A review by megmcardle
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

4.0

This is a truly interesting blend of Historical Fiction and Science Fiction (one of the rarest of all combos)that works despite some very real flaws. In 14th century Germany, an alien ship has crashed in the forested outskirts of the village of Oberhochwald. The local villagers include a remarkable man serving as their parish priest. Father Dietrich is a student of philosophy, history, science and religion who studied in Paris and kept company with the great minds of his age. He retreated to the remote village of Oberhochwald to escape his past (hinted at but never really explained), and proves to be the ideal ambassador to the stranded aliens. As he gets to know the grasshopper-like creatures he calls "Krenken" and help them in their efforts to repair their ship, his inate curiosity and openess to new ideas prompts him to welcome the aliens and try and gain acceptance for them with his flock - to the point of offering baptism. If Dietrich sometimes strains the credulity of the reader in his sheer unflappability, his views are not shared by some in the village, nor with the powers of the Inquisition. The fear of some is in many ways more understandable than Dietrich's constant rolling with the punches when exposed to alien technology far beyond anything in existence in medieval times. His reading has made him open to all possibilities, apparently, and at each new wonder, he just slaps a greek name on it and moves on. Still, he is a genuinely likeable character who wants to apply both his love of learning and his vocation to give charity to all in need to the stranded aliens. There's quite a lot of plot to gloss over, including politics both Krenken and feudal. If Flynn fails the narrative, it might be in trying to cram in a little too much of the obviously HUGE amount of research he did on the time. This is a common misstep in historical fiction, and one I can forgive as the details of daily life that he includes make the setting and the people feel completely real. The other big flaw is the inclusion of a modern day plot, that seemed superfluous and frankly...dull. The present day historian trying to discover why the village of Oberhochwald (which became known as Eifelheim) disappeared from maps and his annoying physicist girlfriend bring nothing to the plot. The extensive discussion of polyverse physics might appeal to some hard SF fans, but I had to fight the urge to skim. But the medieval villagers dealing with something so far beyond their experience was a great, great story and so I forgive.