The Legions of Pestilence

by Virginia DeMarce

In the world the West Virginians of Grantville came from, the borderlands between France and Germany had been a source of turmoil for centuries. In the new universe created by the Ring of Fire, the situation isn’t any better. The chaotic condition of the German lands has been ended—for a time, at least. And the near-century long war between Spain and the Netherlands has finally been resolved.But now France is unstable. The defeat of Richelieu’s forces in the Ostend War has weakened the Red Cardinal’s grip on political power and emboldened his enemies, Foremost among them is King Louis XIII’s ambitious younger brother, Monsieur Gaston. An inveterate schemer and would-be usurper, Gaston’s response to the new conditions in France is to launch a military adventure. He invades the Duchy of Lorraine. Soon, others are drawn into the conflict. The Low Countries ruled by King Ferdinand and Duke Bernhard’s newly formed Burgundy, a kingdom-in-all-but-name, send their own troops into Lorraine. Chaos expands and spreads up and down the Rhine.It isn’t long before the mightiest and most deadly army enters the fray—the legions of pestilence. Bubonic plague and typhus lead the way, but others soon dysentery, deadly and disfiguring smallpox, along with new diseases introduced by the time-displaced town of Grantville.The war is on. All the wars—and on all fronts. Can the medical knowledge of the up-time Americans be adapted and spread fast enough to forestall disaster? Or will their advanced military technology simply win one war in order to lose the other and much more terrible one?

Genres: Alternate History

461 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2019

Reviews

[Jeffrey D. Keho · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some truly well-written volumes in this series (not sure "series" is appropriate, as there are multiple authors pursuing multiple storylines), but, in my opinion, this is not one of them. Unless you are a devotee of the series with a photographic memory, encyclopedic knowledge of the period and a detailed map of the area (the Germanys, Denmark and eastern regions of France, this volume is a very difficult read. In fact, after several hours of churning through family and dynastic machinations, my single greatest question was: "When will this be over?" Indeed, this reads like a gigantic club newsletter for an esoteric group whose every member was deeply immersed in the whole 1632 world. If you aren't spellbound by lengthy conversations regarding who can marry whom, what the impact of any and all marital liaisons have on the social and political climate, give this volume a miss. Oh, and there is some talk of plague and of smallpox that crops up from time to time, but not enough to be more than an aside to the marriage and other machinations.

[Richard E Snell · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mess

Endless parade of minor and insignificant characters, and trivial conversations. No real portrayal of the horrors of the plagues in the 17th century, and very little contribution to the truly excellent body of stories.

[Jerald Mays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story;terrible editing

I have enjoyed her other books and stories, but this digital edition needed close editing by someone . It looks like no one checked automatic spelling andgrammar program for missed and incur rots errors like this.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather long and complicated. As, I am sure life was in the 1630s. One could wonder if this were not intended as two separate books.
All along, there seems to be a lack of true plot. Still, I quite enjoyed it and read it through to the end, which seems to be a comment in and of itself.

[Lleichtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most historically dense books of this series. It also goes further than any of the other books going to 1637. Sometimes was a bit hard to follow which character was which and wondering what action was happening.

[Bonny Fuller-Fells · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lives of those caught in the building of Burgandy

Bernard and Claudia have children. Their employees marry and have children. Themselves marry and have children. Many did from the plague.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Ring of Fire addict, this will keep me going for a few weeks. Well done with focus among the Germanies along the French frontier.

[Kevin K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense with a large cast of characters. It made the narrative a touch difficult to follow especially with some time jumps. Overall, I did enjoy it.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5