Ring of Fire Books in Order
The Ring of Fire series begins when Grantville, a coal-mining town in West Virginia, is thrown back in time to Germany in 1631, in the middle of the Thirty Years’ War. Its people use their knowledge and their union traditions to build a new nation. The series grew into a large shared world with many co-authors.
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Series facts
- Books
- 5
- Published
- 2000 to 2011
- First book
- 1632
- Latest
- 1636: The Saxon Uprising (2011)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Grantville, Thuringia
The reading order
Every Ring of Fire book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
- 116322000With Mike StearnsIn 2000, a strange cosmic accident throws the West Virginia mining town of Grantville back in time to Thuringia in 1631, in the middle of the Thirty Years’ War.Buy on Amazon
- 216332002With Mike StearnsGrantville has allied with King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Cardinal Richelieu gathers a coalition of European powers to destroy the town and its ideas.Buy on Amazon
- 31634: The Baltic War2007With Mike StearnsGustavus Adolphus prepares to strike back at the coalition besieging Lübeck, while Admiral Simpson races to finish his ironclads and daring missions unfold in London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.Buy on Amazon
- 41635: The Eastern Front2010Gustavus Adolphus leads the armies of the United States of Europe east against Saxony, Brandenburg and Poland, with Mike Stearns, no longer prime minister, commanding a division.Buy on Amazon
- 51636: The Saxon Uprising2011With Mike StearnsWith Gustavus Adolphus unable to rule, reactionary forces gain the upper hand in the USE, and Mike Stearns and the Committees of Correspondence must decide how to fight back.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read 1632 first, then 1633 and the later main-sequence novels in order. Many other books and anthologies fill in the world around them.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Mike Stearns | Rebecca Abrabanel | Gretchen Richter | Jeff Higgins | Julie Sims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1632 | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
| 2 1633 | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
| 3 1634: The Baltic War | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor |
| 4 1635: The Eastern Front | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 5 1636: The Saxon Uprising | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Ring of Fire books
5 characters from Eric Flint’s chart, with the number of Ring of Fire books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Mike StearnsUnion leader who leads the town | 5 | 1632 2000 |
| Rebecca AbrabanelSephardic scholar, Mike's wife | 5 | 1632 2000 |
| Gretchen RichterGerman camp follower turned revolutionary | 5 | 1632 2000 |
| Jeff HigginsTeenage gamer turned soldier | 5 | 1632 2000 |
| Julie SimsSharpshooter | 3 | 1632 2000 |