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The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series, primarily written by Eric Flint. The story began with Flint's novel 1632, describing the effect of transporting the small town of Grantville, West Virginia from the United States in the year 2000 to central Germany in the year 1631, the middle of the Thirty Years' War. Despite the fact that the shift puts Grantville in 1631 initially, the bulk of the book's action takes place in 1632, hence the name. The series has been continued with novels 1633 and 1634: The Galileo Affair, several issues of the Grantville Gazette, and an anthology called Ring of Fire, with several more novels and anthologies planned. As well, the basic premise behind the series, known as Assiti Shards, is planned to be continued in other as-yet-unwritten works set in different eras.

The 1632 series is relatively unique in that fans are actively encouraged to contribute to the series though an online message board known as Baen's Bar. In fact, the entire Grantville Gazette and large portions of the Ring of Fire anthology, both of which are considered canonical, are fan-written (albeit edited by Flint), and have in fact directly contributed material to the main novels.

1632 was first published in New York by Baen Books in 2000 with ISBN 0-671-31972-8. The full text of the novel is available from the Baen Free Library (see below).

Contents 1 Development of the series milieu 2 The Beginning 3 Works in the series 3.1 Published longer fiction books 3.2 The Grantville Gazettes 3.3 Planned works, announcements, and status 4 The story 5 History connections 5.1 Historical characters 5.2 Historical places 5.3 Historical events and organizations 6 Fiction 6.1 Fictional characters 6.2 Fictional places 6.3 Fictional events 7 Terminology 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Development of the series milieu

As a series, the works are of a unique nature because the milieu creator-author-editor-historian Eric Flint, who readily describes himself as something of a gambler, broke new ground in several ways:

1. He had no plans to write any sequel and

in response to popular demand for such on his publisher's web forum Baen's Bar,

1. the interest itself spurred by partial publication of the work as an eBook, such pre-publication being itself another first;
2. he subsequently allowed a large number of people—both fans and other established authors—to assist in the complicated task of designing the likely milieu 'neohistorical' developments.
3. This effort in collaborative writing first began after the lead novel was in production but not yet released in hard cover; subsequently,
4. he also invited other established authors to not only contribute background and analysis to the milieu maturation process, but also to write stories and suggest plot outlines in the engaging new 1632verse) (i.e. for 1632 universe), but to do so in the mainline story—they helped thus to also shaped the newly maturing milieu;
5. an invitation he eventually extended in gratitude to the various fans contributing research and ideas. Taken together, this 'milieu sharing' became yet another departure-from-norms experiment, in that
6. the series main action is also carried by many canonical anthologies for which Flint primarily serves as editor with only a modest contribution of his own writing within each, and
7. he has stated that he will continue that practice so long as there is interest (as measured in sales); and lastly,
8. rather than have one strong protagonist to carry the plot, Flint designed the original milieu so that a typical small town of his childhood was the collective central character.

The first published fruits of these collaborative experiments are the novel 1633, designed plotted and written at the same time as the third published work the anthology Ring of Fire , which is the eponymous reference to what the town-folk themselves call the observed phenomenon of their time-space juxtaposition, a reference to the globe of flame-like light that they observed from within, and similar to the description by the very few observers positioned to see from without during its brief existence. The first novel reveals this phenomenon as the result of a striking Assiti shard that creates the milieu beginning.

[edit] The Beginning

1632 the lead novel in the complex series now numbering ten works in less than five years is an educational, and successful upbeat science fiction  (alternate history)  novel originally released in November of 2000 written by Eric Flint that has spawned worldwide interest and an almost cult-like following. While initially not a best seller, it has far eclipsed many such works in sustained sales as it continues in print. Originally intended to be a single story, the novel is now the first of an open-ended series wherein there are at least five books under advanced contract beyond the seven books already published in print media (over half available in hard cover editions), plus an additional three related ebooks that are likely to follow later in print, and the popularity of the series continues to grow by word of mouth. It is likely that the seven book series is establishing a new publishing record for sales and growth as is inferable from the simply astonishing rate of progression and development in the short time since the first book was released into paperback in 2001— seven books in print in five years or less would be remarkable for half as many releases.

This explosive rate of growth is likely fueled by two extraordinary factors:

1. Alternate history novels set in the past do not read like hard science fiction, but instead share settings with more in common to classics and mainline novels, thus appeal to a wider readership.
2. Conceived as a stand-alone novel published about the same time Baen Books launched an author to fan forum (Baen's Bar), the buzz thereon among Sci-Fi fans, quickly lead to discussions of likely subsequent events. These in turn removed the burden upon Flint to research the likely outcome and limiting circumstances within the timeframe. This in turn lead to the author to invite other authors to 'play in his milieu', and most unusually, to help define it; The initial result is the novel 1633 co-written with best selling author David Weber and the anthology Ring of Fire of which all material within was written in the same time period and modified to be consistent across all the storylines within both. Thus each helped shape the other and matured the early development of the milieu.

Such milieu visiting efforts are usually side stories careful to not complicate the main storyline of the hosting author. Flint, who likes to co-write, decided to take the uniquely bold step of inviting not only other authors but his fans to participate. This resulted in the explosive synergy resulting in 10 book length works (ebooks included) in less than four years published before April 2006. With a firmly established and outlined milieu, the storyline expanded into many threads as change ripples out from Grantville's influence like wavelets from a stone. This rich interwoven complexity is perhaps the heart of the reason 1632 succeeded in garnering so much attention, and its continuation (like real history) is readily appreciated by considering the series promises no less than five novels set in the year 1634 alone.

Added to this rich promise, is the canvas of short stories that have developed under the benevolently generous editorship of Flint, anthologies collected (again uniquely) as integral parts of the milieu development, bricks in its growing wall and involving a wondrous in depth look at the milieu from the viewpoint of Flint's interesting but complex minor characters with thought provoking points of view of their own from movers and shakers of the main storyline (i.e. the Novels). Flint has promised that some of these will grow into major characters (promoted!) in their own right in follow on novels. The resultant body of work, is beyond the scope of a single man, and engaging enough to be called enchanting. How could it be otherwise in a diverse plotline with the Spanish Inquisitors chasing 'witches' for its infamous inquisition.

[edit] Works in the series

Cover art gallery

1632 parallel universe (1632-verse) series by Eric Flint, et.al.

Main threads: | 1632 (All) | 1633 (All) | Ring of Fire (All) | The Galileo Affair (All) | The Ram Rebellion | The Cannon Law (eB) | The Cannon Law (HC) | The Baltic War The Grantville Gazettes: | GG I (Eb) | GG I (PB) | Gazette II (eB) | GG II (HC) | GG III (eB) | GG III (HC) | GG IV (eB) | GG V (eB) | GG VI (eB) | GG VII (eB)|

[edit] Published longer fiction books

• Novel: 1632 (2000)
• Novel: 1633 (2002) with David Weber
  • includes material initiating the British Isles spinoff
• Anthology: Ring of Fire (Jan. 2004)
  • includes the "The Wallenstein Gambit" with Mike Spehar which begins the Eastern Europe spinoff
  • Unlike most anthologies, this one is considered to be part of the official canon of the 1632 universe. Events which occur in the anthology have a direct impact on future books. Skipping the anthology creates gaps in the story line. The is particularly true in understanding the origins of the Navy in the second novel 1633.
• Novel: 1634: The Galileo Affair (April 2004) with Andrew Dennis, begins the Italian-French spinoff.
• Blended Novel: 1634: The Ram Rebellion (April 2006) with Virginia DeMarce
• Novel: 1635: Cannon Law sequel to 1634: The Galileo Affair.
• Novel: 1634: The Baltic War (May 2007) with David Weber, sequel to 1633

[edit] The Grantville Gazettes

The Gazettes began as an experimental semi-pro Online magazine featuring fan fiction and non-fiction edited by Eric Flint and a volunteer editorial board. It is not quite a spin off, as its works are considered fully canonical for the series and is also published by Baen in Hardcover editions, excepting only the inital paperback anthology: The Grantville Gazette. Initial publication is in electronic form at Webscription.net, but a mass market paper edition of the first issue was published as an experiment in November of 2004. The first printing sold out, and subsequent results were such that the second book was published in a respectable hardcover edition in March 2006. Additional hardcover publishing of the electronics corpus of work is scheduled at a pace of about three per year. However, the successful electronic serialized e-magazine's publication has been halted after Grantville Gazette VII, due to the launching of Jim Baen's UNIVERSE science-fiction e-magazine in June 2006, which is edited by Eric Flint. After that, this sub-series (arguably the larger body of work in print) will be published as an ARC three months prior to hardcover release as is the standard practice now with Baen books published works.

Book Volume	Issue	1st Serial e-magazine Issue date	e-book version	Hardcover date	Paperback date
The Grantville Gazette	Issue 1	November 2003	April 2004	November 2004	none
Grantville Gazette II	Issue 2	January 2004	March 2004	March 2006	unsch.
Grantville Gazette III	Issue 3	July 2004	October 2004	December 2006*	unsch.
Grantville Gazette IV	Issue 4	February 2005	April 2005	January 2007*	unsch.
Grantville Gazette V	Issue 5	April 2005	July 2005	unsch.	unsch.
Grantville Gazette VI	Issue 6	December 2005	March 2006	unsch.	unsch.
Grantville Gazette VII	Issue 7	April 2006	July 2006*	unsch.	unsch.
Grantville Gazette VIII	Issue 8	June 2006	September 2006*	unsch.	unsch.
*</big> forthcoming (scheduled)

[edit] Planned works, announcements, and status

As of March 31st, 2006, the following books are projected to be published:

• Anthology: Ring of Fire II
• Various Grantville Gazettes, the serialized eMagazines which are later published as eBooks and later yet (conditionally) released into standard print as anthologies. These stories are considered canon for the development of all later works in the series as soon as they are published in any form: Grantville Gazette (publication guaranteed at least through issue 10, as of Issue 7, and the role of editor has been assumed by assistant editor Paula Goodlett. Paper and eBook releases for Grantville Gazette III and Grantville Gazette IV are in production, and Grantville Gazette II was released in March 2006 as a hardcover.)
• Undisclosed titles with Mike Spehar and Andrew Dennis

• Main narrative thread
  • Novel: 1634: The Baltic War with David Weber (the direct sequel to 1633), will likely include material once conceived for the (abandoned) 1634: Escape from the Tower.
  • Novel: 1635: The Eastern Front (the direct sequel to 1634: The Baltic War)
• British Isles thread
  • Cancelled novel: 1634: Escape from the Tower will likely be merged into main narrative thread novel 1634: The Baltic War
  • Novel: 1635: Julie's Curse, extends the 'British Isles' spinoff from material in 1633
• Central Europe thread
  • Novel: 1634: The Bavarian Crisis with Virginia DeMarce (formerly intended name had been Austrian princess), begins the 'Central Europe' thread
  • Novel: 1635: The Dreeson Incident (working title, with Virginia DeMarce)
  • Anthology: 1634: The Ram Rebellion with Virginia DeMarce, Paula Goodlett and a number of Grantville Gazette authors.
  • Anthology: 1635: The Torturer of Fulda
• French-Italian thread
  • Novel: 1634: The Galileo Affair
  • Novel: 1635: The Cannon Law (continuation of the 'French-Italian' thread)
• Eastern Europe thread
  • Novel: 1635: The King of Bohemia with Mike Spehar, continuation of the "Wallenstein Gambit" 'Eastern Europe' thread
  • A Hillbilly in Czar Mikhail’s Court (working title)

[edit] The story

[edit] History connections

[edit] Historical characters

Alphabetical list (by surname) of real historical characters that appeared in the 1632verse. Pictures and Authors annoted comments can be reached by this link.

• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, died at Battle of Lützen. 163x: survives the year 1632, becames the emperor of the United States of Europe.
• Albrecht VI von Bayern (1584–1666), Landgraf of Leuchtenberg. 163x: gets trampled under witch hunt of his brother the reigning duke Maximilian, spends time in exile in Bohemia of Wallenstein
• Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar, (1572–1655), a Spanish diplomat, bishop and cardinal. 163x: becomes chancellor of the new kingdom in the Low Countries
• Jeremias Drexel, (1581–1638) was a Jesuit writer at the Munich court of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
• Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (1609–1641) (also known as Fernando and as Ferdinand von Österreich), Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, Cardinal, Infante, Archbishop of Toledo, and military commander. 163x: conquers the Dutch and becomes an independent king of the Low Countries, marries his first cousin Maria Anna of Austria who escapes the intended marriage to her aged uncle Max of Bavaria
• Archduchess Cecilia Renata of Austria (1611–1643), Queen of Poland from 1637. Daughter of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. 163x: ?
• Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, (1578–1637). Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Married to Eleonore Gonzaga. Father of Maria Anna of Austria, Cecylia Renata and Ferdinand III. 163x: dies already in 1634 as broken man, after being deposed in Bohemia by Wallenstein and remaining without any success in Germany
• Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, (1566–1633) was Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria and the joint sovereign of the Seventeen Provinces. 163x: lives a bit longer and bequeathes her appanage, the Low Countries, to her nephew don Fernando (whom the books erroneously call her great-nephew)
• Athanasius Kircher (1601–1680) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar
• Maria Anna of Austria (1610–1665), married Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria on 15 July 1635. 163x: escapes the intended marriage to her aged uncle Max and instead marries her first cousin don Fernando, king of the Low Countries
• Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (1573–1651), called "the Great,", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire. Founder of Catholic League (German). 163x: becomes very paranoid after losing his intended fiancée and starts terror and witch hunts in Bavaria, kills his sister-in-law duchess Mechtild, his brother Albrecht gets exiled
• Jules Cardinal Mazarin (1602–1661) served as the chief minister of France from 1642, until his death. Mazarin succeeded his mentor, Cardinal Richelieu. 163x: ?
• Armand Jean Du Plessis, Cardinal et Duc de Richelieu (1585–1642), French politician, cardinal, King Louis XIII's chief minister. 163x: enemy of USE
• Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly (1559–1632), general in Bavarian and Imperial service.
• Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583–1634), Czech soldier and politician who gave his services (an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men) during the Danish Period of the Thirty Years' War to Ferdinand II for no charge except the right to plunder the territories that he conquered. 163x: becames an ally of Gustavus Adolphus and ruler of Bohemia

[edit] Historical places

Alphabetical list of real historical places that appeared in the 1632 verse.

• Ingolstadt, a city located along the banks of the Danube River in the center of Bavaria. 163x:
  • University of Ingolstadt 163x:
• Jena, a university town in Thuringia. 163x:
• Magdeburg, a major German city on the Elbe river. Subject to sack of Magdeburg in 1631. 163x: capital of USE
  • Cathedral of Magdeburg 163x:
• Munich, a major German city located on the river Isar, capital of Bavaria. 163x:
• Suhl, a town in Thuringia. 163x:

[edit] Historical events and organizations

Alphabetical list of real historical events that are mentioned in the 1632 verse.

• Catholic League was a confederation of Catholic German states formed in order to counteract the Protestant Union. Tension between these two groups would eventually ignite into the first phase of the Thirty Years War.
• Edict of Restitution from 1629 was Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor’s attempt to restore the religious and territorial settlement after the Peace of Augsburg (1555). The "Ecclesiastical Reservation" forbade the secularization of Catholic land (i.e. being converted to some form of Protestant belief) after 1555. However, during the decades of weak emperors, princes had secularized Catholic land simply because it was so valuable and they had got away with it as no emperor was powerful enough to enforce the "Ecclesiastical Reservation".
• Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that formed in the 1600s. Tensions between Protestants and Catholics in Germany escalated, leading to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War.
• Thirty Years' War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the Central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. It occurred for a number of reasons. Although it was from its outset a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, the self-preservation of the Habsburg dynasty was also a central motive. 163x: the TYW is changed by the arrival of uptimers, the strengthening of Sweden and France allying with England, Spain, Denmark and Austria against the USE, Sweden and the Low Countries.

[edit] Fiction

[edit] Fictional characters

Alphabetical list (by surname) of fictional historical characters that appeared in the 1632 verse.

• Mike Stearns, president of USE
• Rebecca Stearns, née Abrabanel, wife of Mike Stearns, daughter of Balthazar Abrabanel. Former National Security Adviser, the sole Senator of the United States, as of 1633 currently under siege in Amsterdam.
• Lawrence, Cardinal Mazzare, originally the local Catholic priest of Grantville, later the USE ambassador to the Most Serene Republic of Venice, and then His Eminence the Cardinal-Protector of the United States of Europe.

[edit] Fictional places

Alphabetical list of fictional places that appeared in the 1632 verse.

• Grantville,

The key setting, a small town that travelled in time within a circular region about 6–7 miles in diameter within which are a coal mine, some railways, and a coal fired power plant. Based on the real city of Mannington, West Virginia and its nearby power station. Flint sets the power station and Grantville near a tributary of the Saale river.

• Badenburg,

A nearby walled town near the East Bank of the Thuringian Saale river. It was defended by Grantville's population during the 'second military encounter', but first major war action. Badenburg is located at the center of a triangle formed by the actual municipalities of Arnstadt, Saalfeld, and Jena, and became the second town to enter the new (fictional) USE, the United States of Europe.

[edit] Fictional events

Neohistorical in this and related Wikipedia documents is term for the altered history from the Ring of Fire Event (RoFE) as it unfolds after the Assiti shards caused the Ring of Fire, and Grantville arrived in the year 1631.

Acronyms for 1632-verse politics:

• CPE — Confederated Principalities of Europe (1632-November 1633) 1
• USE — United States of Europe (November 1633-indefinite future)
• NUS — New United States (1631-January 1634)
• SoT — State of Thuringia (January-April 1634)
• SoTF — State of Thuringia-Franconia (April 1634-indefinite future)
• RoF — politically, the circle of territory transferred down-time from West Virginia
• GV — Grantville, within the RoF and early un

[edit] Terminology

The 1632verse has evolved some specific terminology.

• down-timer : Character born in the 16th or 17th century prior to the point of divergence.
• grid : See "Virginia's grid" below.
• up-timer : Characters from the 20th century.
• Virginia's Grid : List of all uptimers who came through the Ring of Fire. If an author wishes to use an uptimer in any story they must select an uptimer from the grid and claim that character to ensure exclusive use by the author. Grid is a 'GED' file format, but can be read by wordprocessors.

[edit] See also

• Baen's Bar

[edit] External links

edit 1632 series
Web page links:	Comments and Content notes
Baen Books in the 1632 series	List of 1632 Series Books grouped by the series by Baen Books. Includes the first few chapters of each.
1632 full text	Full text of the novel 1632 from the Baen Free Library.
Baen Books catalog for Eric Flint	List of Eric Flint books published by Baen Books. Includes the first few chapters of each.
baen.com/library/eflint.htm	List of Eric Flint books available in toto in the Baen Free Library.
http://bar.baen.com/	Baen's Bar is an official fan-forum with several specific sections (sub-forums) dedicated to the 1632 universe. These are: 1632 Tech Manual, and 1632 Slush for manuscript submission (Slushpile in publishing: Stack of manuscripts for vetting) and 1632 Comments where Peer review feedback, suggestions, and comments on the slushpile submissions are posted. The two together form a collective collaborative workshop for wannabe authors.
http://ericflint.net/	Eric Flint's website, which has much about his work currently in progress or upcoming (in publication, in planning, under contract, in process) matters in the publication cycle.
http://www.1632.org	The official web site by Eric Flint's 1632.org on and about the 1632 universe and related matters. It is run by the 1632 Research Committee in conjunction with the 1632 Editorial Board. It includes the canonical references for the entire book series available for browsing and download by any participating in the collaborative writing process in the series. Eric's partners that are also professional writers use the same data. If you want to write a contribution to The Grantville Gazettes, this is a must-visit site. Additional Technical articles resulting from 1632 Tech Manual discussions and the Research Committee are also posted here.
klaus-leiss.de/1632Tech	1632 universe dedicated German Wikiproject organized to cross reference and encyclopediatize matters and characters pertaining to the 1632verse. Another must-browse site for would-be contributors to The Grantville Gazettes and students of Collaborative writing projects.
Fan Page collecting 1632 research	1632verse Commonwealth of Two Nations Resource Page - a webpage about Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1632 universe, but especially valuable for 1632 fans for its many period maps and links to other resources.

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1632 parallel universe (1632-verse) series by Eric Flint, et.al.

Main threads: | 1632 | 1633 | Ring of Fire | The Galileo Affair | The Ram Rebellion | The Cannon Law | The Baltic War The Grantville Gazettes: | Grantville Gazette I | Gazette II | Gazette III | Gazette IV | Gazette V | Gazette VI | Gazette VII |