Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond: Alternate History Stories

Volume 100 #14: Hot Off Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire Press!

Previous / Next by Walt Boyes New Releases Phoenix Rising by Ryk E. Spoor Category: Fantasy Impossible Betrayal . . . First it had been her parents, slain by unknown assassins in their own home; then Kyri Vantage’s brother, Rion, was murdered, body and soul rent asunder. And then her flight to supposed safety reveals […]

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Volume 100 #13: The Beginnings of the 1632 Story and the Grantville Gazette

Previous / Next by Walt Boyes I am the third editor of the Grantville Gazette. But, I was there at the beginning, when Eric posted on Baen’s Bar that he needed help with some issues he had in writing Fire in the Hole which was the original title (thank God, Jim Baen changed it). I […]

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Volume 99 #4: Notes from the Buffer Zone: Foreshadowing

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I just canceled out of my second concert of the fall. A favorite artist, a concert I was looking forward to, and I still couldn’t pull the trigger. Not because of the artist. Not even because of a lack of Covid protocols. Both concerts required either full vaccination […]

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Volume 98 #7: Notes From the Buffer Zone: Technological Change

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I have finally lived in Las Vegas long enough to qualify for resident status at the university. I wanted that because I wanted to finish my Spanish major from forty years ago. I have taken Spanish online, and I’ve also taken some classes at those places designed for […]

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Volume 98 #6: Industrial Alchemy, Part 6: Rare Earths and More

Previous / Next by Iver P. Cooper In “Industrial Alchemy, Part 2: Inorganic Chemical Bestiary” (Grantville Gazette 25), I surveyed the sources and uses of most of the elements of the Periodic Table. However, there were some exceptions: Lanthanides: 15 elements (these, together with scandium, yttrium, and lutetium, are called “rare earth” elements). Actinides: 15 radioactive […]

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Volume 95 #6: Notes from The Buffer Zone: Science Will Save Us

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch Exactly one year ago, in April of 2020, I wrote in this column: Science will save us. And volunteers will (are) risking their lives to test these drugs and vaccines. And some of these folks will be unnamed in the history books, and that’s too bad. Because they’re […]

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Volume 95 #5: Tethered Balloons and Kites in the 1632 Universe, Part 1

Previous / Next by Iver P. Cooper Balloons and kites may be used for observation (visual and meteorological) and communication (antenna-lifting) purposes. For these purposes, it may be necessary for the vehicle to stay in one place. Unlike a sailing ship, a free balloon cannot sail in any direction other than directly downwind (sailing ships […]

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Volume 94 #7: Notes from The Buffer Zone: Old SF Roadshow

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch This past month, I wrote a novel in my Spade/Paladin universe. The stories are mysteries, set at science fiction conventions. As the conventions became more acrimonious, ‘long about 2015, my willingness to write more Spade/Paladin slowed down. I hated getting criticized by people of every political persuasion for […]

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Volume 94 #6: Propane, Butane, and Natural Gas in the 1632 Universe

Previous / Next by Iver P. Cooper Introduction Natural gas and its components are important fuels in post-Ring of Fire Grantville. They also have other utilities. In this article, we will try to better characterize Grantville’s natural gas resource and the means by which propane and butane might be extracted from it and put to […]

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Volume 96 #5: Notes from The Buffer Zone: Stepping Into an Uncertain Future

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I’m tempted to buy a book on the aftermath of the 1918 flu pandemic. I’ve been tempted to buy this (as yet unknown) book for some time now. Because of my interest in history, I know how pandemics end. Slowly and with great unevenness. I truly did not […]

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Volume 96 #4: Tethered Balloons and Kites in the 1632 Universe, Part 2

Previous / Next by Iver P. Cooper In part 1, we considered a variety of operational issues for tethered balloons and kites. Here, we will consider the strength and weight of tether materials available in the 1632 universe, possible tethering systems, and how to size the tethers for a particular balloon type and size. We […]

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Volume 93 #7: Notes from The Buffer Zone: Heroic Lazy Sods

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch The German government has produced a series of amusing Public Service Announcements about Covid-19. (Yes, you saw that. I used “amusing” and “Covid-19” in the same sentence.) The videos resemble those videos that documentarians put together with interviews from survivors of some great tragedy. The older person reminisces, […]

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Volume 92 #7: Notes from the Buffer Zone, Mummies and Fleas

Previous / Next by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I get it: People are panicked—and justifiably so. Everything—everything— is in turmoil. We don’t know exactly how this will all end, and we’re tired. It’s been a long century, these past six months. I have my panic moments, and I find I’m getting superstitious. I find myself unwilling to […]

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Volume 90 #5: The Counties of the State of Thurginia-Franconia

Previous / Next by Bjorn Hasseler It is relatively easy to find a list of the provinces and free cities in the United States of Europe. They’re all in Chapter 35 of 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught. But finding information on the composition of the State of Thuringia-Franconia is much harder. One reason for this is […]

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