The Latest Novel in the <i>New York Times</i> Best-Selling Series. Eric Flint, the Reigning Master of Alternate History, Continues the Exciting Story Arc Begun in <i>1635: The Eastern Front</i>.<i> </i><br><br> The West Virginia town of Grantville, torn from the twentieth century and hurled back into seventeenth century Europe has allied with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, in the United States of Europe. So, when Gustavus invades Poland, managing to unite all the squabbling Polish factions into repelling the common enemy, the time-lost Americans have to worry about getting dragged into the fight along with the Swedish forces. <br><br> But Mike Stearns has another problem. He was Prime Minister of the USE until he lost an election, and now he's one of Gustavus's generals; and he has demonstrated that he's very good at being a general. And he's about to really need all his military aptitude. Gretchen , who never saw a revolution she didn't like, has been arrested in Saxony, and is likely to be executed. The revolutionary groups which she has been working with are not about to let that happen, and suddenly there's rioting in the streets. Saxony's ruthless General Baner is determined to suppress the uprising by the time-honored "kill them all and let God sort them out" method, which only adds fuel to the fire. So Gustavus orders Mike Stearns to go to Saxony and restore order. But he makes one mistake. <br><br> He didn't tell Mike to take his troops along on the mission. But he didn't tell him <i>not</i> to, either . . . <br><br> <br><br><i>Praise for the </i>New York Times <i>Best-Selling Series:</i><br><br>". . . gripping and expertly detailed . . . a treat for lovers of action-SF or alternate history . . . battle scenes depicted with power . . . distinguishes Flint as an SF author of particular note, one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure." - <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (in a starred review) <br><br> <br><br>"[This] alternate-history saga . . . is certainly a landmark in that subgenre. . . . A splendid example of character-centered alternate-history, this is a must read for its series' growing fandom." - <i>BOOKLIST </i> (Starred Review) <br><br> <br><br>". . . takes historic speculation to a new level in a tale that combines accurate historical research with bold leaps of the imagination. Fans of alternate history and military sf should enjoy this rousing tale of adventure and intrigue." - <i>Library Journal</i><br><br> <br><br>"This alternate history series is already one of the best around and each new entry appears better than the previous one, a seemingly impossible feat . . . terrific. . . ." - <i>The Midwest Book Review</i>
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The Second Half, 6TSU
This is really just the second half of a 783-page novel that was judged too long for one volume, so it was split into two. The first half was published as 1635: The Eastern Front (5TEF). It is the fifth mainline volume of the 163x hypernovel, The first four are 1632, 1633, 1634: The Baltic War (4TBW), and 5TEF. You will enjoy all of them more if you read them in order. 6TSU begins with Erik Haakansson Hand's first sight of Gustaf II Adolf (G2A) on his sickbed in Berlin, then flashes back to Haakansson's visit with James Nichols in Magdeburg. In Dresden, Gretchen Richter fills the vacuum in command of preparations to prevent Johan Banér from entering and taking control of the city (and probably sacking it). Gretchen and Tata become the real leaders of Dresden as Banér puts the city under siege. David Bartley and Jeff Higgins launch the `Becky,' military scrip to buy supplies with when their supply of cash runs out. Ulrik and Kristina arrive via ironclad at Luebeck, and Admiral Simpson persuades them to stay in Luebeck until a suitable arrival in Magdeburg can be arranged. They have no intention of going to Berlin as Oxensteirna has virtually ordered them to. Oxenstierna is working on a counter-revolution to restore all the powers and privileges of the nobility, and the most conservative members of the Crown Loyalist Party have been invited to convene in Berlin for that purpose. Ox knows that he must complete his counter-revolution before G2A recovers (if he ever does), so he plays fast and loose with the USE Constitution, ignoring, among other things, the unmet requirement for a quorum. There is mention of a wrong-but-understandable turnabout-is-fair-play event, "Operation Krystalnacht," a sort of reverse Kristallnacht pogrom against anti-semites, which made it clear that the CoC would not tolerate anti-Jewish rabble-rousing. But two wrongs don't make a right, and even vicious fools have a right to their opinions, however asinine, and to free speech, however offen...
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