The Ring of Fire

[Keeblertex]

I have about 50 more pages to go on The Eastern Front. Starts off a little slow but then really takes off. I recommend picking back up the series here if you lost interest with Virginia's books. Her stuff is gives a lot of the backstory and is building character depth. Unfortunately it doesn't really move the story along. Plus, I'm probably not intelligent enough to value the depth provides!

[jbcohen]

According to what has been recommended to me keeblertex your next book should be the Saxon Uprising.

For all those familiar with the Ring of Fire series: At what point does Mike Sterns re-organize the United States and its office of the president into the United States of Europe with its office of the Pime minister. I have read about the event but don't seem to recall it happening. I believe that it occured in the last few chapters of 1633.

[Keeblertex]

I believe you're right. There was a civilian uprising in Magdeburg that he was able to squelch by negotiating a revised political landscape with Gustav. At least I think that's right.

[plib]

Originally Posted by Keeblertex

Her stuff is gives a lot of the backstory and is building character depth. Unfortunately it doesn't really move the story along. Plus, I'm probably not intelligent enough to value the depth provides!

Can't say I agree with you there. My overwhelming feeling while reading her stories was that it was just like listening to my mother and aunts on the corner couch during family gatherings, from which I quickly distanced myself.

Of course there's no way I'm not going to agree with the premise that my mother was way more intelligent than I am!

[jbcohen]

Ah, I see Keeblertex - where in the books did this happen? Its a rather significant shift from a president of the US to the prime minister of the US of Europe. Also, I mistakingly opened up the Galileo Affair instead of the Baltic War for a moment and read about a religious leader of the americans. In which book is the regligious leader appointed and/or first introduced?

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by plib

Ah! So I'm not the only one who feels that way. She's probably fine if you're into tracing every niece, nephew and cousin in your family for the last two hundred years - complete with all the family gossip over the same time period, but I fail to see how she can appeal to anyone who's not a dedicated genealogist or gossip monger.

No, there are lots of us who could just as happily never read another word by Virginia DeMarce. I've just read around her, and figured the stuff she covers will just have to get ignored or filled in by later works. Shame, really, it doesn't do the series any good at all.

[Keeblertex]

The USE was formed at the end of 1633 as a way to change the government to a constitutional monarchy. Don't ask me the difference because I generally don't pay as close attention to the politics as I do the battles. But Gustav was both emperor and Prime Minister before.

Not sure about the religious leader but I think they're talking about their catholic priest. I believe that was in one of Virginia's books.


BTW-The Eastern Front has a real cliffhanger of an ending. My local library doesn't carry The Saxon Uprising so I'll have to break down and buy a copy. The reviews say it is the best book in a long time.

[plib]

Originally Posted by CRussel

No, there are lots of us who could just as happily never read another word by Virginia DeMarce. I've just read around her, and figured the stuff she covers will just have to get ignored or filled in by later works. Shame, really, it doesn't do the series any good at all.

I think I probably have to do the same, read around her. It's interesting that your comment 'it doesn't do the series any good at all" crystallized a reaction in me. Now that I analyze it I find I'm not nearly as eager to get back to catching up on Ring of Fire as I was to catch up on the Honor Harrington series. For me that's directly related to a distinct reluctance to have to wade through more DeMarce on the way to the finish line. It was feeling more like a chore than a pleasure.

Time to play hookey and skip the chores I think.

[BaenSidhe]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

For all those familiar with the Ring of Fire series: At what point does Mike Sterns re-organize the United States and its office of the president into the United States of Europe with its office of the Pime minister. I have read about the event but don't seem to recall it happening. I believe that it occured in the last few chapters of 1633.

It happened on October 8-11, 1633. Chapters 49-52 in 1633 and announced in Grantville on October 11 in the short story Breaking News in Grantville Gazette Volume 5.

[Xanthe]

I've got to agree with you folks about DeMarce's contribution to the series. I mean, I like getting the backstory on some of the secondary and tertiary characters but there was one of her books, "The Ram Rebellion" I think, where she kept throwing in the names of the relatives and friends of those same secondary and tertiary characters with such wild abandon that I lost track of who the heck she was talking about. Nor could I work up much interest in them.

I started "The Dreeson Incident" but put it down for one reason or another and never picked it up again because there was no sense of "must read this" about the book.

She's good for color commentary in the stories because she adds some personal/historical depth to the characters, but Flint really needs to limit her to that role and resume the primary writer role himself. I think that her books have just served to confuse the timelines of the series.

[plib]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

I mean, I like getting the backstory on some of the secondary and tertiary characters but there was one of her books, "The Ram Rebellion" I think, where she kept throwing in the names of the relatives and friends of those same secondary and tertiary characters with such wild abandon that I lost track of who the heck she was talking about. Nor could I work up much interest in them.

Exactly my feelings. Too often her "stories" feel more like a narrative version of a genealogy GED file than an actual, interesting story.

I understand one of her functions in the whole RoF structure is to maintain just such a genealogical file to keep track of the various characters and their relationships/activities. I can see the use of that in overall organization of the RoF universe, but the back office work is not part of the storytelling.

[bfollowell]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I seem to recall there was a series of books about an army regiment being displaced in time.

It wasn't so much displaced in time as it was transported to an another world where other humans had been mysteriously transported over the centuries and they'd never been able to develop past about the middle ages technology-wise.

I've never read them but the series was called The Lost Regiment by William R. Forstchen. The individual titles were:

Rally Cry (1990)
Union Forever (1991)
Terrible Swift Sword (1992)
Fateful Lightning (1992)
Battle Hymn (1997)
Never Sound Retreat (1998)
A Band of Brothers (1999)
Men of War (1999)
Down to the Sea (2000)

I hope this helps.

- Byron

[Apache]

Originally Posted by bfollowell

It wasn't so much displaced in time as it was transported to an another world where other humans had been mysteriously transported over the centuries and they'd never been able to develop past about the middle ages technology-wise.

I've never read them but the series was called The Lost Regiment by William R. Forstchen. The individual titles were:

Rally Cry (1990)
Union Forever (1991)
Terrible Swift Sword (1992)
Fateful Lightning (1992)
Battle Hymn (1997)
Never Sound Retreat (1998)
A Band of Brothers (1999)
Men of War (1999)
Down to the Sea (2000)

I hope this helps.

- Byron

I read this series a long time ago and from what I remember:
The US Army Regiment was from the Civil war. They were on board a ship in a wild storm and were ended up on another world. There were other human groups there from other times. The groups were kept separated by aliens who lived on the planet. They were not allowed to progress and were used as food by the aliens. The Maine Regiment decided to change this and taught others their technology and fought the aliens.
Apache

[morriss003]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Personally I found a bit more to put me off him than a few incorrect facts or phrases.

Sorry, but I thought great idea, terrible treatment.

That's the beauty of language and conception. Some people love his stuff, and some dislike it. I can't stop reading that series, even when some of the stories in the Grantville Gazette aren't very good.

[jbcohen]

I am enjoying Baltic War a lot and anticipating the Ram Rebellion. I am going to have to read the other alternate sci-fi books when I get caught up with this one. While I do understand that I am not too far along in the ring of fire series I do hope that Eric Flint does explain why the ring of fire happened in the first place in one of the books. I do understand from other members that have finished this series that there will be more on that latter I am sort of hoping for some tale surrounding the ring of fire and the Assisti who caused the ring of fire in the first place.