The ''1632'' series, also known as the 1632-verse or ''Ring of Fire'' series, is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publ ...

and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed on ' ...

and published by

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

. The series is set in 17th-century Europe, in which the small fictional town of Grantville,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, was sent to the past from the year 2000 to central Germany in the year 1631, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. By 2019, the series had seven published novels propelling the main plot and over ten published novels moving several subplots and threads forward. The series also includes fan-written, but professionally edited, collaborative material which were published in a bi-monthly magazine titled '' The Grantville Gazettes'' and some collaborative short fiction. In terms of the history of

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

literature, the ''1632'' series can be considered an extension and modification of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's ''

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 historical novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court ...

'', in which a 19th-century American engineer, finding himself in 5th-century England, is able, all by himself, to introduce into the past society the full range of his time's technologies. In Flint's version, a whole modern community is transplanted into the past, in possession of a considerable amount of the material and written resources of modern society, making their success in changing the past more plausible. Since both the ''Grantville Gazette'' and the Ring of Fire Press had ceased operations shortly after Eric Flint's death in 2022, the series was originally expected to be concluded after manuscripts that had already been submitted to Baen prior to Flint's death were published in the upcoming year or so. In June 2023, it was announced that a new company, Flint's Shards Inc., had signed a contract with Lucille Robbins, Eric Flint's widow and heir, to produce a new electronic magazine called ''Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond'' that was scheduled to be released bimonthly on the first day of odd-numbered months ,with Bjorn Hasseler as editor-in-chief, starting inSeptember 2023.

Series overview

The ''1632'' series began with Flint's stand-alone novel ''

1632 Events January–March * January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. * January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...

'' (released February 2000). It is, excepting the lead novel and the serialized e-novel ''The Anaconda Project'' (2007), virtually all collaboratively written, including some "main works" with multiple co-authors. However, Flint has mentioned contracts with the publisher for at least two additional solo novels he has in planning on his website. Flint, whose bibliography was dominated by collaborative work, claims that this approach encourages the cross-fertilization of ideas and styles, stimulating the creative process and preventing stale, formulaic works. As stated in the first ''Grantville Gazette'' and on his site, Flint's novel ''

'' was an experiment wherein he explores the effect of transporting a large group of people back in time, in this case an entire American town. ''1632'' occurs in the midst of the

(1618–1648). The modern town of Grantville is transported from West Virginia back to 1632 Europe. The plot allows pragmatic, American, union-oriented, political thought to grind against the authoritarian, religion-driven societies of an unconsolidated

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

barely out of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Flint explores examples of suffering due to the petty politics of self-aggrandizement and self-interest on the one hand, and the irreconcilable differences of the schism in Christianity such as the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

on the other. Despite the fact that the shift puts Grantville in May 1631 initially, because of the ongoing war and the primitive transportation networks of the day Grantville's arrival has something of a delayed impact, so the bulk of the book's action takes place in 1632, hence the name. The series was initially continued with two collaborative works that were more or less written concurrently: ''

1633 Events January–March * January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, wher ...

'' (with best selling novelist

David Weber David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...

) and an anthology called ''

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

'' (with other established science-fiction writers, including long, "deep background" stories by both Weber and Flint). Overall, the narratives are not oriented on one group of protagonists with a strong lead character, but instead are carried by an ensemble cast—though most books or short stories do have several strong characters who carry the action and plot forward. Flint had intended from the outset that the whole town would be the collective protagonist; a reflection of his philosophy that historic forces are not centered in the main on the actions of one or two key individuals, but on the many small independent actions of the many going about their daily lives and coping as best they can. By late in ''1632'', the New United States-led coalition of the Confederated Principalities of Europe had become the arsenal and financier (through Jewish connections of real historical interest) for Swedish King

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

(the displaced Americans' intervention in history already had the effect of saving Gustavus Adolphus from being killed in the Battle of Lützen (1632), Battle of Lützen). This leads the scheming

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

, who had previously been financing him to spite and weaken the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, to turn on the Swedes. Various books from up-time Grantville, especially history books, had found avid readers amongst Europe's ruling elites, changing the plans and strategies of major players of the time. The readers, not understanding the chaotic nature of events (i.e., trivial-seeming changes can have large effects, and vice versa), often believe that these histories give them a strong idea of how they can guide events in a different direction. The "players" sent back through time have no intention of strongly guiding events, but understand how key forces (democracy, sanitation, medicine, egalitarianism, etc.) affect things in the long run to the betterment of mankind, and intend to promote and spread those even if they themselves are not "in control" of what results. Richelieu forms a four-way alliance, the League of Ostend, to oppose the New United States, Gustavus' expeditionary army, and allied princes of the German states. After the first book, the series begins multiple plot lines or story threads reflecting this independence of action by a multitude of characters. The sequel ''1633'' spreads the Americans out geographically over Central Europe. Next, the novel '' 1634: The Galileo Affair'', and the first of the anthologies called the '' Grantville Gazettes'' introduced new strong characters. The former begins what is called the ''South European thread'', and some of the stories in the latter and ''

'' began the Eastern European thread (Austria-Hungary northwards to Poland). Co-author of ''1633'', ''New York Times'' best-selling author

was contracted for no less than five books in the series in what is called the ''Central European thread'' or ''Main thread'' of the series, but there was a delay before the two authors synchronized their schedules to write that next mainline sequel, '' 1634: The Baltic War'', released in May 2007. Without waiting for Weber, other sequels such as '' 1634: The Ram Rebellion'', '' 1635: The Cannon Law'', and the ''Grantville Gazettes'' continue in one thread or another with in-depth looks at societal ramifications from technology, religion, and social unrest as Europe deals with the outlandish ideas of Grantville's influential presence, to machinations of Europe's elites trying to maintain their hold on power, or leverage off of Grantville-triggered events or knowledge for reasons of self-interest.

Collective collaborative effort

Grantville Gazette (2003–2022)

When the novel ''

'' was written, Flint did not intend to write an immediate sequel. However, following popular demand for a sequel Flint (a relatively new writer, but an experienced editor) invited other authors contracted to Baen to share the universe to rapidly develop its potential. As a result, while the first long sequel was being written, Flint concurrently put together the ''Ring of Fire'' anthology of short fiction by a wide range of authors. In parallel, the online message board Baen's Bar received a strong response from fans following the release of the digital advance copy of ''1632''. The forum rapidly evolved into several sub-communities, some act as technical consultant to Flint - for example on how modern technology could be implemented within the series. The high quality of fan fiction submitted to the message board prompted the creation of the official ''Grantville Gazette'' magazine that publishes short stories and factual articles as part of the official 1632 series

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

, reviewed by Flint. Originally released sporadically, the ''Gazette'' eventually evolved to become an online subscription magazine, published every 2 months, with authors paid for their submissions. Several volumes of the ''Gazette'' were released in print form by

, and serialized stories that were originally published in multiple issues of the ''Gazette'' have been released in print form by The Ring of Fire Press. The ''Ring of Fire'' anthologies of commissioned short fiction also continue, with one volume approximately every 4–5 years. The result had become a collaborative alternative history series consisting of interlinked novels and short stories, that can be regarded as adding additional layers of depth into the canon - the first level consisting of the "mainline" novels; the second level consisting of novels that take place in parallel "threads" (usually representing events in separate geographic regions); the third level consisting short fiction that has been published in print form (either drawn from the ''Grantville Gazette'', or commissioned separately as part of the ''Ring of Fire'' anthology series); and the fourth level consisting of the stories published in the ''Grantville Gazette''. The third and fourth levels frequently provided more in-depth background, and showed the impact of the events in the novels on the ordinary population. The entire series canon was maintained by Flint.

1632 & Beyond (2023–present)

A year after the demise of the ''Grantville Gazette'', some of Flint's fellow 1632 co-authors got together to form a new company called Flint's Shards Inc., which is dedicated in producing a new electronic magazine called ''Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond'' (colloquially referred to as ''1632 & Beyond'') that would specialize in publishing short stories in the 1632 and other Assiti Shards universes on a bimonthly basis. The first issue was released in September 2023 and included short stories by Jody Lynn Nye, S.M. Stirling, Virginia DeMarce, Vance Garrett, and Chuck Thompson that are set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a short story set in the

Queen of the Seas Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

universe and George Grant wrote a non-fiction piece. The second issue was released in November 2023 and included short stories by Sean Little, Marc Tyrrell, George Grant, Iver Cooper plus the writing team of Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett are all set in the 1632 universe with Bethanne Kim contributing a nonfiction article. The third issue was released in January 2024 and included short stories by Robert E. Waters, Bethanne Kim, Marc Tyrrell, and Garrett W. Vance, all set in the 1632 universe, with Iver Cooper contributing a nonfiction article. The fourth issue was released in March 2024 and included short stories by Bjorn Hasseler, Edith Wild, and Jack Carroll set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed another short story set in the

universe. The fifth issue was released in May 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Natalie Silk, George Grant, Marc Tyrrell, and Robert Finegold set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article. The sixth issue was released in July 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Terry Howard, Robert E. Waters, and Tim Sayeau set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article. The seventh issue was released in September 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Natalie Silk, George Grant, Marc Tyrrell, and Robert Finegold set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article. The eighth issue was released in November 2024 and included short stories by Garrett W. Vance, Edith Wild, Bjorn Hasseler, Terry Howard, and Bethanne Kim. This edition also introduces writer Aaron Jamieson Greso's first work in the 1632 universe. Also mentioned is the disposition of a few out-of-print Ring of Fire Press titles. The Christmas-themed short stories that were first published in December 2021 in the anthology '' A 1632 Christmas'' were re-released in two special issues of ''1632 & Beyond'' as ''Special Issue #1'' and ''Special Issue #2'' that were released in November and December 2024 respectively. The ninth issue was released in January 2025 and included short stories by George Grant, Terry Howard, Marc Tyrrell, Garrett W. Vance, and Tim Sayeau set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article. The tenth issue was released in March 2025 and included short stories by Garrett W. Vance, Virginia DeMarce, Sarah Hays, Edith Wild, and a first time literary contribution from Baen Books 1632 series cover artist Tom Kidd. The eleventh issue was released in May 2025 and included short stories or segments of longer works of fiction by Virginia DeMarce, Terry Howard, Lancelot Schaubert, Bethanne Kim, Gorg Huff, Jackie Britton Lopatin, and Mark Roth-Whitworth.

''1632'' plot threads

The "mainline" novels (many of which were written by Flint alone) focus on the principal political developments within the series, along with several key characters. However, the opening of the canon to other writers allows for plot threads in other geographical regions to be explored in more details. As with real history, none of these are in isolation, and plot threads converge and diverge according to the needs of the story.

Main thread

* Novel: ''

'' (2000) * Novel: ''

'' (2002) with

* Novel: '' 1634: The Baltic War'' (2007) with David Weber, the direct main thread novel sequel to ''1633''. * Novel: '' 1635: The Eastern Front'' (2010) * Novel: '' 1636: The Saxon Uprising'' (2011) * Novel: '' 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught'' (2017) * Novel: '' 1637: The Polish Maelstrom'' (2019)

North-Central and Western European thread

The Central European thread or more correctly, the Central and Southwest Central European thread, is the main plot thread of the series. It concerns events in the region from west to east of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

and

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

, Northern France, the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

French Netherlands Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais ...

, and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

, and the whole of western Germany eastwards to

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, and southerly to the northern reaches of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Bavaria proper, Switzerland, Austria, Bohemia, and points easterly and north are properly geographically part of the Eastern European thread. * Anthology: ''

'' (2004), includes "The Wallenstein Gambit" with Mike Spehar which begins the Eastern Europe thread, "In the Navy" by David Weber, and other stories antedating ''1633'' in the neohistory. * Novel: '' 1634: The Ram Rebellion'' (2006) with Virginia DeMarce, crafted as a collection of related "key developmental events". This is structured more as an anthology and includes substantial material from Paula Goodlett and other authors, but classed as a novel by the publishing trade since the stories all come together as having a related overall story arc. * Novel: '' 1634: The Bavarian Crisis'' (2007) with Virginia DeMarce, chronological sequel to ''1632'', but continues the Eastern European thread. * Anthology: '' Ring of Fire II'' (2008) * Novel: '' 1635: The Dreeson Incident'' (2008) with Virginia DeMarce * Novel: '' 1635: The Tangled Web'' (2009) by Virginia DeMarce * Novel: '' 1635: Music and Murder'' (2013) by David Carrico * Novel: '' 1636: The Devil's Opera'' (2013) by David Carrico

South European thread

The Southern European thread, or Western South Europe and South Central European thread, or perhaps more appropriately, the South-Central and Southwestern European thread, involves characters introduced in the short story " To Dye For" by

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...

but the thread plot action proper continued in the second published novel sequel of the series, the best-selling '' 1634: The Galileo Affair'' and its direct sequel, '' 1635: The Cannon Law'', both co-written by Flint and Andrew Dennis. The main characters are, in part, Lackey's The Stone Family, combined with Flint's Sharon Nichols and Larry Mazzare. * Novel: '' 1634: The Galileo Affair'' (2004) with Andrew Dennis * Novel: '' 1635: The Cannon Law'' (2006) with Andrew Dennis * Novel: '' 1635: The Papal Stakes'' (2012) with Charles E. Gannon * Novel: '' 1636: The Vatican Sanction'' (2017) with Charles E. Gannon

Eastern European thread

The Eastern European thread is taken to be east of modern-day Germany, Austria, and western Hungary, to include mainly modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and parts of Ukraine and Belarus, but not Russia. The first fiction written within this thread was the novelette " The Wallenstein Gambit" and the prequel short stories leading up to it, all published in the 2004 anthology ''

''. * Novelette: " The Wallenstein Gambit", continues from two plot lines suggested in "

Here Comes Santa Claus "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Autry, Oakley Haldeman and Harriet Melka. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Clau ...

" and " A Lineman for the Country" in the same anthology. * Serialized novel (discontinued): ''The Anaconda Project'' by Eric Flint, directly continues "The Wallenstein Gambit" and follows the establishment of a new empire with its capital at Prague. The serial was interrupted (and ultimately discontinued) in late 2009 due to the author having an unscheduled medical procedure that caused serious problems to his writing schedule. Ultimately, only 10 episodes were published in the ''Gazette'' with only eight episodes incorporated into two Baen novels. * Novel: '' 1635: The Eastern Front'' (2010) by Eric Flint * Novel: '' 1637: The Polish Maelstrom'' (2019) by Eric Flint (includes episodes 1–4, and 7–8 of ''The Anaconda Project'') * Novel: '' 1637: The Transylvanian Decision'' (2022) by Eric Flint, Robert E. Waters

Russian thread

The Russian thread was started by authors Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff in the eighth issue of the ''Grantville Gazette'' with their introduction of the serial ''Butterflies in the Kremlin'', which later became the novel '' 1636: The Kremlin Games''. Goodlett and Huff has since written at least 5 novels within this thread with more on the way. The latest Russian novel, ''1638: The Sovereign States'', was released in September 2023. * Novel: '' 1636: The Kremlin Games'' (2012) by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, and Paula Goodlett * Novel: '' 1637: The Volga Rules'' (2018) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, and Gorg Huff * RoFP Novel: '' A Holmes For the Czar'' (2020) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett * RoFP Novel: '' Two Cases for the Czar'' (2020) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett * RoFP Novel: '' A Mission for the Czar'' (2021) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett * Novel: '' 1638: The Sovereign States'' (2023) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff * H&G Novel: '' A Diogenes Club for the Czar'' (2023) by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett Publishing notes: RoFP Novels are books that were first published by the defunct Ring of Fire Press (2013–2022) and might be republished later by a different company under contract. H&G Novels are books that were first privately published by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett via Amazon (new company yet to be named). Other novels listed are books published by Baen Books.

Naval thread

This line of stories begins with the naval actions in the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic Sea and the connecting straits between the bodies of water in 1633. With the conclusion of the northern European sea actions at the end of the novel ''1634: The Baltic War'', the action moves to the Caribbean Sea and Western Atlantic coast of North America. At the conclusion of ''1637: No Peace Beyond the Line'', the naval forces are recalled to serve in the conflict with the Ottoman Empire in a forthcoming ''1638'' novel about the naval battles in that war. * Novel: ''

'' (2002) by Eric Flint, David Weber * Anthology: ''

'' (2002) by Eric Flint et al. * Novel: '' 1634: The Baltic War'' (2007) by Eric Flint, David Weber * Novel: '' 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies'' (2014) by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon * Novel: '' 1636: The Atlantic Encounter'' (August 2020) by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt * Novel: '' 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line'' (2020) by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon

The Americas thread

This agreement for Weber to leave aside European threads likely will follow up foreshadowings of overt dislike evinced by various Grantville natives for both the African slave trade and the Amerindian encounters with colonizing Europeans—and Flint has already written a very sympathetic, two-volume alternate history from the American Native's viewpoint in his ''Arkansas Wars'' series—and he'd written similar foreshadowings into the series' earlier works that were spun into

pro-democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

and anti-anti-Semitic social themes now manifesting in the series in the Eastern Europe thread in particular, as well as an overall, muted sub-theme. This revised author's decision released a logjam of backup of other novels in the series, so that since rehashing their arrangement, ''1632'' series books have been released regularly every four to six months. Stories in ''1632'' Slushpile regarding obtaining strategically important materials, and some that have reached publication in regard to the Essen Steel Corporation and Essen Chemical, are foreshadowing activities (mining

chromium Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium ...

for one) in North America, and others are pursuing

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

rubber in South America. In addition, the three books contracted between Flint and David Weber will in part involve expeditions sent by Gustavus and Mike Stearns to American shores. * Ring of Fire Press (RoFP) novel: '' The Danish Scheme'' (June 2013) by Herbert Sakalaucks and Eric Flint * Two novellas in one book: '' 1636: Seas of Fortune'' (December 2013) by Iver Cooper ** ''Stretching Out'': the United States of Europe seeks out oil, rubber and aluminum ore. Pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony in South America. ** ''Rising Sun'': the changes caused by the Ring of Fire are reaching Japan. The Shogun, impressed by samples of up-time technology and influenced by information about Japan's possible future, decides to end a policy of isolation and change his country's fate forever. * Novel: '' 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies'' (June 2014) by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon * RoFP novel: '' 1635: The Battle for Newfoundland'' (January 2018) by Herbert Sakalaucks * RoFP novel: '' A Red Son Rises in the West'' (September 2019) by John Deakins and Herbert Sakalaucks * RoFP novel: '' Fire on the Rio Grande'' (March 2020) by Kevin H. Evans and Karen C. Evans * RoFP novel: '' A Red Son: Not Without Honor'' (July 2020) by John Deakins * Novel: '' 1636: The Atlantic Encounter'' (August 2020) by Eric Flint and Walter H. Hunt * Novel: '' 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line'' (November 2020) by Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon * Novel: '' 1636: Calabar's War'' (April 2021) by Charles E. Gannon and Robert E. Waters * Novel: '' 1637: The Coast of Chaos'' (December 2021) by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, and Gorg Huff, plus authors of seven related and intertwining short stories. * Novel: '' 1637: The Pacific Initiative'' (March 2025) by Iver Cooper

East Asia thread

* RoFP Novel: '' The Chrysanthemum, the Cross, and the Dragon'' (August 2018) by Iver P. Cooper * Novel: '' 1636: The China Venture'' (September 2019) by Eric Flint and Iver Cooper

South Asian Indian thread

* '' 1636: Mission to the Mughals'' (2017) by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber * '' 1637: The Peacock Throne'' (2021) by Eric Flint and Griffin Barber

Books in the ''1632'' Series

The Ring of Fire Press

In June 2013, Ring of Fire Press was created to reissue certain materials originally published online in the ''Grantville Gazette''. First, it would publish certain stories that were serialized across several issues of the ''Gazette'', so they can be read without hunting through the various ''Gazette'' issues. Second, it would publish several themed collections of fact articles. In 2018, the scope of Ring of Fire Press expanded, with the hiring of managing editor Walt Boyes and Joy Ward, and graphic artist Laura Givens. The release schedule was increased to two books per month, including original novels in the ''1632'' series (the first being ''1635: The Battle for Newfoundland''), collections of serialized ''1632'' stories, and non-''1632'' related novels - both new and reprinted. The initial volumes were made available through Amazon as Kindle editions or print on demand paperback books. Later Baen began distributing selected titles for Ring of Fire Press through their web store and their other distribution channels. On August 16, 2022, Lucille Robbins, the widow of Eric Flint, officially announced the immediate shutdown of both the ''Grantville Gazette'' and the Ring of Fire Press. Without a huge infusion of new cash, it was determined that both business ventures would not be economically viable without Flint's participation. In April 2024, Baen announced that they planned to rerelease select books originally published by Ring of Fire Press.

''Assiti Shards'' novels

Following the success of the ''1632'' series, several other alternative history series were started by Eric Flint and his successors, following the same concept as ''1632''—that there was a time displacement caused by an "Assiti Shard".

Literary significance and reception

As of 2014, four books in the series had significantly large number of sales of hardcover editions to become eligible for ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. '' 1634: The Galileo Affair'' was on the best seller list for hardcover fiction for two weeks during April 2004 while reaching number 27. '' 1634: The Baltic War'' was on the same list for two weeks during May 2007, peaking at number 19. '' 1634: The Bavarian Crisis'' was on this list for a week in October 2007 at number 29. '' 1636: The Kremlin Games'' was on the ''NY Times'' list for a week during June 2012 at number 30. Almost all of the books in the series sold well enough to be listed on the various '' Locus'' Bestsellers Lists, with some titles listed multiple times, and a few even reached the top spot for the month. '' 1635: The Papal Stakes'' is the first book in the series to be listed on the ''Wall Street Journal'' Best-Selling Books list. A few titles were nominated for the

Dragon Awards The Dragon Awards are a set of literary and media awards voted on by fandom and presented annually since 2016 by Dragon Con for excellence in various categories of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in various media — novels, movies, telev ...

. '' 1635: A Parcel of Rogues'' and '' 1636: The Cardinal Virtues'' were finalists in 2016; '' 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught'' was a finalist in 2017; and ''Up-time Pride and Down-time Prejudice'' was a finalist for the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel for 2020 while '' 1637: No Peace Beyond the Line'' has been awarded the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel for 2021. In 2022, 1637: Dr. Gribbleflotz and the Soul of Stoner was a finalist for Best Alternate History Novel. In 2024, 1638: The Sovereign States was a finalist for Best Alternate History Novel.