1632 (Library Binding)

Flint uses the term 'Erse' instead of Gaelic. That term is heartily distliked in Scotland and Ireland for the same reason that 'nigger' is disliked in the U.S. The people who used the term ridiculed and denigrated Scottish Gaels (Highlanders).

Flint wrote 'Many of the soldiers in MacKay's cavalry unit could read–– and read well–– from their habit of studying the Bible. But the scout's thick Erse accent was the telltale sign of an illiterate Highlander.'

The name Alexander MacKay is a quintessential Highland name and it's possible there were men of that name in the real 'MacKey's' regiment. Most people in that regiment were Gaelic-speaking Highlanders, more likely to be literate in 1632 than a German or an Englishman. The Act of 1616 which 'abolished and removed' Gaelic as a cause of civility and barbarity in the Highlands and Islands had not taken effect. The Gaelic intelligentsia was still intact.

Flint's Scottish dialects are dreadful - Highland or Lowland –– and hard to read. Mr. Flint should visit Scotland or read some books written by Scots before writing another book.

I was prepared to like this book, but can't because of the underlying premises. I think this book was inspired partly by the 'Lion in the North' by G.A.Henty; it is full of the same prejudices.

This action-packed adventure begins during the present year in the cafeteria of the small town of Grantville, West Virginia's High School. While the majority of the guests celebrate the wedding of two of the town's favorite residents, the parents of the groom cast a disapproving pall over the reception. Before any confrontation can take place, everyone is catapulted into a terrifying situation from which there is no escape.

A "Ring Of Fire" is what the residents of Grantville have named the sudden and frightening phenomenon. When a select group of friends venture out to investigate reports of fire, they discover that they "aren't in Kansas anymore." A wall of earth, cut as if by a sword, surrounds their town and area. After a brutal gun fight with several mercenaries and careful inspection of their surroundings, they realize they have traveled back in time to Thuringia, Germany, during the 30 Years War.

"1632" is an engaging story in how the modern meets the past, and how both must work together for the common good of all. Refugees hear of the "magic" town of Grantville, and flock there for safety. There are no quick solutions and no easy answers. The modern citizens of Grantville must work together with the citizens of the 1600's to prevent bloodthirsty mercenaries from destroying their homes and lives.

The characters are so well fleshed out and real, one could swear they lived and breathed. Eric Flint's characterization is phenomenal! The "modern" women and men find that they have much in common with the women and men of the Seventeenth Century. There are no shrinking violets in this novel! The women are tough, strong, while managing to remain believable as citizens of the Seventeenth Century. There are many engrossing subplots in this novel, but none had touched me so much as the relationship between the modern citizen and student, Jeff Higgins, and the refugee Gretchen Richter. Brutalized by mercenaries, she, along with the other women in a mercenaries' camp, are saved from a life of brutality and despair. To prevent Gretchen from being forced to return to prostitution to support her family, Jeff marries her. Chapters 18 to 31 alone are worth the price of the novel!

This is not so much a story of time travel and alternate history as it is a story of good triumphing over evil, of love triumphing over brutality and violence and of citizens from two very different worlds learning to work, live and laugh with each other in the face of one of the most brutal periods in history. For a can't-put-it-down, action packed, exhilarating good read, try "1632!"