Assiti Shards

A modern West Virginia coal town is transported back to seventeenth-century Germany in the middle of the brutal Thirty Years War.

As the Thirty Years War continues to devastate Europe, the inhabitants of the American town mysteriously transported from the twentieth century to the seventeenth century confront a new foe and try to rescue Galileo from a heresy charge.

In Rome in 1635, Grantville's diplomatic team, headed by Sharon Nichols, has come to a standstill in their negotiations with Pope Urban VIII, while mysterious agitators are stirring up trouble.

Held hostage by a papal usurper, 1635 uptimer Frank Stone and his pregnant downtime wife, Giovanna, become targets in a rescue effort by Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew at the same time the true pope is targeted for assassination.

The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, and the lost outpost of American freedom and justice must play the United States of Europe against a 17th century Goliath of oppressive feudalism.

"Eddie Cantrell is married to the king of Denmark's daughter and is sent by Admiral Simpson to the Carribbean to secure access to the most valuable commodity on that continent--the oil which the up-time machines and industry need. Making his way to the New World, Eddie must face often hostile natives, rambunctious Dutch ship captains, allied colonies on the brink of starvation, and the hostile Spanish presence"-- Provided by publisher.

King Gustavus of Sweden orders General Mike Stearns of West Virginia to go to Saxony and restore order. Gretchen has been arrested there and is likely to be executed. The revolutionary groups which she has been working with are not about to let that happen, and suddenly there's rioting in the streets and Saxony's ruthless General Baner is determined to suppress the uprising.

Held hostage by a papal usurper, 1635 uptimer Frank Stone and his pregnant downtime wife, Giovanna, become targets in a rescue effort by Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew at the same time the true pope is targeted for assassination.

"A cosmic catastrophe, the Ring of Fire strands the West Virginia town of Grantville in the middle of Europe during the Thirty Years War. By 1636, it's impact is felt across two great oceans. The United States of Europe seeks out resources (oil, rubber and even aluminum) to help it wage war against the foes of freedom. Daring pioneers cross the Atlantic and found a new colony in South Africa hoping with up-time knowledge to prosper in the tropics...

King Gustavus of Sweden orders General Mike Stearns of West Virginia to go to Saxony and restore order. Gretchen has been arrested there and is likely to be executed. The revolutionary groups which she has been working with are not about to let that happen, and suddenly there's rioting in the streets and Saxony's ruthless General Baner is determined to suppress the uprising.

King Gustavus of Sweden orders General Mike Stearns of West Virginia to go to Saxony and restore order. Gretchen has been arrested there and is likely to be executed. The revolutionary groups which she has been working with are not about to let that happen, and suddenly there's rioting in the streets and Saxony's ruthless General Baner is determined to suppress the uprising.

"The Ottoman Empire has captured Vienna and is now laying siege to the Austrian government in exile. Both the United States of Europe and the Kingdom of Bohemia have come to Austria's assistance but everyone knows it is going to be a long, brutal struggle. General Mike Stearns proposes opening up a second front in the Levant which the USE's emperor Gustavus Adolphus approves. Meanwhile, Poland is coming to a boil. Gretchen Richter, newly elected chancellor...

"A New Day in the New World It's 1637 in the Caribbean. Commander Eddie Cantrell and his ally and friend Admiral Martin Tromp start it off with some nasty surprises for Spain, whose centuries-long exploitation and rapine of the New World has run unchecked. Until now. Yet life goes on in the Caribbean. Relationships among the allied Dutch, Swedes, Germans, up-timers, and even Irish mercenaries continue to evolve and deepen. New friendships must be...

"The Ottoman Empire has captured Vienna and is now laying siege to the Austrian government in exile. Both the United States of Europe and the Kingdom of Bohemia have come to Austria's assistance but everyone knows it is going to be a long, brutal struggle. General Mike Stearns proposes opening up a second front in the Levant which the USE's emperor Gustavus Adolphus approves. Meanwhile, Poland is coming to a boil. Gretchen Richter, newly elected chancellor...

"Tensions build in France following the ascension of Gaston to the throne of his murdered brother, but there are factions supporting the claim of King Louis' surviving infant son. As France moves toward civil war, other parties, both visible and invisible, maneuver to take advantage of the increased tension. Who will survive to reign over France--King Gaston, the exiled child and his regents, or the King of Spain?"-- Provided by publisher.

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...

"The United Sovereign States of Russia struggles to set in place the traditions and legal precedents that will let it turn into a constitutional monarchy with freedom and opportunity for all its citizens. At the same time, they're trying to balance the power of the states and the federal government. And the USSR is fighting a civil war with Muscovite Russia, defending the new state of Kazakh from invasion by the Zunghars, building a tech base and...