1632 by Eric FlintMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
As a science fiction junkie I enjoyed this book. The premise was interesting: a modern-day American town is transported to seventeenth century Germany. Certainly the time-travel culture-clash wasn't an original theme, but the setting of choice (the thirty years war) was an interesting selection. I enjoyed this book as much for the history (and the subsequent research I did on the thirty years war) as I did for its sci-fi aspects.
One admirable quality I took away from 1632 was the more 'realistic' exploration of the culture-shock. While most books would emphasize either "kick-butt American manifest destiny shows old-school Germans how it's done" or "Stupid Americans learn how their way of life sucks and become something else" (ie Avatar), this book had a good mix of the two - demonstrating high and low points to each.
In the end I have to give this 3 stars. The writing was a bit choppy and hard to follow at times, and there was more language and explicit scenes than I would appreciate. This book is available free via dailylit.com, delivered in small installments to your e-mail inbox or RSS reader.
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