Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond: Alternate History Stories

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Table of Contents

Grantville Gazette #11

Introduction

1. Pilgrimage of Grace Virginia DeMarce

2. Lessons in Astronomy Peter Hobson

3. Azrael’s Bargain Terry Howard

4. Land of Ice and Sun Kim Mackey

5. A Gift of Blankets Kerryn Offord and Vincent Coljee

6. The Treasure Hunters Karen Bergstrahl

7. O For a Muse of Fire Jay Robison

8. Bathing with Coal Russ Rittgers

9. Bootstrapping Kerryn Offord

10. Wish Book Kerryn Offord and Paula Goodlett

11. Trommler Records Kerryn Offord and Paula Goodlett

Continuing Serials

12. Stretching Out, Part One: Second Starts Iver P. Cooper

13. Butterflies in the Kremlin, Part 4 Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett

Non-fiction

14. Hither and Yon: Transportation Modes, Costs and Infrastructure in 1632 and after Iver P. Cooper

15. Steam: Taming the Demon Kevin H. Evans

16. Adventures in Transportation: An Examination of Drags, Carts, Wagons and Carriages Available in the 17th century Karen Bergstrahl

Introduction

The Grantville Gazette originated as a by-product of the ongoing and very active discussions which take place concerning the 1632 universe Eric Flint created in the novels 1632, 1633 and 1634: The Galileo Affair (the latter two books co-authored by David Weber and Andrew Dennis, respectively). This discussion is centered in three of the conferences in Baen’s Bar, the discussion area of Baen Books’ web site. The conferences are entitled “1632 Slush,” “1632 Slush Comments” and “1632 Tech Manual.” They have been in operation for almost seven years now, during which time nearly two hundred thousand posts have been made by hundreds of participants.

Soon enough, the discussion began generating so-called “fanfic,” stories written in the setting by fans of the series. A number of those were good enough to be published professionally. And, indeed, a number of them were—as part of the anthology Ring of Fire , which was published by Baen Books in January, 2004. ( Ring of Fire also includes stories written by established authors such as Eric Flint himself, as well as David Weber, Mercedes Lackey, Dave Freer, K.D. Wentworth and S.L. Viehl.)

The decision to publish the Ring of Fire anthology triggered the writing of still more fanfic, even after submissions to the anthology were closed. Ring of Fire has been selling quite well since it came out, and a second anthology similar to it is scheduled to be published late in 2007. It will also contain stories written by new writers, as well as professionals. But, in the meantime . . . the fanfic kept getting written, and people kept nudging Eric—well, pestering Eric—to give them feedback on their stories.

Hence . . . the Grantville Gazette. Once he realized how many stories were being written—a number of them of publishable quality—he raised with Jim Baen the idea of producing an online magazine which would pay for fiction and nonfiction articles set in the 1632 universe and would be sold through Baen Books’ Webscriptions service. Jim was willing to try it, to see what happened.

As it turned out, the first issue of the electronic magazine sold well enough to make continuing the magazine a financially self-sustaining operation. Since then, nine more volumes have been electronically published through the Baen Webscriptions site. As well, Grantville GazetteVolume One was published in paperback in November of 2004. That has since been followed by hardcover editions of Grantville Gazette, Volumes Two and Three.

Then, two big steps:

First: The magazine had been paying semi-pro rates for the electronic edition, increasing to pro rates upon transition to paper, but one of Eric’s goals had long been to increase payments to the authors. Grantville Gazette, Volume Eleven is the first volume to pay the authors professional rates.

Second: This on-line version you’re reading. The site here at http://www.grantvillegazette.com is the electronic version of an ARC, an advance readers copy where you can read the issues as we assemble them. There are stories posted here which won’t be coming out in the magazine for more than a year.

How will it work out? Will we be able to continue at this rate? Well, we don’t know. That’s up to the readers. But we’ll be here, continuing the saga, the soap opera, the drama and the comedy just as long as people are willing to read them.

— The Grantville Gazette Staff

Written by Grantville Gazette Staff

Wow. Who knew?

Back in 2000, when Eric Flint’s novel 1632 was published, who even considered the possiblity that nearly three million words dedicated to a 1632 series would have been published by 2007?

Eric didn’t, since he’d written it as a stand-alone novel.

Nevertheless, here we are. Grantville Gazette, Volume 11, our first pro issue.

As usual, stories in this volume cover a wide range of topics and events. Virginia DeMarce’s “Pilgrimage of Grace” describes what can happen to the family of a so-called traitor.  Even when he didn’t think that’s what he was.  Well, it’s complicated.  You need to read it all.  That story was told as “The Suhl Incident” by Eric Flint and John Zeek in 1634: The Ram Rebellion

Iver P. Cooper has written an exciting adventure in “Stretching Out, Part 1: Second Starts.” This one ranges from Germany to the New World. Kim Mackey offers “Land of Ice and Sun,” a story about a genuine down-timer who didn’t particularly care for the plans her family made for her. Catalina decided not to go along with those plans and made her own.

Kerryn Offord gives us two stories in this issue. “Bootstrapping” shows how hard times really can be overcome and how good it is to give something back. “A Gift of Blankets,” co-written by Kerryn and Vincent Coljee, is the sort of story that can give a person the shivers. What could have happened if smallpox had hit Grantville before they were ready for it is out-and-out scary.

“Lessons in Astronomy” by Peter Hobson shows how a hobbyist can change history . . . with a bit of help. “Azrael’s Bargain” by Terry Howard has our favorite cracker-barrel philosopher, Jimmy Dick, attempting to explain . . . well, you’ll see. “O for a Muse of Fire” by Jay Robison explores the entertainment possibilities available, while “The Treasure Hunters” by Karen Bergstralh shows just would could happen, should someone be foolish enough to attempt to fool the natives of another country.

Russ Rittger’s offering, “Bathing with Coal,” explores alternative fuels. Ah, yes, in 1632, coal is alternative. Gorg Huff and I wondered one day just how to sell all those new products that are being invented and re-invented. The result is “Wish Book.” As well, we’re continuing the adventures of Bernie Zeppi, off in the wilds of Russia—which isn’t nearly as wild as he expected. Well, some days aren’t so wild. Others . . .

Our nonfiction in this issue covers the difficulty of transportation when you can’t just hop in the car or truck. Or even on a regularly scheduled train or bus. Iver P. Cooper covers one angle in “Hither and Yon: Transportation Modes, Costs and Infrastructure in 1632 and Beyond,” while Karen Bergstralh covers another in “Adventures in Transportation: An Examination of Drags, Carts, Wagons and Carriages Available in the 17th Century.

Last, but certainly not least, Kevin H. Evans discusses yet another alternative in “Steam: Taming the Demon.” The railroads are about to make a big comeback in the world. Mike Stearns thought that in 1632, didn’t he?

An interesting issue, this one. We hope you enjoy it.

Paula Goodlett and the Grantville Gazette Staff

May 2007

Copyright

Welcome back to the Grantville Gazette,the ongoing stories of . . . well, just about everything that’s happening in 1632 Europe.Grantville Gazette, Volume—count ’em—11. For an experiment, it sure has worked out well. Volume 11 is our first professional issue, meaning that it’s the first time we’ve paid professional rates to our authors, something Eric Flint intended from the beginning. We’re pretty proud to have reached this point.We’ve got a bit of everything in this issue, from perceived betrayal to the reaction to perceived charity, an almost epidemic to the search for treasure, what’s going on it Russia to what’s going on in Greenland. Fiction, non-fiction, you name it, we’ve got it.Come on in and take a look. Then go write us a story. After all, that’s what every author in this issue did. Turns out that’s a bit addictive . . . but we don’t mind.
 Ebook
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, May 2007
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Printed in the United States of America
DOI: 10.1125/0028
Copyright© 2007 by Eric Flint
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com
Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webscription.net

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