Book clubs are fantastic! We would love to hear about any book clubs reading and discussing 1632 and any books or magazines in the 1632verse.
To answer one common question: The book was originally expected to be a stand-alone book, not a series. Jim Baen, of Baen Books, said that books with even numbers sell better than ones with odd numbers. Thus, it was named for the year the story ends instead of the year it starts. And so that is why all the names for “mainline” Baen books in the 1632verse start with the year the book ends and not the year it starts.
General Questions:
How realistic do you think 1632 is?
What elements make it more, or less , realistic? Is there anything you would change to make it more realistic?
Do you think Grantville and the up-timers are a good reflection of a real small town in West Virginia in 2000?
1632 was published in 2000. Over 50 novels, 104 magazine issues, and multiple anthologies in the 1632verse have been written by approximately 200 authors in nearly 25 years. When it was first written, everything was contemporary. Twenty-five years later, technology, pop culture, and a lot of other background things have changed. What challenges do you think this presents to the writers? How do you think readers will respond to this story when the series is 50 years old?
How do you think Eric Flint’s life and beliefs are reflected in this novel?
What do books and libraries contribute to the plot and to the 1632verse?
How much power do Grantville and its residents have to change their world?
How do the up-timers comfort themselves when they are sent back in time? How do the down-timers comfort themselves with all the war-related trauma in their lives? How do you think you would cope if you were in their shoes?
Other than the way Grantville was sent back in time, what do you think were the most and least realistic elements?
If you were driving through Grantville when the Ring of Fire struck and had nothing but the contents of your car, what would you have? (Remember: It was 2000, so no cell phone and chargers, ereaders full of books, etc.)
What about your grandparent’s life and childhood could have prepared them to live in the 1632verse? What about your parents life and your own?
Character Questions:
Who is your favorite up-timer and why? Your favorite down-timer?
What do you think of John and Mary Simpson, Tom’s parents?
Who is the most memorable secondary character? What is their most salient characteristic?
How do Balthasar Abrabanal, Jeff Higgins, and Julie Sims each advance the plot? What are their strengths and weaknesses as characters? What do you think they would be like in real life?
What advice would you offer the people in Grantville?
What role does faith play? How about religion? How are faith and religion similar, and how are they different?
Which character do you most identify with?
What do you think the most challenging change was for the up-timers?
Plot Questions:
How do you think this story would have been different if they had left from the year 1980 instead of 2000? What if they left from September 2019 (pre-COVID)?
How would the story be different if it was told from another point of view?
What elements of the battle scenes do you find most and least realistic? Are there any humorous elements in the battle scenes?
Did anything about the plot shock you?
If you were the author, how would Grantville and her residents have responded differently?
Is 1632 an optimistic or pessimistic book, on balance?
How would being an up-timer in Grantville change you?
How would the story be different if Grantville had ended up in another part of the world?
Final Questions:
What was the personal impact of this book for you?
Did 1632 inspire you to look into anything new?
Are there any areas of this universe you would like to learn more about?
It’s no secret that people tend to have some specific views of West Virginians. Did this book make you rethink any preconceptions you might have?
If you enjoyed this novel, are you going to read more? 1633, 1634: The Baltic War, and The Ring of Fire are the three recommended books to get a solid basis in the universe before diving into all the off-shoot novels.
