> <Hans.DeleteThis@Kill-All-Spammers.com> wrote:
>
> > You're right! ... Sorta! Actually everything is crap... first Big Bang
> > crap and then super nova crap ... several super nova craps actually.
> >
> > However as far and the 1632 series is concerned... It has proven to be
> > thoughtless to an unbelievable extreme!
> >
> > It is totally unbelievable that you have someone who SHOULD have died
from
> > hypothermia resurrected and acting as a spy. (Get this straight! There
> > were NO boats in the area after the sea battle that could have rescued
> > anyone as ALL ships had been scared off and headed south!
I normally stay out of these discussions, because I think people have the
right to express their dislike for something I write without me trying to
argue with them about it. I do, however, get annoyed when a critic claims
something is a "fact" which is nothing of the sort. With regard to the
specific issue of whether Eddie could have been rescued, the novel
specifically and clearly establishes that most of the Danish ships remained
in the area for some time after the Outlaw collided with the one Danish
warship, and some of them were engaging in rescue operations. I've copied
below the relevant passage from chapter 47.
Someone can still argue that it's highly unlikely that Eddie would survive
the episode, and I would not argue the point -- in fact, the novel ALSO
makes that quite clear. Simpson is astonished when he discovers that Eddie
survived, since the odds against that happening were extremely high.
So what? War is _full_ of things happening against the odds. And while
history books normally don't concentrate on all the oddball stuff, that is
in fact typically what _fiction_ about wars concentrates on. That's
inherent in the nature of story-telling, for Pete's sake. People usually
aren't interested in hearing about humdrum routine events when they want to
be entertained.
Eric
PS. My critic can't even keep his points of the compass straight. Even if
it were true that all the Danish ships had been immediately "scared off" --
which it isn't, as the passage quoted below makes crystal clear -- they
certainly wouldn't have "headed south." South was... Wismar, where they
just got driven off from. They retreated where they came from, which was to
the northwest.
"Hans! Hans, damn it-talk to me!" Jesse half-shouted into the
microphone as he pushed his own aircraft as hard as he could towards the
clouds of smoke rising from the sea.
There was no answer, and Jesse's jaw clenched tight.
He didn't have a complete picture of what was happening, but the
radioed reports from Louie Tillman had told him enough. Eddie and Larry's
initial strike had been far more successful than Jesse had ever allowed
himself to hope... only to disintegrate into disaster. The Outlaw was
gone-that much Tillman knew for certain-and with it both of the boys. But
that wasn't what frightened Jesse, because there was nothing he could do
about it. It was too late for that. But Louie had also reported Hans'
insane, low-level attack on the Danish ship which had destroyed the Outlaw.
Hans hadn't reported. In fact, he had yet to transmit a single word.
"Hans, I know you can fucking well hear me!" Jesse snapped. "Now answer
me!"
Silence. But he was close enough now to see the smoke and wreckage to
which the invasion force had been reduced. Some of the Danes had already put
about, clawing back towards Luebeck and away from the demons which had
ravaged them. Others looked as if they were trying to continue towards
Wismar, and a few of them were engaged in frantic rescue operations, trying
to snatch men from the icy waters before hypothermia killed them. But most
of them seemed to be milling around in confusion, still shocked and confused
by what had happened. He could see the remaining speedboats hovering between
the invaders and Wismar, and even as he watched one of the brigs which had
been holding its course turned away rather than face them.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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