 Recorded books presents 1637 The Coast of Chaos by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlatt and Gorg Huff, edited by Eric Flint and Bjorn Hassler, narrated by me, George Waddell. Preface, Eric Flint 1637 The Coast of Chaos is a hybrid volume similar to 1634 The Ram Rebellion. It's not a novel since it consists of a number of stories written by several different authors, but unlike a traditional anthology where the stories have no relationship beyond perhaps a broad theme, Cats on Mars for instance, all of the stories in this book are connected to each other. Taken as a whole, the stories depict different aspects of the same dramatic center, the seizure of New England from the English colonists by France, and the ways in which the native and European populations react to that and deal with it and deal with each other. The volume begins in the short novel by myself and two of my frequent partners, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlatt. Our story stands a bit to the side of the other since it is centered on the New Netherlands, the colony established by the Low Countries in what is modern day in New York City, Albany, and the Hudson Valley and its environs. The reason we start there is because what happens in the New Netherlands, which includes their negotiations with the United States of Europe, sets many of the parameters for the rest of the volume. The reason I chose to develop this portion of the Ring of Fire series in a somewhat unusual narrative framework is because I thought it would help capture one of the key themes in the way this series depicts the impact of the Ring of Fire on the New World, especially North America. Unlike the history of that continent following its discovery by Europeans in this alternate universe, the developments are far more complex and chaotic. You don't have a few great European powers fighting each other until by the mid-18th century Britain comes to dominate the continent, nor do you have the huge wave of immigration from the British Isles that very quickly overwhelms the native populations. Instead, there are many different and much less powerful centres of European influence which includes Danes and Netherlanders and Swedes and different groups of the English as well as the French. And the indigenous populations are able to respond to the European encroachment and the continent in more effective ways. It's something in the way of a literary experiment, but that characterization can be applied to the series as a whole. I think it works quite well and I hope you enjoy the volume. The Coast of Chaos, Eric Flint, Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett, Chapter 1, Brussels, Capital of the Netherlands, May 24, 1636. Once everyone who'd be attending this meeting of the inner circle of the Habsburg court in the Netherlands had arrived, King Fernando invited them to sit with a gesture of his hand. Most of them had already planted themselves on their chairs before he'd even completed the gesture. The young monarch could be a stickler for formality on some occasions, but meetings with his closest advisers were held as casually as could be expected. Understanding, of course, that as could be expected was measured by the care and caution of Europe's most powerful and long-lasting dynasty. The House of Habsburg had begun its rise six centuries earlier, founded by an obscure Swabian count named Rodboat of Kletgau. He built his castle in a northerly portion of what would later become Switzerland and named it Habsburg, which eventually became the name of the dynasty itself. The origins of the name are unclear. The most commonly held belief was that the count named it after a hawk Habicht in German, which he spotted resting on the walls. The Habsburgs did not rise as a result of quick and dramatic conquests. This was not a family with the perspective and temperament of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Their preferred methods of advancement were, first and foremost, the making of advantageous marriages combined with astute political alliances and obtaining positions for the family in the high ranks of the Catholic Church. A bit over two centuries after Count Rodboat's death, the Habsburgs took their first major step toward European royal preeminence when Count Rudolf IV was elected the king of the Romans on October 1st, 1273. The man who held the title was generally considered the future head of the Holy Roman Empire, although that depended on their proof of the Pope. But the initial period was a shaky one for the Habsburgs. They were not able to retain the position and spent the 14th and first part of the 15th century engaged in more or less constant quarrels and maneuvers with other prominent dynasties on the continent. With all they continued to progress, preferably with their tried and trusted methods of marital, political, and ecclesiastical... Sample complete. Ready to continue?