Grantville Gazette, Volume V

Grantville Gazette: Print Version #5

by Eric Flint

In Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff's ''Poor Little Rich Girls,'' we follow the continuing adventures of the teenage tycoons begun by Huff in ''The Sewing Circle'' (Gazette #1) and ''Other People's Money'' (Gazette #3). The focus in this story, however, is on the younger siblings—the so-called Barbie Consortium—and their down-timer associates and enemies.

Jose Clavell's ''Magdeburg Marines'' and Ernest Lutz and John Zeek's ''Elizabeth'' depict the early days of two military units after the Ring of Fire: a reborn U.S. Marine Corps trying to adapt to new circumstances, and the First Railway Company, formed to provide logistics using a combination of up-time and down-time methods and technology.

David Carrico's ''Heavy Metal Music'' continues the story of the interaction between up-time and down-time musicians that he began in last issue's ''The Sound of Music.''

In other stories:

—A German craftsman blackballed by guild masters gets a new start in Karen Bergstralh's ''One Man's Junk.''

—Grantville has to deal with the tragic accidental deaths of several high school graduates in Kerryn Offord's ''The Class of '34.''

—In Virginia DeMarce's '''Til We Meet Again,'' a widowed up-timer responds to her husband's death by joining the faculty in the newly-established women's college in Quedlinburg.

—Julie Sims' ex-boyfriend finds a new romance in Russ Rittgers' ''Chip's Christmas Gift.''

—in Dan Robinson's ''Dice's Drawings,'' an American retiree finds a new life and maybe a new love in seventeenth century Germany.

The fourth volume of the Gazette also contains factual articles dealing with the development of an oil industry, advances in textile and garment manufacture, possible uses of biodiesel technology, and differing views on the prospects of creating a machine gun using the resources and technology available after the Ring of Fire.

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).

Genres: Alternate History, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Anthologies, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

561 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Eric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.

Reviews

[Lancelot Schaubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again just read this for the Kudzu Werke stories. Again think this should be marketed as historical fiction and would sell better.

[Ken Kugler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in love with the series that started with 1632. The great thing about the Granville Gazettes is that the story lines talk from the everyday people that were affected. Not everyone is good and some of the bad ones are real bad.
I like that the parameters for writing short stories are that they must be historically accurate. I have looked up many of the characters and found them to have existed or that the scenarios must be based in the time frame.
I look forward to new episodes but now realize I may have to give in and get a subscription and read the stories online.

[Topher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. So many interconnected threads..... And I like the idea of the gazettes, as it gives people a chance to try writing something for publication. Sometimes the writing could be a little hit or miss; I think that may change after this one, as the format changes from replicating the electronic editions and becomes a "best of" from 6 of the electronic editions. And...even when there were problems, the stories are short. You'll be on something else soon enough.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fifth in a collection of short stories associated with Eric Flint's Ring of Fire universe. As with each of the others, the collection varies in length and quality and they are written by a number of authors. Some of the stories, like the Dalai Lama's Electric Buddha, are just silly and others like The Matter of D'Artagnan have people acting out of character. A few like Recycling and A Filthy Story are neither interesting nor seem relevant to the world as a whole.

But then there are stories like A Little Angel of a girl who dies of Tetanus because vaccinations are no longer possible, or None So Blind, where some Magdeburg police bust a guy using children as slave beggers or thieves. Finally, 28 Men. There is a disaster at Grantville's mine. It was sooo good. I love the world that Eric Flint has open-sourced. And I love that, so many authors and aspiring authors have stepped up to contribute to this ever-expanding universe.

[Shawnee Hayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good bunch of short stories expanding the 1632 world in new ways. Some of these didn't fit as well with me as previous anthologies had, but it was good to see the potential darker sides of this AU history world such as the effects of patriotic nationalism or the dangers of mining, even with all the modern-day understandings of safety protocols and procedures for acting (or reacting) to disasters.

Looking forward to continuing the series!

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread some of my favorite stories. Some of these have been expanded into the full length novels or novella collections in the main line series. The main series keeps expanding and with the passing of Eric Flint, I hope some of the story lines he specialized in will be continued by certain of the authors.

[Saidah Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The format changed and I didn't like it so I switched to the online version and subscribed. I didn't bother to finish the rest of the stories because they came from the separate Gazettes which I would soon be reading anyway.

[Benjamin Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some very good short stories in this one. The last one tore me appart and i was shedding tears...

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story collection wasn't quite as cohesive as the prior four. It was interesting.

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to do another long review on this with short descriptions of each story but my internet crashed halfway through and I'm not feeling like putting the effort in again, so I'll stick with the high points. Grantville Gazette V is actually a bit of a disappointment after reading Gazettes IV and VI, as the stories in this edition are less integral to story as a whole (Eric Flint's selection doesn't even continue the Amsterdam stories that have been featured in all the other collections to date, choosing instead to tell a story of Eddie Junker's efforts to learn to fly and woo an up-time girl and Francisco Nasi's efforts to hire him as his personal pilot). That said, there are several amusing entries (The Dalai Lama's Electric Buddha, Painter's Gambit, and On the Matter of D'Artagnan in particular), as well as some fairly evocative stories (A Question of Faith, N.C.I.S.: Young Love Lost, Twenty-Eight Men) and, of course, there's an awesome David Carrico story (None so Blind), even if it doesn't continue his story of down-time musicians learning up-time music (it does introduce several other characters that showed up in his excellent 1636: The Devil's Opera). If you enjoyed the previous Grantville Gazettes, there's enough here to keep you entertained, though it's definitely only going to be of interest if you're already a fan of the Ring of Fire series.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a book of several short stories from the 1632 story line, the quality of the stories seem to fall into two categories.

A) Self contained stories that do not assume outside knowledge of outside events or characters
-or-
B) Stories that treat events or characters outside of the story as common knowledge.

As most people familiar with this series should know by know, the 1632 is, unfortunately, a series of diminished returns. It's too insular to those trying to read stories that have scenes that seem to have little relevance to the plot at hand and as much, leaves it less and less engaging for casual readers of the franchise. Still, the fact that there was so many short stories in the book with a focused plot and characters, made it easier for me to enjoy.

I'm sure you can guess which of the stories I preferred.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gazettes are hardcover collections of selected stories from the online Gazettes ( grantvillegazette.com ) where short stories are submitted by fan authors based on characters of the Ring of Fire novels by Eric Flint. Always good reading if you are fan of the Ring of Fire series. (They begin with the novel 1632). A smidgeon of SF and a lot of Alternate History.
ISBN - 9781439132791, Science Fiction, Pages - 450, Print Size - R, Rating - 5
All books reviewed are from the library or purchased by the reviewer.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grantville Gazette V contains small stories of different people from the 1632/Ring of Fire Universe. We learn more about Denise Beasley and her friend, Minnie Hugelmuir, and what’s up next for them. There are stories about business ventures; learning to get along in the new situation; establishing a seventeenth century N.C.I.S.; setting up a trained police force in Magdeburg; a fun story about D’Artagnan; astronomy; drama; coal mining and it’s dangers and more.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very strong showing for this collection of short stories surrounding Eric Flint's world of 1632 and beyond. Generally speaking I don't like short stories, but this collection was exceptional.

Any problems with the book? Not all of the stories are sterling.

Any modesty issues? The F-word is used. I don't think it is overused, but about the same as in the rest of the series.

I'll probably read this book again.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the 1632 Universe you will like this book. I enjoyed every story in this anthology. It is not very often I read every story in an anthologey let alone enjoy all of them. The 1632 Universe is one of those that I have enjoyed all the books. A must read for 1633 fans.

[Alison E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories I really enjoyed and would re-read. Some I skimmed. Overall, this is a good book if you're reading the series. It's especially handy to carry around and read when you're waiting for your car to be serviced.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually a "best of" set of stories from the online editions of Grantville Gazette Volumes 5-11. These are looks at the lives of average Americans and Germans in the re-created Germany of Flint's 1632 universe.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latest collection of short fiction set in the 1632 universe. Collects stories from issue 5-11 of the online Grantville Gazette.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book of the series

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good variety of short stories from an assortment of authors.

[Luci · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were pretty solid and I enjoy reading about the real people who are serving the Ring of Fire.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another set of short stories set in the 1632 Ring of Fire universe, several of which made me alternately chuckle and weep.