1634: The Galileo Affair (Ring of Fire) Review

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1634: The Galileo Affair (Ring of Fire) ReviewThis 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 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 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.1634: The Galileo Affair (Ring of Fire) Overview

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