insists on bringing her to Suhl, where she will have no friends to aid her. Jesuit Friedrich von Spee
, historical author of a treatise against using torture in witchcraft trials, is asked by the prince-bishop of Mainz to observe.
Suhl has been accepted into the United States, and Veronica's previous trial is found invalid there due to the forced confession. She is sent to Grantville "for a new trial", where she is given medical treatment and comforted by Father Mazarre. She explains that in the four years since her father was burned and all his property seized, she could only support herself via prostitution. Discussing witch hunts, Mazarre recalls a historical figure that they should recruit — von Spee, who then introduces himself.
Due to the Counter-Reformation, The Unity of the Brethren
church has been expelled from Liechtenstein and Bohemia, and driven underground in Poland. Trying to keep the church alive in exile, Bishop Comenius sends Deacon Billek to Grantville to see if they can help. Grantville and the Brethren agree on two important issues: religious tolerance and education. Billek finds that Grantville cannot assist the Brethren where they are, but offers sanctuary for any refugees. However, union agitator Red Sybolt is moved by their plight, and accompanies Billek on his return trip to teach the three R's: "reading, righting and revolution."
Julie MacKay arranges a Christmas party for the many orphans in the area. While preparations for this event quickly snowball, three emissaries from Wallenstein are sent to find her. Meanwhile, two of the Emperor's soldiers decide to blow up Grantville's school with two powderkegs. At the denouement, the attack is foiled and Pappenheim explains that Wallenstein simply wants an alliance with Grantville and new teeth from Julie's dentist father.
Flint's novelette set in December 1632—Spring 1633, is the basis for a major plot thread in the milieu, the Eastern European thread. In the 1632-verse, Albrecht von Wallenstein
was near-fatally wounded by the sniper fire of sharp shooting Julie Sims at the fictional Battle of Alte Veste. Wallenstein decides he'd prefer to ally with Gustavus and the Americans rather than face the assassination the Americans' history books have him slated for in 1634. He'd also rather not face them or Gustavus again in battle, and in particular not the American rifles which tore up his jaw and put him in declining health since he could not ingest solids. His mutilated jaw was also the reasoned that he allied with his former enemies as believed that only the American's medical health care could fix his jaw (see "Here Comes Santa Claus").
He plots (together with Gottfried Pappenheim
) to expel imperial administrators from Bohemia
and depose the absent Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria
, then also king of Hungary
(1625) and Bohemia
(1629) whilst he was occupied opposing the Ottoman Empire
while his father Ferdinand II
prosecuted the Thirty Years' War
triggered by his reign in Bohemia. Meanwhile, Len Tanner and Ellie Anderson (see "Lineman for the Country") come to install a telephone system for Wallenstein's residence in Prague, and a Jewish couple from Grantville settles in Prague and gains influence in Josefov
, the Jewish quarter.
Wallenstein's coup succeeds, but he must take his troops out of Prague to meet Ferdinand's army in a "Second Battle of White Mountain
". Mercenary chief Heinrich Holk decides to exploit their absence and attack the city. However, successors of religious hussite
s ("The Brethren") and the Jewish population band together as citizen defenders of Prague, led by elderly American tycoon Morris Roth, who amazes himself by becoming a popular leader: don Morris, hidalgo of Jews.
At the heart of the storyline backplot and that of Flint's Eastern European thread is the Chmielnicki Rebellion
, refers to a rebellion
or war of liberation
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
(present-day Ukraine
), which raged from 1648–1654 and involved massive anti-semitic pogrom
s. Many of the Jews targeted had fled central and western Europe because the plague years in the fourteenth century had inspired pogroms, as did the spread of Lutheranism
which was at the heart of the Thirty Years' War
.
The Khmelnytsky Uprising decimated the Jewish population and is considered to be one of the most traumatic events in Jewish history. In The Wallenstein Gambit storyline, Jewish character Morris Roth is haunted by this and hopes to prevent the prospective loss of life.
Eric Flint
Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures.- Career :...
of the 1632 series
1632 series
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 Eric Flint and published by Baen Books...
, an alternate history series
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
begun in the novel 1632
1632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
(February 2000). The Ring of Fire is both descriptive of the cosmic event as experienced by the series' characters, but also is at times used as the name for the series itself. The series is set in war-torn Europe during the middle of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Ring of Fire is a collection of short stories —half by a variety of established science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
authors invited into the setting, half fan-fiction by enthusiasts who helped take the stand alone novel into a series numbering works in the tens of books; all set in the universe initially created by Flint's science fiction novel 1632 written as a stand-alone novel and turned into a series by popular demand. Unlike most short works in a novel created series, the stories within are important milieu shaping creations—story threads which are formalized into the series canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
for they helped establish it, and act as a spring board for further developments in the books. Many characters debut in these short stories who play an important role in subsequent longer works.
Premise of the series
The series heralds a new kind of writing, blending both shared universeShared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
and collaborative fiction
Collaborative fiction
Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story.Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally - many collaboratively written works have been the subject of a large degree of academic research.-...
writing in large series fiction. As in other shared universes, the stories are set in a milieu shared with other writers, but usually it's done with other author's stories being set safely somewhere off to the side of the main story threads. Flint demonstrated that a series could be successfully written by ignoring convention, and deliberately asking the other writers to share in creating the main threads and plot lines of the milieu. The first two novels in the series, 1632
1632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
and 1633
1633 (novel)
1633 is an alternate history novel co-written by Eric Flint and David Weber, and sequel to 1632 in the 1632 series. 1633 is the second major novel in the series and together with the anthology Ring of Fire, the two sequels begin the series hallmarks of being a shared universe with collaborative...
, were written contemporaneously so that story threads started in one novel could intermingle and generate matching action or background in the other, and vice versa.
Flint is on record saying that large portions of 1633 were adjusted drastically, even thrown out and rewritten as later submissions to the 1632 series impacted the various and diverse story threads. For a fuller look on this literary development see Assiti Shards series
Assiti Shards series
The Assiti Shards series is a fictional universe invented by Eric Flint. It is a shared universe open to authors of many calibre levels, concerning several alternate history worlds, related to a prime timeline. The defining characteristic of the fictional universe is the existence of the "Assiti...
. For the fullest enjoyment of all three books, it is best to read them in the order 1632
1632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
, Ring of Fire, and then 1633
1633 (novel)
1633 is an alternate history novel co-written by Eric Flint and David Weber, and sequel to 1632 in the 1632 series. 1633 is the second major novel in the series and together with the anthology Ring of Fire, the two sequels begin the series hallmarks of being a shared universe with collaborative...
. Interchanging the last two has a relatively minor cost to understanding and in appreciation that can be avoided.
"In the Navy"
- by David WeberDavid WeberDavid Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and "a passel of dogs"....
Weber's short story sets up major story elements that play out in 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War is the direct novel sequel to 1633 in the collaboratively written alternate history shared universe 1632 series by David Weber and Eric Flint...
. In particular, the story tells how the New United States Navy (and that of future Empire of the United States of Europe) came to be in the resource strapped days of 1632–33. Most notably, through the eyes and experiences of young Eddie Cantrell, the story begins the rehabilitation of John Chandler Simpson who was cast as quite unlikeable in 1632. Through the eyes of Simpson, Cantrell and fellow up-timers Jere Haygood and Pete McDougal we get a picture of the chaos involved in rebuilding Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
after the city was sacked by Tilly's forces.
"To Dye For"
- by Mercedes Lackey
To Dye For introduces the absent minded purveyor of Wacky-Tabbacky
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
Tom Stone and his three boys as he strives for respectability in the eyes of guildmaster Karl Jurgen Edelmann, father of spinster Magdalena Edelmann and main head-over-heels love interest of Tom "Stoner" Stone. As a daughter of a guildmaster, Magdelena Stone was wasting away as a spinster in her early thirties until a delegation from her town visited Grantville and she met her soul-mate, Tom Stone. His initial courting was received with favor, until her father decided "Stoner" wasn't the man of means he'd mistaken him to be.
"Stoner" is the last adult in the former seventies "Lothlorian Commune" and had been enticed away from Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
graduate school by a hippy "Chick" named Lisa, who is Faramir's (Frank Stone) mother as acknowledged son of Stoner. In the free love community of Lothlorien, whether "Elrond" (Ronald Stone) "might be his is a question he has long abandoned, but it is genetically certain that the "Stop sign red" colored hair of "Gwaihir" (Gerry Stone) makes him someone else's boy, who is nonetheless being raised as one of his own.
As this story opens, a glum Stoner is introduced to Dr. James Nichols by Mike Stearns, and the two have come by to pick up a horse drawn cart load of Stoner's "patented West Virginia Wildwood Weed" (which originated in a pilgrimage to Holland) that Stoner uses as an emergency cash crop grown in his ramshackle home-made greenhouse from various junk automobile sections, windows thrown in the trash, and a lot of effort and ingenuity. At the same time, interjected into this conversation are barbs by the German boy driving the horse cart just identified as 'Klaus' such as "Und Magdalena vould haf better prospects elsewhere, you haf no income, Stoner. Effen der Veed, you gifs to der Doc".
Stoner, who is particular adept with recreational extra-sensory stimulatory compounds, especially as a pharmacological graduate school drop-out from Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
refuses to take payment for the weed, saying repeatedly that he wouldn't make money off of other peoples pain. Klaus turns even that, "Dat earns you a place in Heaffen, maybe, but on Earth, no income." A matter which becomes the topic of a general family discussion after the medical visitors have left, brought up by the boys. Soon, the family conference reminded Stoner of a past fiasco at a town fair where a cloud-burst had ruined the sales of many exotically tie-dyed tee-shirts, also ruining what would have been a great day as the tee-shirts hadn't been processed to set the dye into the cloth—inadvertently dyeing many a now irate customer. But Stoner knew how to make things colorfast, he was in fact a very good chemist, and had loads of left over dyes here and there on the grounds.
Soon, with the boys eager help, the Stones had gone into series production of embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
yarns, as the product which would stretch the dyes and return the maximum in income. Karl Edelman was impressed and Stoner had a new life partner, one who had a ruthless business savvy that he'd never own. As the story closes, Stoner is recalling the history early organic dyes leading up to the Mauve Decade, when coal-tar dyes such as Perkin's mauve were developed and generated huge fortunes for the ready market existed in the mindset of status-conscious Europeans of the day, as they did in 1631-32 Germans. The neat thing, was it would be ecologically sound for the dyes needed could be taken from the coal fired power plant with the addition of scrubbers on the chimneys. Splitting the profits bothered Stoner not a bit. They would be huge.
impact on the milieu
In the after-story, the sequel 1634: The Galileo Affair
1634: The Galileo Affair
1634: The Galileo Affair is the fourth book and third novel published in the 1632 series by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. It follows the activities of an embassy party sent from the United States of Europe to Venice, Italy, where the three young Stone brothers become involved with the local...
, Magda accompanies her antibiotic analgesic and clothing dye wizard of a husband to a years posting to lecture at the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
, as part of the Embassy sent to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. There, she takes her husbands wealth and shows the business acumen learned at her father's side and a shrewd judgment of men and ruthlessness which built it into a fortune, and turns the couple into the wealthiest family in Europe with the able assistance of Sharon Nichols, who builds up a goodly fortune of her own.
"A Lineman For the Country"
- by Dave Freer
Scottish military dispatch carrier Douglas Lawrey falls in with telephone repairman Len Tanner and irascible coal mine switchboard operator Ellie Anderson. Due to their limited people skills, the technologically stranded pair have been unable to convince anyone to develop telecommunications abilities beyond Grantville. After Ellie reveals the old-tech phone she has been prototyping, Douglas talks them into forming a corporation.
While stringing the first phone line to nearby Saalfeld, Len and a downtime assistant are captured by a group planning to hijack a Grantville gun shipment. In the struggle, the prototype phone is damaged, but the trussed up Len finds the battery and wires and manages to send an SOS to Grantville.
After foiling the hijack, Ellie realizes that the old-tech phone was still too high tech for the time period. Morse keys can be manufactured quickly, and investors found to fund the telegraph wire network.
"Between the Armies"
- by Andrew Dennis
Set before and during the Croatian attack on Grantville, this story revolves around the Catholic Church. Papal diplomat Monsignor (not yet Cardinal) Mazarini sends Jesuit Father Heinzerling to report on Grantville. Due to political issues with Rome, France and Spain, Mazarini cannot open diplomatic discussions, so when Heinzerling returns, he unofficially sends him back to be the curate for Grantville's Catholic church. Uptimer Irene Flannery, a faithful but harsh elderly widow who has always helped the church, is horrified and offended by Heinzerling's girlfriend and three children, even after Father Mazarre marries them. Irene quits her charity work and becomes entirely isolated. She refuses to take shelter during the Croatian attack, and dies in her front yard. Father Mazarre is wracked by guilt, as well as anger that the current wars all claim to be for the sake of religion. He resolves not to stand by silently any more, and sends his uptime Catholic books to the Vatican.
"Power to the People"
- by Loren K. Jones
A technically plausible description of what happens at the power plant in the immediate aftermath of the Ring of Fire event. There is panic, of course, but also resourcefulness as the plant's staff struggles to recover from an event they don't understand.
"A Matter of Consultation"
- by S. L. Viehl
"A Matter of Consultation" by veteran science fiction author S. L. Viehl expands on the character Sharon Nichols created by Flint, who becomes one of the lead characters in both 1633
1633 (novel)
1633 is an alternate history novel co-written by Eric Flint and David Weber, and sequel to 1632 in the 1632 series. 1633 is the second major novel in the series and together with the anthology Ring of Fire, the two sequels begin the series hallmarks of being a shared universe with collaborative...
and the South European thread's two novels, 1634: The Galileo Affair
1634: The Galileo Affair
1634: The Galileo Affair is the fourth book and third novel published in the 1632 series by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. It follows the activities of an embassy party sent from the United States of Europe to Venice, Italy, where the three young Stone brothers become involved with the local...
and 1635: The Cannon Law
1635: The Cannon Law
1635: The Cannon Law is the sixth book and fifth novel published in the 1632 series by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. It is the second novel in the French-Italian plot thread, which began with 1634: The Galileo Affair and was published by Baen Books in 2006...
. Also in "A Matter of Consultation" Viehl introduces the nurse Ann Jefferson, a classmate of Nichols whom he pairs with Nichols in this story. Flint later will make her into an American poster girl of sorts in his purpose written short stories in each of the Grantville Gazettes I, II and III where she is caught up in the Siege of Amsterdam and ends up as the common subject of many famous down-time artists starting with Peter Paul Rubens and including Rembrandt, who is a virtual unknown at the time. Those three stories set canon for increased information flow and detail the beginning of a common postal system across Europe.
Viehl has Nichol's and Jefferson face off against Dr. William Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
, the "discoverer" of the circulatory system, and the two nurses "give him some pointers", including a severe dressing down. Concurrently, Anne Jefferson meets her future husband, diplomat and mathematician Adam Olearius
Adam Olearius
Adam Olearius , born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger, was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian...
, who is traveling as diplomat and guide to Harvey in this story. In canonical importance, Dr. Harvey visits Grantville, and its libraries, and as a courtesy, has some medical books copied for him. While killing time he discovers encyclopedia's and has pages detailing English History copied at the end of his stay. Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
uses these warnings of the revolution to change England to repress the future revolution, thus setting the stage for the English international politics in the series.
"Family Faith"
- by Anette M. Pedersen
Johannes Grünwald, an artist forced by his mother's family to become a Jesuit priest, returns hunted, poor and starving to his family estate near Grantville. Johannes is welcomed by his old playmate Frank Erbst, who is now caring for the estate.
The Grünwald family has a complex religious history. Johannes' stiff-necked Protestant brother Marcus allowed his beloved Catholic wife to raise their son Martin Catholic. After his wife's death, however, Marcus tried to force Martin and his wife Louisa to baptise their son Johann as a Protestant. To escape, Martin joined Tilly's army. Due to the turmoil of war, young Johann went missing. He is believed to be in Grantville, but Marcus regards Grantville as evil and has forbidden Frank to go there.
Johannes explains that he lost faith after the sack of Magdeburg and was unable to continue his task of drawing pictures of the war. He was arrested for heresy and blasphemy, and placed under guard. He escaped and walked to the estate, but the corpses he found in farmhouses along the way tormented him. Frank gives drawing materials to Johannes, who wrestles with his demons. When soldiers arrive on the estate, Johannes expects to be taken prisoner. However, they are Americans, and they take him back to Grantville.
"When the Chips are Down"
- by Jonathan Cresswell and Scott Washburn
"When the Chips are Down" explores some of the issues involved in "gearing down". Larry Wild is one of the Four Musketeers introduced midway through the novel 1632
1632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
, and is the central character in this tale. Larry's employment in one of Grantville's machine shops goes poorly: he demonstrates a regrettable inconsistency and an inability to pay proper and timely attention, and so breaks valuable and irreplaceable machine tool cutting heads. Most of the story involves preparations for a Christmas celebration which Larry presses forward with despite experience and difficulties. While trying to recreate a formerly enjoyed uptime snack, there are humorous adverse interactions with members of the extended family of Jeff Higgins and Gretchen Higgins, especially her formidable grandmother Veronica Richter.
"American Past Time"
- by Deann Allen and Mike Turner
Former star high school athletes decide to start a baseball league and try to interest downtimers in the sport.
"Skeletons"
- by Greg Donahue
Downtimer Gerd is concerned that many Germans who were formerly Tilly's soldiers have been welcomed into Grantville's army. He recognizes a trio that he served with, whose atrocities sickened him until he fled the group. The trio deserts, taking their valuable uptime guns and robbing several Grantville houses to get ammunition. Gerd knows their destination: a farm where they tortured and killed an old man for his wealth, then hid the loot in an outhouse. He ambushes them, and the loot is donated to a Grantville church.
"A Witch to Live"
- by Walt Boyes
Veronica Junius, daughter of the burgomaster of Bamberg who was burned as a witch, has also been tortured and found guilty of witchery by ecclesiastical court. She escaped, but was captured. Inquisitor Eberhardt suggests taking her to Würzburg for civil trial before she can be burned, but the Captain insists on bringing her to Suhl, where she will have no friends to aid her. Jesuit Friedrich von Spee
Friedrich von Spee
Friedrich Spee was a German Jesuit and poet, most noted as an opponent of trials for witchcraft. Spee was the first person in his time who spoke strongly and with arguments against torture in general...
, historical author of a treatise against using torture in witchcraft trials, is asked by the prince-bishop of Mainz to observe.
Suhl has been accepted into the United States, and Veronica's previous trial is found invalid there due to the forced confession. She is sent to Grantville "for a new trial", where she is given medical treatment and comforted by Father Mazarre. She explains that in the four years since her father was burned and all his property seized, she could only support herself via prostitution. Discussing witch hunts, Mazarre recalls a historical figure that they should recruit — von Spee, who then introduces himself.
"The Three R's"
- by Jody Dorsett
Due to the Counter-Reformation, The Unity of the Brethren
Unity of the Brethren
The Unity of the Brethren is a Christian denomination whose roots are in the pre-reformation work of priest and philosopher Jan Hus, who was martyred in 1415.-History in Bohemia:...
church has been expelled from Liechtenstein and Bohemia, and driven underground in Poland. Trying to keep the church alive in exile, Bishop Comenius sends Deacon Billek to Grantville to see if they can help. Grantville and the Brethren agree on two important issues: religious tolerance and education. Billek finds that Grantville cannot assist the Brethren where they are, but offers sanctuary for any refugees. However, union agitator Red Sybolt is moved by their plight, and accompanies Billek on his return trip to teach the three R's: "reading, righting and revolution."
"Here Comes Santa Claus"
- by K. D. Wentworth
Julie MacKay arranges a Christmas party for the many orphans in the area. While preparations for this event quickly snowball, three emissaries from Wallenstein are sent to find her. Meanwhile, two of the Emperor's soldiers decide to blow up Grantville's school with two powderkegs. At the denouement, the attack is foiled and Pappenheim explains that Wallenstein simply wants an alliance with Grantville and new teeth from Julie's dentist father.
"The Wallenstein Gambit"
- by Eric Flint
Flint's novelette set in December 1632—Spring 1633, is the basis for a major plot thread in the milieu, the Eastern European thread. In the 1632-verse, Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
was near-fatally wounded by the sniper fire of sharp shooting Julie Sims at the fictional Battle of Alte Veste. Wallenstein decides he'd prefer to ally with Gustavus and the Americans rather than face the assassination the Americans' history books have him slated for in 1634. He'd also rather not face them or Gustavus again in battle, and in particular not the American rifles which tore up his jaw and put him in declining health since he could not ingest solids. His mutilated jaw was also the reasoned that he allied with his former enemies as believed that only the American's medical health care could fix his jaw (see "Here Comes Santa Claus").
He plots (together with Gottfried Pappenheim
Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim
Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim was field marshal of the Holy Roman Emperor in the Thirty Years' War.-Biography:...
) to expel imperial administrators from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and depose the absent Archduke Ferdinand III of Austria
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...
, then also king of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
(1625) and Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
(1629) whilst he was occupied opposing the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
while his father Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
prosecuted the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
triggered by his reign in Bohemia. Meanwhile, Len Tanner and Ellie Anderson (see "Lineman for the Country") come to install a telephone system for Wallenstein's residence in Prague, and a Jewish couple from Grantville settles in Prague and gains influence in Josefov
Josefov (Prague)
Josefov is a town quarter and the smallest cadastral area of Prague, today Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. It is completely surrounded by Old Town...
, the Jewish quarter.
Wallenstein's coup succeeds, but he must take his troops out of Prague to meet Ferdinand's army in a "Second Battle of White Mountain
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval,...
". Mercenary chief Heinrich Holk decides to exploit their absence and attack the city. However, successors of religious hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
s ("The Brethren") and the Jewish population band together as citizen defenders of Prague, led by elderly American tycoon Morris Roth, who amazes himself by becoming a popular leader: don Morris, hidalgo of Jews.
At the heart of the storyline backplot and that of Flint's Eastern European thread is the Chmielnicki Rebellion
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, was a Cossack rebellion in the Ukraine between the years 1648–1657 which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland...
, refers to a rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
or war of liberation
War of liberation
A War of liberation is a conflict which is primarily intended to bring freedom or independence to a nation or group. Examples might include a war to overthrow a colonial power, or to remove a dictator from power. Such wars are often unconventional...
in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
(present-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), which raged from 1648–1654 and involved massive anti-semitic pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s. Many of the Jews targeted had fled central and western Europe because the plague years in the fourteenth century had inspired pogroms, as did the spread of Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
which was at the heart of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
The Khmelnytsky Uprising decimated the Jewish population and is considered to be one of the most traumatic events in Jewish history. In The Wallenstein Gambit storyline, Jewish character Morris Roth is haunted by this and hopes to prevent the prospective loss of life.