ring of fire ii is a 2008 anthology created by editor-author-historian eric flint.it is the second anthology in the 1632 series following after ring of fire (2004).flint, in explanation, has self-styled himself as something of a gambler; he demonstrated that by deliberately asking the other writers to share in creating the main threads and plot lines of the milieu so that this work and the large second full novel in the series, 1633, were written contemporaneously.flint is on record that large portions of 1633 were adjusted drastically, even thrown out and rewritten as later submissions in the collected stories in ring of fire impacted the various and diverse story threads.for a fuller precis on this interesting and historic literary development see assiti shards series.while returning to grantville following a horse trade in france, the traders encounter a foreign mercenary army contingent preparing to attack grantville's allied city, badenburg.they also observe that the mercenaries are equipped with american civil war era equipment and doctrines that they had somehow acquired from modern history books.the traders - with help from the american militia - make several skirmishes against the army before finally eliminating them.the plot structure begins with a suggestion that it might be a tale of investigative journalism, but it ends with a humorous twist.there are tight connections between this story and 'the wallenstein gambit'   === 'diving belle' === by gunnar dahlin and dave freera story by gunnar dahlin and dave freer about an attempt to raise the vasa from its resting place in stockholm harbor.or, is it an elaborate fraud?the same tale, from a different prospective was used as background for the entrance of admiral john simpson and wife mary as they come on stage during the end of the industrial disaster that begins the novel 1634: the baltic war.as a continuation and perhaps climax of the franz and marla saga, the tale reveals marla in a triumphal debut among the rich and famous in magdeburg, while the lovable and tragic franz finds a new musical groove—and is able to play again publicly — while, finally, proving worthy in his own eyes of 'getting the girl'.like the preceding franz and marla stories, it is an excellent tale told with skill and is good at evoking emotions and painting complex characters undergoing lives' pressures.there is a scene set at a down-time tennis court, and it's worth noting that iver also wrote an article on down-time tennis ('tennis: the game of kings') which appeared in grantville gazette xv.wentworthset as a prequel to 1634: the baltic war, the story focus on eddie cantrell, who was captured by the danish in the confused aftermath the battle of wismar depicted in 1633, became involved with the daughter of christian iv of denmark.they often are given the chance for redemption, but don't always take it.'another reviewer wrote that 'this anthology has a sort of crazy-quilt feel at times' since 'the stories connect to one another and to the other anthologies and novels in various complex ways, reinforcing one another by casting light on aspects of characters and events that might otherwise be ignored.'however, 'the gems in this anthology outweigh the few weak ones' and 'heartily recommend the purchase'.the reviewer also recommends re-reading the other novels and anthologies of the series to 'really appreciate all the interconnections between the various storylines'.ring of fire ii was listed on the locus (magazine) hardcovers bestsellers list for single month during 2008 at number 6.
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