Ring of Fire Series

Neustatter's European Security Services encounters a campaign of industrial sabotage, a pastor who attempts to limit their client base, an espionage ring, and the aftermath of the Dreeson assassination. Old nemeses and new allies complicate matters. Somewhere in Grantville is a missing heiress. There's also a Resistance, and it has cookies. Even repeat business with established clients is complicated, not to mention dangerous. Real life proves more complicated than Neustatter's movies or Astrid's books as NESS looks for common threads. Which incidents are related and which are not? For Astrid Schäubin, solving cases, directing operations, and even portraying a saint are one thing, but figuring out dating in the midst of everything that's happening is quite another.

The new United States in central Germany launches a one-plane Doolittle Raid on Paris, France. The target: their arch-enemy, Cardinal Richelieu. Meanwhile, an ambassador from the Mughal Empire of northern India is being held captive in Austria by the Habsburg dynasty. Mike Stearns decides to send a mercenary company to rescue him, led by two seventeenth-century mercenary officers: an Englishman and a Irishman, who seem to spend as much time fighting each other as they do the enemy. Mike Spehar's "Collateral Damage" and Chris Weber's "The Company Men" are just two of the stories contained in this second volume of the Grantville Gazette. In other stories: #9679 A prominent Italian musician decides to travel to Grantville to investigate the music of the future. #9679 An American archer and a Finnish cavalryman become friends in the middle of a battlefield. #9679 A Lutheran pastor begins a theological challenge to the establishment based on his interpretation of the Ring of Fire. #9679 American and German detectives become partners to investigate a murder. Contains mature themes.

It's a matter of security. When the Ring of Fire drags Grantville, West Virginia, back to seventeenth-century Germany, down-time veteran Edgar Neustatter finds himself among the survivors of a unit devastated by the up-time Americans and their Swedish allies. After wintering in Grantville, they return home to find that while they have changed, their village has not. Having glimpsed the promise of a republic ruled by its people rather than lords and tyrants, Neustatter leads his men and their families back to Grantville to establish a new agency: Neustatter's European Security Services. The city from the future counts cowboys and detectives among its heroes-and still needs them. Join Neustatter, Astrid Schäubin, and NESS as they face desperate refugees, towns on the edge of revolution, and those who want to preserve the old order at all costs, while juggling basic training, modern education, and the day-to-day challenges of living in a boom town. Does NESS have the flexibility, training, and firepower to survive in the new timeline?

New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint has received glowing critical praise for his Ring of Fire alternate history series. In this first installment, a West Virginia town is transported from the year 2000 to 1631 Germany at the height of the Thirty Years' War. Thrust into conflict, the town residents must also contend with moral issues such as who should be considered a citizen. "Gripping and excellently detailed . A treat!"-Publishers Weekly

New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint's 1632 showed listeners a fascinating alternate history of the Thirty Years' War through the eyes of a West Virginia community tossed back in time to 17th-century Germany. Here Flint teams up with acclaimed science fiction author David Weber to continue his epic tale. In 1633, the West Virginians attempt to use their modern-day knowledge to build a resistance against the forces of France, Spain,and England.

Neustatter's European Security Services is open for business, and business is . . . too good? With the National Guard, private industry, and even a seemingly tranquil farming village caught in an explosive political crossroads all relying on NESS for missions of security, Neustatter and Astrid find themselves pressed to staff, train, and equip the agency while keeping up with their clients' growing requirements in scope and complexity. A simple railway escort mission involves a secretive manufacturing client from Grantville bearing mysterious cargo and a captured fugitive all destined for Magdeburg during the Baltic War . . . what could possibly go wrong? The Bible Society hires NESS to guard a flock of Anabaptist, Catholic, and Lutheran high schoolers en route to riot-torn Erfurt and Jena, but will NESS's own pastor tear them apart first? Already strapped for personnel, the last thing Neustatter needs is for a regiment of dragoon militia to choose their wagon train for . . . "involuntary provisioning." Can a handful of badly outnumbered agents protect a village that isn't sure it wants their help?

Book #20 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. When the diplomatic embassy from the United States of Europe was freed from the Tower of London during the Baltic War, most of its members returned to the continent. But some remained behind in Britain, including notorious enemy to the crown Oliver Cromwell. Now, the hunt for Cromwell is on, with King Charles himself demanding Cromwell's head. When the diplomatic embassy from the United States of Europe was freed from the Tower of London during the Baltic War, most of its members returned to the continent. But some remained behind in Britain: Oliver Cromwell and a few companions, including the sharpshooter Julie Sims, her Scot husband Alex Mackay, and Cromwell's Irish-American self-appointed watchdog Darryl McCarthy. Soon, the hunt is on for the most notorious rebel in English history, with King Charles himself demanding Cromwell's head. The new chief minister Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, brings over from Ireland a notorious crew of cutthroats led by the man called Finnegan to track down and capture the escapees from the Tower. The hunt passes through England and into Scotland, where the conflict between Cromwell and his companions and their would-be captors becomes embroiled in Scotland's politics, which are every bit as savage and ruthless as Finnegan and his men. To make things still more conflicted and confused, the time Darryl McCarthy spends fighting alongside Cromwell forces him against his will to admire and respect-and even like-the man, despite Cromwell's demonic reputation among all self-respecting Irish nationalist families like Darryl's own. It's a Gordian knot anywhere you look-until Julie Sims brings out her rifle. Now it's the turn of Scot partisans and English lords and Irish toughs to learn the lesson already learned on the continent: A safe distance isn't what you think it is. Not after the American angel of death spreads her wings.

The sixth rollicking anthology of tales set in Eric Flint's phenomenal New York Times bestselling Ring of Fire universe. A cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe. It will take all the gumption of the resourceful, freedom-loving up-timers to find a way to flourish in the mad and bloody birth of the Renaissance. Are they up for it? You bet they are. Edited by Eric Flint, and inspired by his now-legendary 1632, this is the fun stuff that fills in the pieces of the Ring of Fire political, social, and cultural puzzle as supporting characters we meet in the novels get their own lives, loves, and life-changing stories. The future and democracy have arrived with a bang. Contains mature themes.

The new United States in central Germany launches a one-plane Doolittle Raid on Paris, France. The target: their arch-enemy, Cardinal Richelieu. Meanwhile, an ambassador from the Mughal Empire of northern India is being held captive in Austria by the Habsburg dynasty. Mike Stearns decides to send a mercenary company to rescue him, led by two seventeenth-century mercenary officers: an Englishman and a Irishman, who seem to spend as much time fighting each other as they do the enemy. Mike Spehar's "Collateral Damage" and Chris Weber's "The Company Men" are just two of the stories contained in this second volume of the Grantville Gazette. In other stories: - a prominent Italian musician decides to travel to Grantville to investigate the music of the future; - an American archer and a Finnish cavalryman become friends in the middle of a battlefield; - a Lutheran pastor begins a theological challenge to the establishment based on his interpretation of the Ring of Fire; - and American and German detectives become partners to investigate a murder. Contains mature themes.

The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, but a new force is gathering power and influence: the Confederated Principalities of Europe, an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident. Inspired by the example of American freedom and justice, a movement in Franconia among the peasants, who have revolted several times even before the arrival from the future of the town of Grantville, an independent revolutionary movement has arisen, flying the banner of the head of a ram. The West Virginians fully approve of liberating the peasants from the nobility, but they are also aware of how revolutionary movements can lead to bloodbaths. And avoiding that deadly possibility will require all of their future knowledge and all their plain old American horse-trading diplomacy. . . .

When an inexplicable cosmic disturbance hurls your town from twentieth century West Virginia back to seventeenth century Europe-and into the middle of the Thirty Years War-you'd better be adaptable to survive. And the natives of that time period, faced with American technology and politics, need to be equally adaptable. In other stories: #9679 Cardinal Richelieu, France's insidious master plotter and power behind the throne, learns of his prominent role in Dumas' not-yet-written novel The Three Musketeers (not to mention the several movie versions), and starts a search for the "real" D'Artagnan. #9679 Grantville is selling crystal radio sets so that Europeans can tune in to the Voice of America broadcasts, but the technicians from the future are at wit's end, trying to reproduce "primitive" early twentieth century broadcasting equipment by trial and error-until a trained library researcher shows up in town. #9679 Wilhelm Krieger, one of Germany's greatest philosophers, comes to Grantville to learn the philosophy of the future-and meets a contrarian cracker-barrel philosopher. Contains mature themes.

In Virginia DeMarce's witty and touching "Pastor Kastenmayers Revenge", a Lutheran pastor gets even with the American who eloped with his daughter by scheming to gain new adherents through eight separate arranged marriages between Lutheran down-timers and American up-timers. In other stories: #9679 The same teenagers who launched the sewing machine industry in Volume 1 move on to conquer the financial world, in Gorg Huffs "Other Peoples Money". #9679 Francis Turners's "Hobsons Choice" tells the tale of the personal and theological impact of the Ring of Fire on rambunctious students and barmaids in the university town of Cambridge, England. #9679 In Eva Musch's "If the Demons Will Sleep", a woman terrorized by the notorious Hungarian countess Bartholdy finds peace and sanctuary in Grantville. #9679 In Wood Hughes's "Hell Fighters", a Benedictine monk confronts an inferno and finds his orders new calling. Contains mature themes.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT THE TOWN THAT TRAVELED THROUGH TIME! The most popular alternate history series of all continues. When a cosmic disturbance hurls your town from twentieth-century West Virginia back to seventeenth-century Europe-and into the middle of the Thirty Years War-you have to adapt to survive. And the natives of that time period, faced with American technology and politics, need to be equally adaptable. Here's a generous helping of more stories of Grantville, the American town lost in time, and its impact on the people and societies of a tumultuous age. With stories by: Eric Flint, Griffin Barber, Robert Waters, Kerryn Offord, Alistair Kimble, and more!

The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville-the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident-are caught in the middle of it. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and Denmark-former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans represent-which are besieging the German city of Luebeck. Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE Navy's ironclad ships-desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a dangerous romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

In Paula Goodlett and Gorg Huff's "Poor Little Rich Girls," we follow the continuing adventures of the teenage tycoons begun by Huff in "The Sewing Circle" (Gazette #1) and "Other People's Money" (Gazette #3). The focus in this story, however, is on the younger siblings-the so-called Barbie Consortium-and their down-timer associates and enemies. Jose Clavell's "Magdeburg Marines" and Ernest Lutz and John Zeek's "Elizabeth" depict the early days of two military units after the Ring of Fire: a reborn US Marine Corps trying to adapt to new circumstances, and the First Railway Company, formed to provide logistics using a combination of up-time and down-time methods and technology. David Carrico's "Heavy Metal Music" continues the story of the interaction between up-time and down-time musicians that he began in last issue's "The Sound of Music." In other stories: #9679 A German craftsman blackballed by guild masters gets a new start in Karen Bergstralh's "One Man's Junk." #9679 Grantville has to deal with the tragic accidental deaths of several high school graduates in Kerryn Offord's "The Class of '34." Contains mature themes.

Book #19 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia must contend with France's infamous Cardinal Richilieu, who is determined to keep his grip on power no matter what history says. France, 1636 . . . It has been twenty years since King Louis took ANa Maria Mauricia, daughter of Spain's King Philip III, as his wife, and their union has not yet produced an heir. Under the guidance of his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, a plan is developed to remedy that situation. Once she is with child, Queen Anne goes into seclusion to guard her health and protect her from those who would prefer that the child is never born-France's foreign enemies as well as schemers such as Monsieur Gaston d'Orleans, the King's younger brother and heir. When the Crown's opponents make their move, factions inside and outside France must choose sides and help determine the future and fate of the Kingdom. About 1636: The Devil's Opera: "Another engaging alternate history from a master of the genre."-Booklist ". . . an old-style police-procedural mystery, set in 17th century Germany. . . . the threads . . . spin together . . . to weave an addictively entertaining story. . . . a strong addition to a fun series."- Daily News of Galveston County About Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series: "This alternate history series is . a landmark."-Booklist "[Eric] Flint's 1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians."-Booklist ".reads like a technothriller set in the age of the Medicis."-Publishers Weekly

The Ring of Fire Series Continues! The United States of Europe finds itself embroiled in international intrigue, as the uptimers attempt to establish an embassy in Ming Dynasty era China. The newly formed United States of Europe, created by an alliance between the time-displaced Americans from the town of Grantville and the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, decides to send an embassy to the Chinese empire. One of the main purposes of the embassy is to establish trade in order to gain access to critical resources. The mission is a gamble-some might say, a long shot. The Ming dynasty is on the verge of collapse and China's rulers are suspicious of foreigners. The mission experiences one setback after another, but presses on. And they gain an important ally along the way: Zheng Zhilong, a former pirate now an admiral for the Ming navy and the head of an extremely wealthy Fujian province trading family. He knows through his Jesuit missionary connections that according to Grantville's history books, the Ming dynasty is in danger, from famines, bandit armies and barbarian invaders. And he is determined that, one way or another, he and his family will survive and even prosper. The embassy is joined as well by a young scholar, who helps them make inroads into China's complex and often dangerous society. Can the up-timers and their friends persuade the imperial dynasty and its mandarins to establish trade and diplomatic relations with the USE? They have one great asset: their knowledge may be the key to saving China from decades of mass suffering and civil war.

New York Times best-selling author Eric Flint continues his Ring of Fire series with esteemed sci-fi author Charles E. Gannon. Rome in the year 1635 finds Frank Stone and his pregnant wife Giovanna in the clutches of Cardinal Borgia, whose political machinations and papal assassins may soon elevate him to Pope Borgia. Now Frank, along with Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew, must protect Pope Urban VII from all manner of treachery.

Though the Thirty Years Wars continues to ravage 17th century Europe, history as it once happened has been strongly deflected by the new force which is rapidly gathering power and influence: the United States of Europe, an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th Century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident-the Ring of Fire. The USE has know-how of 20th century technology, but the American traditions of freedom and justice is having an even stronger impact on Europe, and the rulers of Europe are powerless to stuff the Grantville genie back into the bottle. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). Eric Flint is the author of the New York Times best seller 1634: The Galileo Affair (with Andrew Dennis)-a novel in his top-selling "Ring of Fire" alternate history series. His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was picked by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His 1632, which launched the Ring of Fire series, won widespread critical praise, as from Publishers Weekly, which called him "an SF author of particular note, one who can entertain and edify in equal, and major measure." A longtime labor union activist with a master's degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

Acclaimed as a ''technothriller set in the age of the Medicis'' by Publishers Weekly, Eric Flint's best-selling Ring of Fire series has redefined the alternate-history genre. In this 10th novel, auto mechanic Bernie Zeppi heads to Moscow to bring Russia into the Industrial Revolution- 300 years ahead of schedule. War with Poland looms, but Bernie is more focused on a beautiful Russian noblewoman. Can he protect them both from the power struggles raging inside the Kremlin?

The seventh rollicking anthology of tales set in Eric Flint's phenomenal New York Times bestselling Ring of Fire universe. A cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe. It will take all the gumption of the resourceful, freedom-loving up-timers to find a way to flourish in the mad and bloody birth of the Renaissance. Are they up for it? You bet they are. Edited by Eric Flint, and inspired by his now-legendary 1632, this is the fun stuff that fills in the pieces of the Ring of Fire political, social, and cultural puzzle as supporting characters we meet in the novels get their own lives, loves, and life-changing stories. The future and democracy have arrived with a bang. Contains mature themes.

An exciting addition to the multiple New York Times bestselling Ring of Fire alternate history series created by Eric Flint. Time travelers from our modern age are thrown into the deadly straits of the Thirty Years War in Europe of the 1600s. In the year 1635, the Rhineland is in turmoil. The impact of the Ring of Fire, the cosmic accident which transported the small modern West Virginia town of Grantville to Europe in the early seventeenth century, has only aggravated a situation that was already chaotic. Perhaps nowhere in central Europe did the Thirty Years War produce so much upheaval as it did in the borderlands between France and Germany. Archbishop Ferdinand of Cologne shares the religious fanaticism of his older brother, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. He is determined to restore the power of the Catholic Church over the middle Rhine, the so-called “Bishop’s Alley,” and has unleashed a plot for that purpose. But that same middle Rhine is territory which Landgrave William V of HesseKassel is determined to seize for himself, under the guise of expanding the influence of the United States of Europe. Add to the witch's brew the deaths in battle of Duke Wolfgang of Jülich-Berg and his son, which leaves his young widow Katharina Charlotte as the heir to those much-prized territories. She is now on the run, in disguise—and pregnant. Add the unexpected arrival of Austria’s most capable general, Melchior von Hatzfeldt, along with the most ruthless spy and torturer in the Rhineland, Felix Gruyard. The wars for the Rhine have erupted, and only the devil knows how they will end.

It is the year 1636. The United States of Europe, the new nation formed by an alliance between the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and the West Virginians hurled back in time by a cosmic accident, is on the verge of civil war. His brain injured in the war with Poland, the USE's emperor Gustavus Adolphus is no longer in command. Enter Swedish chancellor Oxenstierna, a leader of aristocratic reaction against democracy. His goal: to assemble the forces of the hidebound ruling class in Berlin and drown the revolution in a bloodbath. In Magdeburg, the capital of the USE, Mike Stearns' wife Rebecca Abrabanel is organizing popular resistance to Oxenstierna's plot. As part of the resistance, the American musician Marla Linder and her company of down-time musical partners are staging an opera that will celebrate the struggle against oppression. Princess Kristina, the heir to the USE's throne, is now residing in Magdeburg and is giving them her support and encouragement. But another plot is underway--this one right in the heart of the capital itself, and with murder as its method. The only people standing in the way are a crippled boy and the boxing champion who befriended him, and an unlikely pair of policemen. Can the American detective Byron Chieske and his down-timer partner Gotthilf Hoch thwart the killers before they succeed in their goal?

It's been five years since a cosmic incident known as The Ring of Fire transported the modern day town of Grantville, West Virginia, through time and space to 17th century Europe. The course of world history has been forever altered. And Mother Russia is no exception. Inspired by the American up-timers' radical notion that all people are created equal, Russian serfs are rebelling. The entire village of Poltz, led by blacksmith Stefan Andreevich, pulls up stakes to make a run for freedom. Meanwhile, Czar Mikhail has escaped house arrest, with the aid of up-time car mechanic Bernie Zeppi, his Russian associates-and a zeppelin. The czar makes his way to the village of Ufa. There he intends to set up a government-in-exile. It is to Ufa that the serfs of Poltz are heading, as well. The path is dangerous-for the serfs as well as the czar. They face great distances and highwaymen. But the worst threat are those in the aristocracy who seek to crush the serfs and execute the czar in a bid to drive any hope for Russian freedom under their Parisian-crafted boot heels. But the Russians of 1637 have taken inspiration from their up-timer counterparts. And it could be that a new wind of liberty is about to blow three centuries early-and change Mother Russia forever.

The assassinated Shah Jahan lies entombed beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal, while their progeny drag the Mughal Empire into a three-sided struggle over the succession to the Peacock Throne. The diplomatic and trade mission from the United States of Europe is openly siding with Princess Jahanara and her brother Dara Shikoh. The mission, made up largely of Americans transplanted in time by the Ring of Fire, is providing the siblings with technical assistance as they prepare to fight their rivals for the throne, Aurangzeb and Shah Shuja. Meanwhile, the Afghan adventurer Salim Gadh Yilmaz, confidant of two emperors—Shah Jahan and now his son Dara Shikoh—has been elevated to the position of general. He has great challenges to face, not the least of which is resisting the fierce and forbidden mutual attraction between himself and Princess Jahanara. As the conflict deepens, the junior members of the mission are sent east to buy opium needed by the USE’s doctors. Their guide, merchant Jadu Das, has an agenda of his own, one entrusted to him by Jahanara: seek out her great uncle, Asaf Khan, and promise whatever is needed to bring his army over to Dara’s side. The USE’s mission was sent to India in search of goods needed in Europe. But now they find that straightforward task has become enmeshed in a great civil war—for control of the Peacock Throne.

After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia go on a quest for the makings of medicines that have yet to be invented in 17th century Europe. The United States of Europe, the new nation formed by an alliance between the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and the West Virginians hurled back in time by a cosmic accident-the Ring of Fire-is beset by enemies on all sides. The U.S.E. needs a reliable source of opiates for those wounded in action, as well as other goods not available in Europe. The Prime Minister of the U.S.E., Mike Stearns, sends a mission to the Mughal Empire of India with the aim of securing a trade deal with the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The mission consists of a mixed group of up-timers and down-timers, including paramedics, a squad of soldiers with railroad-building experience, a spy and a pair of swindlers. On reaching India the mission finds a grieving emperor obsessed with building the Taj Mahal, harem-bound princesses, warrior princes, and an Afghan adventurer embroiled in the many plots of the Mughal court. The emperor's sons are plotting against each other and war is brewing with the newly risen Sikh faith. But in the midst of these intrigues, the U.S.E. mission finds a ally: the brilliant and beautiful Jahanara Begum, the eldest daughter of Shah Jahan. She is the mistress of her father's harem and a power in her own right, who wishes to learn more of these women who are free in a way she can scarcely comprehend. When the Emperor learns of what befalls his empire and children in the time that was, he makes every effort to change their fate. But emperors, princesses, and princes are no more immune to the inexorable waves of change created by the Ring of Fire than are the Americans themselves.

A new addition to the four-time New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a place for itself among the struggling powers of 17th century Western Europe, the "out-of-time" modern town of Grantville, West Virginia must fight for its life against Dark Age domination. Alternate history master Eric Flint returns in top form with an epic addition to the multiple New York Times best selling Ring of Fire series. A cosmic accident sets the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe and a new nation is forged. Now when United States of Europe ally King Gustavas of Sweden invades Poland, the U.S. of E. is dragged into a full-scale European war against ruthless opponents. Meanwhile Mike Stearns, wily and courageous leader of the up-time West Virginians, has been turned out of office in an election. But, like Churchill (before and after him) Stearns is not done yet. He's determined to stoke the fires of democratic rebellion in Saxony near the main front, and thus keep the young nation he founded, and once led, out of the hands of medieval tyrants-tyrants who would like nothing better than to wipe those troublesome upstarts from the future off the timeline and go back to the bad old days of oppression and serfdom.

Book #18 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series, and the team behind national bestseller 1635: The Kremlin Games. After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia contend with aristocratic forces determined to keep their grip on power whatever it takes. When Grantville, West Virginia was transported back to the year 1631 -- in the middle of the Thirty Years' War, no less -- many things happened. Many opportunities arose. It's said that a rising tide lifts all boats. Perhaps not quite as high as the Barbie Consortium rose, however. A cabal of ten- to twelve-year-old girls? They aren't twelve anymore. And they gave up playing with dolls some years ago, when they sold them all and started an investment consortium. A consortium that did quite well. The Barbie Consortium hits Vienna. In several different ways. The princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, the common men and women on the street have no idea what's about to happen.Neither do the girls, but they're determined it'll happen their way.

The uptimers and their allies take on the Ottoman Empire at its height of power. The modern West Virginia town of Grantville has been displaced in time to continental Europe in 1632. Now four years have passed. The long-feared attack on Austria by the Ottoman Empire has begun. Armed with new weapons inspired by the time-displaced Americans of Grantville, the Turks are determined to do what they were unable to do in the universe the Americans came from: capture Vienna. The Ottomans have the advantage of being able to study the failings and errors of their own campaigns in a future they can now avoid. They are led by the young, dynamic, and ruthless Murad IV, the most capable emperor the Ottomans have produced in a century. They are equipped with weapons that would have seemed fantastical to the Turks of that other universe: airships, breech-loading rifles, rockets-even primitive tanks. And this time they won't have to face massive reinforcements from Austria's allies. In fact, the only force Emperor Gustav Adolf can think of sending to Austria is the United States of Europe Third Division under the command of Mike Stearns. It's an army currently engaged in a desperate struggle for Bavaria. The emperors of the USE and Austria share the same problem. They have one too many enemies, one too few allies, and only one general to cover the gaps. Fortunately, that general is Mike Stearns, also known as the Prince of Germany.

THE BEST-SELLING RING OF FIRE SERIES CONQUERS THE NEW WORLD! It has taken almost five years for the United States of Europe to stabilize its position in 17th-century Europe. Now it turns its attention to the New World, where the English have ceded their colonial claims to France. There are vast lands and rich resources across the Atlantic for any nations powerful enough to rule and control them—and equal incentive for other nations to block their path. The time-displaced Americans know about the future path that led to their own United States in North America, in the other universe they came from. But do they want to repeat that history as it was? Yes, they had democracy—but they are helping to create that in Europe. And they have learned the bitter prices paid for chattel slavery and the near-extermination of the native populations. Knowledge is power. Perhaps a new course can be taken. Accordingly, an expedition is sent to the New World to see just what might be happening there and what might be done. They are armed with their technology, among which are a radio and an airship. More importantly, they are armed with the knowledge of future history and their determination not to repeat the errors of their past. What could possibly go wrong?