1634: The Galileo Affair

The Galileo Affair is where the Ring of Fire series really begins to show its promise. With a much tighter cast of characters and plot than its predecessors, we're able to get a deep, rather than a broad, look at the setting and really develop some fun plot threads. It's vastly less focused on military matters (I like David Weber fine, but I'm just not as interested in guns as he is) and the Stone family is a nice counterpoint to the otherwise fairly idealized blue-collar main characters.

On that note, the fact that the Stones were created by Mercedes Lackey for a short story and then rolled into this novel (as well as the use of scenes written by an experienced pilot in some of the other books in this family) is just a fascinating use show more of intellectual resources. This series wins a lot of goodwill from me by being collaboratively-if-not-communally written in a way that I believe is unprecedented in modern fiction. show less

First a quick note: Goodreads calls this "Assiti Shards, #3" but in the recommended reading order this is in pos 6 or possibly 5 (1634 Ram Rebellion can be read before this one without any real loss).

In the widely sprawling fictional universe conceived by the book 1632, we have now reached Venice and the catholic church. President/Prime Minister Stearns sends his best medical people and best priests to represent USE (United States of Europe) in Venice, the most powerful, reachable, catholic state that isn't already actively hostile.

While the adults teach medicine the Stoner children hear about Galileo being imprisoned and make plans for a big jailbreak.

I find the book less convincing than I would like. Of course the base premises are show more not really plausible with a whole town transplanted 350 years backwards in time, but I think that humans will remain humans, and this book seems more like slapstick at times, and humans are way too one dimensional. That was a criticism I had of the first book in the series, and of a few other Eric Flint books, but then there were a few that were better. This is worse again.

So while I still enjoy seeing the universe evolve, the path there can become tedious.

2.5 stars. I ended up with 2 to differentiate it from other books in the series. show less

This is the either the third or fourth book in the Ring of Fire alternate history series where a small town in West Virginia is transported back in time to the thirty Years War and to Thüringen in Germany. This volume of the series finds the united States of Europe sending an ambassador to Venice with the goal of initiating trade agreements to provide supplies to the USE. In addition, they also send people who can share medical and pharmacal experience with the Italians. As in other books in the series, the West Virginians manage to attract members of the opposite sex with enormous success.

The big begins slowly delving into the intrigues of both Venice and the Catholic church. Around half-way through the book, the pace picks up as a show more group sets out to free Galileo from his trial by the Inquisition. show less

(Amy) These books really are a boatload and a half of fun, and I have yet to be significantly disappointed with a single offering from this shared universe, which is quite an achievement. There are some technical aspects (writing-wise, not technology-wise, and damn does there ever need to be a less clumsy way to differentiate that) that bug me, but I'm willing to overlook them due to the general awesome of the whole thing. I mean, it may have been some years since I've been active in the SCA, but the sensibilities that sent me there in the first place are still alive and well in my head, and the idea of turning the actual Middle Ages (well, OK, it's sort of Renaissancey by this time period, but that counts) into The Way They Should Have show more Been is -- well, let me just say that I have no problem with blatant Wish Fulfillment Fiction from time to time. (Which is good, because there's a lot of that in SF.)

Anyway. This novel takes place in Venice, wherein some of Our Uptime Heroes are undertaking to educate some of the most learned doctors of the time about the value of sanitation. Side plots include, yes, the trial of Galileo. For people who have read previous books/stories in this series and are cranky about the tendency of the characters to deliver As You Know, Bob lectures about assorted historical points, well, it doesn't get any better here, but as I said above, I'm willing to overlook it. Also, I could wish the one sex scene had panned to the fireplace a bit sooner than it did - not that I'm a prude, but it was just remarkably awkwardly depicted.

All that said, looking forward to my next visit to the Assisti Shards multiverse, which will be in the form of another Grantville Gazette.

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2009/07/these_books_really_are_... ) show less

The Vatican Rag: This volume in the alternate history series based on Eric Flint's 2000 novel "1632" follows "Ring of Fire" and "1633," and is the first of several planned "1634: ..." books to be published. Even though "Ring of Fire" is an anthology, it should be read before "1634: The Galileo Affair," since stories in it introduce and develop many of the main characters (Father Mazzare, the Stones, Mazarini) and set up much of the plot. "1632" and "1633" should be read as well, of course.

At the beginning of "1634: The Galileo Affair," the new United States of Europe is not in the best strategic situation. Simultaneously at war with England, France, Spain, Denmark, Austria and various other polities, it is running short of allies - the show more Dutch Republic is in dire straights, while Bohemia has its hands full trying to break away from Austria. To try to break out of this encirclement and tap into Mediterranean trade, an embassy is sent to the Venetian Republic.

At the head of the embassy are Father Mazzare and Reverend Jones, along with Sharon Nichols and Tom 'Stoner' Stone, a nurse and chemist (respectively), who will be sharing their medical knowledge with the Italians as a demonstration of good faith. Accompanying Stone are his three teenage sons, who (following their hormones and the lovely Giovanna) quickly fall in with a group of incompetent but enthusiastic revolutionaries hoping to Americanize Italy. They are sucked into a wacky, hare-brained scheme to free Galileo from the Inquisition and take him north to Grantville and Freedom. This plot would probably be harmless were it not receiving expert assistance from a French agent provocateur under orders to discredit the USE. Meanwhile, the copies of the Papers of the Second Vatican Council and related twentieth century Catholic theology that were sent to the Pope Urban VIII in "Ring of Fire" have been creating quite a stir in the highest ranks of the Church. The Pope is carefully considering what to do about Galileo, as well as the USE and its curious religious toleration.

"1634: The Galileo Affair" is quite a bit different from the other novels that have so far been published in the 163x series (and probably from those yet to be published, as well). This seems to be Flint's intention, and the reason he's writing the series with a large number of coauthors. In this volume, he is joined by English lawyer Andrew Dennis, with the result that military and political aspects of the story decrease dramatically, while more time is spent on romance and lawyerly discussion. Although I enjoyed the book overall, this is not my favorite approach.

Another notable feature of this volume in the series is that it ignores all of the plot threads developed in "1633," focusing entirely on Italy. According to Flint, "The Galileo Affair" is only the first of several books that will take place in 1634, each pursuing only one story line at a time, though all still tying in with each other. Currently five volumes are planned for this "1634: ..." 'story explosion' - "The Baltic War" (with David Weber), "Escape from the Tower" (Eric Flint solo), "The Austrian Princess" (with Virginia DeMarce) and "Bohemia" (a tentative title, with Mike Spehar) in addition to "The Galileo Affair." While some may be frustrated by the lack of connection to "1633," I personally feel that this approach is much preferable to the 'Robert Jordan method' of trying to cover every plot line at once and ending up not advancing any of them.

At any rate, if you enjoyed "1633" and "Ring of Fire," "1634: The Galileo Affair" should be worth checking out. If you're a fan of the series primarily because of Flint's military writing, the library may be the best choice. show less

This book is wildly different from the earlier books, which is a good thing. I am sure I will not get bored with re-reading the same thing over and over, which is what many series seem to be. It is a combination of serious discussion of 17th century problems and a fillip of the Keystone Kops humor.

I'm giving up on this about 1/2 way through. I'm enjoying it, but it's a tough read. Enjoyed 1632 and 1633 much better. Maybe it was the change in main characters. Will give the "main line" 1634 book a chance when it comes out.