Ring of Fire II

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Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire II cover (Baen ID 1416573879).jpg
First edition
Author Eric Flint
Cover artist Tom Kidd
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series 1632 series
Genre Alternate history, science fiction
PublisherBaen Books
Publication date
January 2008
ISBN 1-4165-7387-9 (2008 hardcover)
OCLC 82864474
813.0876608
Preceded by 1634: The Bavarian Crisis  
Followed byGrantville Gazette IV 

Ring of Fire II is a 2008 anthology created by editor-author-historian Eric Flint. [1] It is the second anthology in the 1632 series following after Ring of Fire (2004).

Contents

Premise of the series

The initial Ring of Fire book was a notable departure[ citation needed ] in that it heralded a new era in writing series fiction by being set in an authors' milieu shared with other writers, but especially and uncharacteristically by doing so without the control of the milieu creator, its author. Flint, in explanation, has self-styled himself as something of a gambler[ citation needed ]; he demonstrated that by deliberately asking the other writers to share in creating the main threads and plot lines of the milieu so that this work and the large second full novel in the series, 1633 , were written contemporaneously.

Flint is on record that large portions of 1633 were adjusted drastically, even thrown out and rewritten as later submissions in the collected stories in Ring of Fire impacted the various and diverse story threads.[ citation needed ] For a fuller precis on this interesting and historic literary development see Assiti Shards series.

Stories in the anthology

"City of the Dead"

by Jay Robison

"Noelle Comes Home"

by Virginia DeMarce

Flint's e-book preface refers to this work as being a prequel to his own short novel (below), but the title does not agree with the credited work on 1632.org's timeframes spreadsheet.

"Horse Thieves"

by Karen Bergstralh

The story focus on four former mercenaries who worked for Count Tilly before being exempted on good behavior and becoming horse traders in Grantville. While returning to Grantville following a horse trade in France, the traders encounter a foreign mercenary army contingent preparing to attack Grantville's allied city, Badenburg. They also observe that the mercenaries are equipped with American Civil War era equipment and doctrines that they had somehow acquired from modern history books. The traders - with help from the American militia - make several skirmishes against the army before finally eliminating them.

"Second Issue?"

by Eric Flint and Bradley H. Sinor

A story by Bradley H. Sinor about the birth of tabloid journalism in Grantville. The plot structure begins with a suggestion that it might be a tale of investigative journalism, but it ends with a humorous twist. There are tight connections between this story and "The Wallenstein Gambit"

"Diving Belle"

by Gunnar Dahlin and Dave Freer

A story by Gunnar Dahlin and Dave Freer about an attempt to raise the Vasa from its resting place in Stockholm harbor. Or, is it an elaborate fraud?

"A Gift from the Duchess"

by Virginia DeMarce

"Lucky at Cards"

by Andrew Dennis

"A Trip to Amsterdam"

by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett

This vignette by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett returns to the story of the two groups maturing of tycoons known respectively as the Sewing Circle and the Barbie Consortium introduced initially in "The Sewing Circle", continued again in "Other People’s Money", and other seminal background tales.

"This'll Be the Day..."

by Walt Boyes

The story recounts the deeds of Father Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld on the day of his former death.

"Command Performance"

by David Carrico

This continuation of the "Franz and Marla" stories by David Carrico, ties in with a brief mention of the story behind and within the concert as told here. The same tale, from a different prospective was used as background for the entrance of Admiral John Simpson and wife Mary as they come on stage during the end of the industrial disaster that begins the novel 1634: The Baltic War.

As a continuation and perhaps climax of the Franz and Marla saga, the tale reveals Marla in a triumphal debut among the rich and famous in Magdeburg, while the lovable and tragic Franz finds a new musical groove—and is able to play again publicly — while, finally, proving worthy in his own eyes of "getting the girl". Like the preceding Franz and Marla stories, it is an excellent tale told with skill and is good at evoking emotions and painting complex characters undergoing lives' pressures.

"Ellis Island"

by Russ Rittgers

The story recounts the tribulations of a peasant family immigrating to Grantville.

"Malungu Seed"

by Jonathan Cresswell

The story focus on an African Jesuit layman who has an urgent mission in Grantville and elsewhere.

"Trials"

by Jay Robison

The story focus on the trials of Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi and a Grantville housewife.

"The Chase"

by Iver Cooper

This story is a sequel to "Grand Tour," which appeared in Grantville Gazette X, in which historical figures Thomas Hobbes and a young William Cavendish (the Earl of Devonshire) have arrived in their destination in Grantville and befriending several of the young ladies of the "Barbie Consortium."

There is a scene set at a down-time tennis court, and it's worth noting that Iver also wrote an article on down-time tennis ("Tennis: The Game of Kings") which appeared in Grantville Gazette XV.

"Eddie and the King's Daughter"

by K.D. Wentworth

Set as a prequel to 1634: The Baltic War , the story focus on Eddie Cantrell, who was captured by the Danish in the confused aftermath the Battle of Wismar depicted in 1633 , became involved with the daughter of Christian IV of Denmark.

"Second Thoughts"

by Virginia DeMarce

The story discloses the events leading to marriage between the parents of Noelle Brigitte Murphy.

"The Austro-Hungarian Connection"

by Eric Flint

This short novel by Flint features a return to the enigmatic secret agent, Noelle Murphy, introduced in 1634: The Ram Rebellion who considered becoming a Catholic Nun (see "Enter the Ram").

Literary significance and reception

A reviewer for SFRevu wrote that he liked the book because "the characters are allowed to be flawed. They often are given the chance for redemption, but don't always take it." [2] Another reviewer wrote that "this anthology has a sort of crazy-quilt feel at times" since "the stories connect to one another and to the other anthologies and novels in various complex ways, reinforcing one another by casting light on aspects of characters and events that might otherwise be ignored." However, "the gems in this anthology outweigh the few weak ones" and "heartily recommend the purchase". The reviewer also recommends re-reading the other novels and anthologies of the series to "really appreciate all the interconnections between the various storylines". [3]

Ring of Fire II was listed on the Locus (magazine) Hardcovers Bestsellers List for single month during 2008 at number 6. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>1632</i> (novel) 2000 novel by Eric Flint

1632 (2000) is an alternate history novel by American author Eric Flint, the initial novel in the best-selling series of the same name.

<i>The Grantville Gazette</i> 2004 anthology of fan fiction stories

The Grantville Gazette is the first of a series of professionally selected and edited paid fan fiction anthologies set within the 1632 series inspired by Eric Flint's novel 1632. The electronically published the Grantville Gazettes, which are reaching long novel length with regularity, now make up the majority of the series in terms of words in print. Flint as series owner and editor accounts all as canonical. The Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) recognizes published stories within the Gazettes as qualified credentials for membership—which membership requires a writer to have three published works as prerequisites.

<i>1632</i> series Novel 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 American author Eric Flint and published by Baen Books.

<i>Ring of Fire</i> (anthology)

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. 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.

<i>1633</i> (novel) 2002 novel by David Weber and Eric Flint

1633 is an alternate history novel co-written by American authors Eric Flint and David Weber published in 2002, 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 writing being very common, as well as one that, far more unusually, mixes many canonical anthologies with its works of novel length. That is because Flint wrote 1632 as a stand-alone novel, though with enough "story hooks" for an eventual sequel, and because Flint feels "history is messy" and the books reflect that real life is not a smooth, polished linear narrative flow from the pen of some historian but is instead clumps of semi-related or unrelated happenings that somehow sum up how different people act in their own self-interests.

<i>1634: The Ram Rebellion</i> 2006 novel by Eric Flint

1634: The Ram Rebellion is the seventh published work in the 1632 alternate history book series, and is the third work to establish what is best considered as a "main plot line or thread" of historical speculative focus that are loosely organized and classified geographically. The initial main thread is called the "Western and North-Central Europe thread" ; the second plot line, encompassing events in Italy, Spain, the Mediterranean region, and France, the "South European thread", and this book can be considered the starting novel of the "South-Central/South-East thread" being set in southern Germany, Austria, Bavaria, and Bohemia. This geographically organized plot thread actually began in Ring of Fire in Flint's novelette "The Wallenstein Gambit" which is set in Bohemia, Austria, and Germany, which tied into stories in various Grantville Gazettes.

The Grantville Gazettes were a series of anthologies of short stories set in the 1632 universe introduced in Eric Flint's novel 1632 that was published as a bi-monthly electronic magazine from 2003 until shortly after Flint's death in 2022.

<i>Grantville Gazette II</i> 2006 anthology of fan fiction stories

Grantville Gazette II is the third collaborative anthology published in print set in the 1632-verse shared universe in what is best regarded as a canonical sub-series of the popular alternate history that began with the February 2000 publication of the hardcover novel 1632 by author-historian Eric Flint. Baen Books and Flint decline the distinction, counting this book as the sixth published work. Overall it is also the third anthology in printed publication in the atypical series, which consists of a mish-mash of main novels and anthologies produced under popular demand after publication of the initial novel, which was written as a stand-alone work.

<i>1634: The Baltic War</i> 2007 novel by David Weber and Eric Flint

1634: The Baltic War is a sequel to both the first-of-type sequels, Ring of Fire and 1633, co-written by American authors Eric Flint and David Weber published in 2007. It had to await schedule co-ordination by the two authors, which proved difficult and delayed the work by nearly two years. It continues theMain or Central European thread centered on the newly organized United States of Europe birthed in Central Germany under the protection-by-arms of Emperor Gustavus Adolphus and in particular, the role of the citizens of Grantville, now of Thuringia, and the capital city of Magdeburg have to play on the world stage. With the stability imposed by the protection of Gustavus's armies, up-timers began migrating to other locales in the "neohistories" world as the year 1633 closed.

<i>Grantville Gazette III</i> 2004 anthology of fan fiction stories

The Grantville Gazette III is the third collaborative and the fourth anthology in the 1632 series edited by the series creator, Eric Flint. It was published as an e-book by Baen Books in October 2004. It was released as a hardcover in January 2007, and trade paperback in June 2008 with both editions containing Flint's story "Postage Due".

<i>1634: The Bavarian Crisis</i> 2007 novel by Virginia DeMarce and Eric Flint

1634: The Bavarian Crisis is a novel in the alternate history 1632 series, written by Virginia DeMarce and Eric Flint as sequel to Flint's novella "The Wallenstein Gambit"; several short stories by DeMarce in The Grantville Gazettes; 1634: The Ram Rebellion; and 1634: The Baltic War. The novel's first draft was completed in 2005, before work on The Baltic War began. Many chapters of that "early draft version" were available on line, but the final production reached print on October 1, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia DeMarce</span> American historian and science fiction author

Virginia Easley DeMarce is an American historian who specializes in early modern European history, as well as a New York Times Best Selling author in the 1632 series collaborative fiction project. She has done genealogical work on the origins of the Melungeon peoples.

The Assiti Shards series is a fictional universe invented by American author Eric Flint. It is a shared universe concerning several alternate history worlds, related to a prime timeline. The defining characteristic of the fictional universe is the existence of the "Assiti Shards effect", and the impact that strikes by Assiti Shards have on characters in the stories. The series is rather large and expansive, having started publication in 2000, and as of 2008, consisting of 15 print books, and 21 e-magazine anthologies, in two different published timelines of the same multiverse.

<i>1635: The Dreeson Incident</i> 2008 novel by Eric Flint

1635: The Dreeson Incident (2008) is a novel in the alternate history 1632 series, written by Virginia DeMarce and Eric Flint, as a sequel to Flint's novella 1634: The Bavarian Crisis.

<i>1635: The Tangled Web</i> 2009 novel by Virginia DeMarce

1635: The Tangled Web is a novel in the alternate history 1632 series, written by Virginia DeMarce.

<i>1635: The Eastern Front</i> 2010 novel by Eric Flint

1635: The Eastern Front is an alternate history novel by Eric Flint in the 1632 series, first published in hardcover by Baen Books on October 5, 2010, with a paperback edition following from the same publisher in November 2011. It is a sequel to 1635: The Tangled Web and is directly continued by 1636: The Saxon Uprising.

<i>Ring of Fire III</i> 2011 book by Eric Flint

Ring of Fire III is an anthology created by editor-author-historian Eric Flint, first published in hardcover by Baen Books in July 2011. It is the third anthology in the 1632 series following after Ring of Fire II (2008).

<i>1636: The Kremlin Games</i> 2012 alternative history novel

1636: The Kremlin Games is a novel in the 1632 series written by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett along with Eric Flint. It is the fourth book in the series to be listed on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction. This book reached number 30 on the NY Times list during a single week in June 2012. Besides being listed on the NY Times Best Seller list, 1636: The Kremlin Games was also listed on the Locus Hardcovers Bestsellers List for the month of September in 2012 at number 6.

<i>1636: The Devils Opera</i> 2013 novel by David Carrico and Eric Flint

1636: The Devil's Opera is a stand-alone novel in the alternative history 1632 series with minor character overlaps. Published on October 1, 2013 the book is written by David Carrico and Eric Flint. It is a semi-detective novel set in a growing industrial city that is a continuation of two series of stories that David Carrico had originally written in the electronic versions of the Grantville Gazette that were serialized over several issues and later compiled into the compilation 1635: Music and Murder, one series involving criminal investigation and crime fighting and other series involving music and social revolution.

This is complete list of works by American science fiction and historical fiction author Eric Flint.

References

  1. "Uchronia: The Assiti Shards (1632) Series". www.uchronia.net.
  2. Lawhorn, Bill (January 1, 2008). "Ring of Fire II by Eric Flint". SFRevu.
  3. Kimmel, Leigh. "Ring of Fire II edited by Eric Flint". The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf.
  4. "Locus Bestsellers, April 2008". Locus . April 2008.