1634: Ram Rebellion (Assiti Shards) [Mass Market Paperback]

"1634: The Ram Rebellion" is, in the words of Eric Flint, "something of cross between a traditional anthology and a novel". All the stories, written by various authors, are threaded together into one central storyline: "liberating the peasants from the nobility". This book shows how the "Revolution" starts unremarkably and grows. With this book Eric Flint intended to show how a great moment in history can have very humble(and in my opinion: uninteresting) origins.

"1634: The Ram Rebellion" is an ambitious undertaking that has its roots on the Baen Bar website. "Regulars" of the website have had a major influence in the making of this book. Unfortunately, this where I believe the book fails; "too many cooks in the kitchen". I also believe that most of the readers of the "Ring of Fire" series, who do not "frequent" the Baen Bar website, will have a difficult time connecting this book to the rest of the series.

As this book is not a "traditional anthology", like "The Ring of Fire" or the "Grantville Gazette", skipping stories is not an option. I have read some of the other anthologies and I had skipped stories that I did not find interesting. Not reading all the stories contained in "1634: The Ram Rebellion" will keep you from understanding the whole story.

The pace of the book suffers. I found that I would get mired in the minutiae detailed in some of the stories. I also felt the book pulling me into several different directions with no clear direction. The overall feel of the book was rough and disjointed.

This book, like "1634: The Galileo Affair", is NOT a sequel to "1633". Both are side stories that do not continue the epic plots and grand machinations set down in 1632 and 1633. I question the validity of putting 1634 in these titles. The sequel to "1633" should be titled "1634". Adding "1634" to "The Galileo Affair" and "The Ram Rebellion", to me, seems dishonest. I can already imagine the titles of future volumes of side stories that sprout up like a many-headed hydra: 1638: The Hoof and Mouth Disease Gambit, 1639: Brillo's Bond Referendum, 1640: Blah Blah Blah.

"1634: The Ram Rebellion" is an attempt to bring a group of stories into one volume. But I feel this book is a case of "the lunatics running the asylum". The writers received alot of support in the creation of their stories via the Baen Bar website. Maybe too much support. I doubt that many people on the website have ever suggested that this book should not be published or that this volume of stories may not be popular or well-liked. If you dislike(or like for that matter) "1634: The Ram Rebellion" go to the Baen Bar website and let them know what you think.

To quote John Ringo, another popular Baen author, "I never "blamed" the author. In the case of books that simply shouldn't have been published... I blamed the publisher." I certainly agree.

Judging from the reviews, you will either love or hate this book. I found it to be, in a word, UNSATISFYING.

This novel has a novel stucture, not a novel event in this expanding series. Ram Rebellion is not part of the original plan for the "1634: xx" series of parallel novels, but a serendipitous product of stories submitted by avid online fans of the Alternate History initiated by Flint with his novel "1632." So, it is unevenly written, it jumps around, has an many characters as War and Peace (just kidding, I think), but isn't that a great and confident idea on editor Flint's part? Still, one gets a rare fictional look into the makings of a revolution, a concatenation of preconditions, accidents, happenstance, mis-planning, bold individuals, stupid opponents (really, obviously, evil ones), a good slogan, and luck. Up-timers like the modern West Virginians dropped back into a past world of 17th century war can't expect such success. Do you remember Pohl Andersson's story, I think it was, about a modern sailor thinking he can tell good ole Vikings how to build their long boats...? Here one has to keep straight a thoroughly multi-pronged nation building effort in Franconia, just south of Grantville, by the new "United States" working through peasants, principalities, cities, castle lords, religious-freedom commission, committe of correspondence, embassies, military advisors, garrisons, another state, and Noelle Murray (who knows nothing about pistols but is super at subversion). If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you need to go back and first read Flint's very satisfying "1632" and "1633" novels.

This "novel" gradually comes into focus through a series of short stories and jokes revolving around an ugly short-haired ram who has designs on modern long-haired ewes, against the modern breeder's wishes. Only after numerous stories illustrating the pre-existing political and economic situation in Franconia, does the main story of how Franconia will be democratized really get under way. I have no objection to this device, the "gathering storm" technique, since I prefer the short stories to the the concluding novel written by Flint and Judith DeMarce. Its sprawling episodic structure detracts from its suspense, drama, and climax.

While some may object to the combinations of short stories, broadsheets, sophomoric humor, novela, and novel here, I don't. Can you imagine what having to slog through a pedestrian novel like Flint and DeMarce's concluding section would be like, if it expanded to 400 pages to include the matters touched on in the shorter, prefactory pieces? Tired feet! I had a frustrating time tracking characters variously identified by their first or last name or title, and it took me a while to put "three" characters into, oh!, just one. Still and all, this "novel" is marking time as we await the return to a "real" novel that will use the principal series characters (hardly seen here) to advance the main story. Consider this one a parallel story of "1634" that documents one of the alternative ways of coping with the fractious European neighbors confronted by the "alien" Americans. (That also means there are some unexplained cross-references to other stories, even ones that haven't been written yet.) The other "1634:xx" books will surely have other structures, places, people, procedures, and prospects. Hopefully, a few will be less insistently upbeat and have some flashes of adult ambiguity, grimness, and desperate moments in them. It should be fun.

I am one of those rare birds who actually enjoyed 1634: The Galileo Affair. I thought this would be an interesting sequel of that type. When I first started reading, I was very upset that it appeared to be a mish mash collection and it certainly was an up and down read. The final part of the book finally took off and ended up being an above average read, but come on already! Eric, GET OFF THE COUCH, STOP making excuses for your partners and WRITE THE REAL 1634 SEQUEL! THE REAL FAN REBELLION IS COMING AS WE ARE TIRED OF BEING TEASED! Write it yourself if Drake is too busy. So much for the joys of collaboration. We want the real thing, not more delay!