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Assiti Shards #11
1635: The Papal Stakes
#15 in the multiple best-selling Ring of Fire Series.
It's springtime in the Eternal City, 1635. But it's no Roman holiday for uptimer Frank Stone and his pregnant downtime wife, Giovanna. They're in the clutches of would be Pope Cardinal Borgia, with the real Pope—Urban VIII—on the run with the renegade embassy of uptime Ambassador Sharon Nichols and her swashbuckling downtime husband, Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz. Up to their necks in papal assassins, power politics, murder, and mayhem, the uptimers and their spouses need help and they need it quickly.
Special rescue teams—including Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew—converge on Rome to extract Frank and Gia. And an uptime airplane is on its way to spirit the Pope to safety before Borgia's assassins can find him. It seems that everything is going to work out just fine in sunny Italy.
Until, that is, everything goes wrong. Now, whether they are prisoners in Rome or renegades protecting a pope on the run, it's up to the rough and ready can do attitude of Grantville natives to once again escape the clutches of aristocratic skullduggery and ring in freedom for a war torn land.
It's springtime in the Eternal City, 1635. But it's no Roman holiday for uptimer Frank Stone and his pregnant downtime wife, Giovanna. They're in the clutches of would be Pope Cardinal Borgia, with the real Pope—Urban VIII—on the run with the renegade embassy of uptime Ambassador Sharon Nichols and her swashbuckling downtime husband, Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz. Up to their necks in papal assassins, power politics, murder, and mayhem, the uptimers and their spouses need help and they need it quickly.
Special rescue teams—including Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew—converge on Rome to extract Frank and Gia. And an uptime airplane is on its way to spirit the Pope to safety before Borgia's assassins can find him. It seems that everything is going to work out just fine in sunny Italy.
Until, that is, everything goes wrong. Now, whether they are prisoners in Rome or renegades protecting a pope on the run, it's up to the rough and ready can do attitude of Grantville natives to once again escape the clutches of aristocratic skullduggery and ring in freedom for a war torn land.
944 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 2, 2012
43 people are currently reading
535 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books873 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
August 5, 2020
The Papal Stakes is mostly about various attempts to rescue Frank Stone and his wife. It is also about pope Urban trying to decide whether he wants to accept the help of the USE. In addition, we have a great deal of debate on whether or not Grantville is part of some vast plot conceived by Satan. (The debate is not very interesting or exciting however.)
There is also a great deal of fan service, and several of the formerly strong female characters seem to lose about twenty I.Q. points each during the course of the story. (In other words, I don’t like what Gannon did with their characterization. I also didn’t really like the characterization of the male characters, who appear to have gained several overbearing machismo points.)
Let me explain what I mean by fan service. The opening scene features Sharon leaning over a radio operator, her boobs pressing into his back. I was extremely underwhelmed by this scene and the way she was described. Gannon tends to describe female characters in an overtly sexualized manner that made me extremely uncomfortable. As another example, a guard is making frequent visits as a chance to ogle Giovanna. Frank does not blame the guy, as his wife is very sexy. There are also some really awkward jokes about how “loud” Giovanna and Frank are. Sharon and Ruy, the other pair of romantic leads also get a great deal of sex jokes. (Which I might have been okay with if the jokes were actually funny and not detrimental to the narrative.)
This book tries very hard to be funny when it should be serious. When it tries to be serious, it is kind of boring. There is a point where characters speak in pig Latin to disguise their conversation, and the Wrecking Crew are foiled by a sudden bout of complete incompetence. There is an attempt to escape foiled by someone leaving a soup trail. There are also some really horrible written accents and Frank Stone writing Lord of the Rings fan fiction that is actually some kind of code or something.
The Papal Stakes is not one of the better books in the series. It falls flat in many respects and doesn’t really advance the overall plot very much. I can only recommend this book if you are a diehard fan of the series, or if you are the type of person who has to read every book for completeness sake. (I would say that you wouldn’t be missing very much by not reading it at all.)
There is also a great deal of fan service, and several of the formerly strong female characters seem to lose about twenty I.Q. points each during the course of the story. (In other words, I don’t like what Gannon did with their characterization. I also didn’t really like the characterization of the male characters, who appear to have gained several overbearing machismo points.)
Let me explain what I mean by fan service. The opening scene features Sharon leaning over a radio operator, her boobs pressing into his back. I was extremely underwhelmed by this scene and the way she was described. Gannon tends to describe female characters in an overtly sexualized manner that made me extremely uncomfortable. As another example, a guard is making frequent visits as a chance to ogle Giovanna. Frank does not blame the guy, as his wife is very sexy. There are also some really awkward jokes about how “loud” Giovanna and Frank are. Sharon and Ruy, the other pair of romantic leads also get a great deal of sex jokes. (Which I might have been okay with if the jokes were actually funny and not detrimental to the narrative.)
This book tries very hard to be funny when it should be serious. When it tries to be serious, it is kind of boring. There is a point where characters speak in pig Latin to disguise their conversation, and the Wrecking Crew are foiled by a sudden bout of complete incompetence. There is an attempt to escape foiled by someone leaving a soup trail. There are also some really horrible written accents and Frank Stone writing Lord of the Rings fan fiction that is actually some kind of code or something.
The Papal Stakes is not one of the better books in the series. It falls flat in many respects and doesn’t really advance the overall plot very much. I can only recommend this book if you are a diehard fan of the series, or if you are the type of person who has to read every book for completeness sake. (I would say that you wouldn’t be missing very much by not reading it at all.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2012
Part of the ongoing series starting with 1632. This would not be a good entry point for the series. Very little of the backstory is given and some knowledge of who the characters are is assumed. (I would recommend starting with 1632 for general understanding of the setting. The story in this book is a direct sequel to 1635: Cannon Law (which follows 1634: The Galileo Affair).
This was a very action-oriented book. The bulk of it was describing rescue plans or defensive actions. If I hadn't already read the other books in the series I would have come away with the feeling that the only contributions made by the up-timers were
1) religious tolerance, and
2) better weapons.
I did like the discussions about how the time-travel issue would impact the Catholic Church: Since the uptimers brought documentation of "future" papal rulings, would those rulings be binding on the Church of the 1600's? The characters discussing this issue brought very thought-provoking arguments to the discussion.
Unfortunately, this portion of the book was overwhelmed by which guns were used by which characters and whether the down-time soldiers and mercenaries could adapt to using up-time weaponry and tactics.
I also appreciated the involvement of xuetas, Jews who had nominally converted to Christianity to avoid the Spanish Inquisition. That part of history isn't as widely known, so kudos to the authors for including it.
This was a very action-oriented book. The bulk of it was describing rescue plans or defensive actions. If I hadn't already read the other books in the series I would have come away with the feeling that the only contributions made by the up-timers were
1) religious tolerance, and
2) better weapons.
I did like the discussions about how the time-travel issue would impact the Catholic Church: Since the uptimers brought documentation of "future" papal rulings, would those rulings be binding on the Church of the 1600's? The characters discussing this issue brought very thought-provoking arguments to the discussion.
Unfortunately, this portion of the book was overwhelmed by which guns were used by which characters and whether the down-time soldiers and mercenaries could adapt to using up-time weaponry and tactics.
I also appreciated the involvement of xuetas, Jews who had nominally converted to Christianity to avoid the Spanish Inquisition. That part of history isn't as widely known, so kudos to the authors for including it.
October 11, 2012
I'll be honest, there was more than one occasion when I was ready to put this book aside and walk away. It was slow and plodding for the first half, then got interesting enough to give it a few more chapters, and then accelerated into an action extravaganza before it ...
SPOILERS
Became less interesting than a vice presidential debate involving a third party candidate. Did we really need chapters devoted entirely to philosophical debate, where the only "color" was a 60-something Spainard pawing his 25 year old wife?
Admittedly,it's a book about upheavals in the Catholic church, but I've never found a book so successful at sending me back to sleep. Just a few pages of this one and I was back out
Had I not already bought another book in this series, this might well have been the last volume I was willing to read.
SPOILERS
Became less interesting than a vice presidential debate involving a third party candidate. Did we really need chapters devoted entirely to philosophical debate, where the only "color" was a 60-something Spainard pawing his 25 year old wife?
Admittedly,it's a book about upheavals in the Catholic church, but I've never found a book so successful at sending me back to sleep. Just a few pages of this one and I was back out
Had I not already bought another book in this series, this might well have been the last volume I was willing to read.
December 27, 2020
2018 re-read: Very good, multi layered plots, and a lot of action.
June 23, 2018
Good story! Action packed! Farewell to allies and good friends!
April 28, 2016
A strong third part of the Catholic Church story Arc in the 1632 universe. In this book we see the return of strong Characters like Frank Stone and Ruy Sanchez, who always will be entertaining, to this tale of intrigue. Also you see the entrance of a strong antagonist in Don Pedro who is a competent and interesting opponent with plans of his own. All other characters brought in are also really enjoyable. The plot is thrilling with no real awkward moments in the read. The story is well written with a thrilling climax and mind bending conclusion. The environment in this universe is still amazing with a realistic feel to this altered world. I'll recommend this to people who love a good adventure with plots, assassins and great escapes galore. Happily add this to my shelf and looking forward to the next appearance of this story arc.
August 8, 2013
Always a good romp. As much as it bugs me that it's about as jingoisttic and everything works-out-fine-in-the-end-if-we-all-just-work-together a book as it can get I don't care and I wouldn't want them any other way. I also appreciate that the catholic characters both up-time and down-time are presented as individuals instead of universally evil. Also excited to see a non-evil Spaniard (other than Feelthy Sanchez (who I love more than I should ever love a fictional man))
January 26, 2013
One of the better recent reads in the 1632-series. Plenty of action and some interesting ecclesiastical content, if you're in to that sort of thing. The story was a bit too predictable and some of the language used to describe characters and character actions is getting repetitive in the series. Still a worthwhile jaunt if you are in to this alternate universe/alternate history series.
November 2, 2012
I eagerly bought this book and completely expected to love it.
And there are parts that are EXCELLENT. But much of the book is
in depth backstage gossiping, uninteresting and drawn-out planning, and
basically boring bits. I was glad the book was done.
And there are parts that are EXCELLENT. But much of the book is
in depth backstage gossiping, uninteresting and drawn-out planning, and
basically boring bits. I was glad the book was done.
July 5, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable.
The price point on the remaining books is too high for me. The high price point coupled with a few really poorly written episodes has led to me dropping this series.
The price point on the remaining books is too high for me. The high price point coupled with a few really poorly written episodes has led to me dropping this series.
January 13, 2020
This novel follows directly on 1635: The Cannon Law, and is fundamentally the reaction to those events. As I've often said, human behavior and human culture is malleable -- that is the strength that made humanity the dominant species on this planet -- but it is not infinitely so. The explosive change that has resulted from the sudden transplantation of a late-twentieth-century West Virginia mining town to Germany in the midst of the Thirty Years War is simply too much for some people. Among them were the Spanish Crown and a segment of the Catholic hierarchy, and they are quite willing to use force to put things back the old way.
Cardinal Borja (a relation of the infamous Borgia popes of the previous century) has deposed Pope Urban VIII and sent him into hiding, along with those of his cardinals who escaped the would-be anitpope's bloodthirsty purge of the Sacred College. Now the pope in exile must sort out the implications of Vatican II in his present, and the proper course of action in finding a safe place to take refuge until Borja and his cronies can be put down and the Vatican made safe again.
And then there is the problem of Frank Stone and his lovely (and pregnant) wife Giovanna, who were taken captive during the coup in Rome. A problem Harry Lefferts thinks he and his Wrecking Crew can solve. But like Ken in Michael Z Williamson's The Weapon, he's become overconfident, and learns a bitter and brutal lesson about the dangers of that. A lesson that will cost him dearly, in the blood of his own, but he will come out stronger for it.
And yes, the storyline does continue in 1636: The Vatican Sanction
Cardinal Borja (a relation of the infamous Borgia popes of the previous century) has deposed Pope Urban VIII and sent him into hiding, along with those of his cardinals who escaped the would-be anitpope's bloodthirsty purge of the Sacred College. Now the pope in exile must sort out the implications of Vatican II in his present, and the proper course of action in finding a safe place to take refuge until Borja and his cronies can be put down and the Vatican made safe again.
And then there is the problem of Frank Stone and his lovely (and pregnant) wife Giovanna, who were taken captive during the coup in Rome. A problem Harry Lefferts thinks he and his Wrecking Crew can solve. But like Ken in Michael Z Williamson's The Weapon, he's become overconfident, and learns a bitter and brutal lesson about the dangers of that. A lesson that will cost him dearly, in the blood of his own, but he will come out stronger for it.
And yes, the storyline does continue in 1636: The Vatican Sanction
August 11, 2023
I can only give this two stars. I made it about halfway through the book then took a break to read something else. The plot starts off promising enough, but it begins to drag in the middle before finally picking up at the very end.
The majority of the plot seemed to me like a retread of 1635: A Parcel of Rogues. Specifically, the attempts led by Harry Lefferts to rescue Frank and Giovanna Stone were similar to the plot in “Rogues,” which involved Lefferts attempting to rescue the USE embassy from the Tower of London. Also, the character arc of Don Vicente in this book mirrors the character arc of Thomas Wentworth in “Rogues.” I understand “Rogues” was published after “The Papal Stakes,” but chronologically takes place before it. So I read “Rogues” months before reading 1635: The Cannon Law, which leads directly into “Stakes.”
The previous 2 books in this thread (1634: The Galileo Affair & 1635: The Cannon Law) were co-authored with Andrew Dennis, but for this one Charles Gannon fills in. I’m not familiar with Gannon’s work, nothing against him, but after reading this I wished Dennis had been able to stay on. There’s a different feel to this book, the prose and text aren’t quite the same compared to the previous entries. The characters feel like themselves in broad strokes, but slightly off in certain parts.
Overall this one was a miss, in a series that has mostly hits. Hoping the next one will be better.
The majority of the plot seemed to me like a retread of 1635: A Parcel of Rogues. Specifically, the attempts led by Harry Lefferts to rescue Frank and Giovanna Stone were similar to the plot in “Rogues,” which involved Lefferts attempting to rescue the USE embassy from the Tower of London. Also, the character arc of Don Vicente in this book mirrors the character arc of Thomas Wentworth in “Rogues.” I understand “Rogues” was published after “The Papal Stakes,” but chronologically takes place before it. So I read “Rogues” months before reading 1635: The Cannon Law, which leads directly into “Stakes.”
The previous 2 books in this thread (1634: The Galileo Affair & 1635: The Cannon Law) were co-authored with Andrew Dennis, but for this one Charles Gannon fills in. I’m not familiar with Gannon’s work, nothing against him, but after reading this I wished Dennis had been able to stay on. There’s a different feel to this book, the prose and text aren’t quite the same compared to the previous entries. The characters feel like themselves in broad strokes, but slightly off in certain parts.
Overall this one was a miss, in a series that has mostly hits. Hoping the next one will be better.
March 1, 2024
This is the third book in the arc dealing with the Uptimers in Italy and the fate of the Catholic Church. Galileo Affair starts out with... well... the Galileo Affair. And also there was that foiled assassination attempt on Pope and nurse/ambassador Sharon Nichols falling in love with a guy older than her dad.
In Cannon Law, one of the uptimers, Frank Stone, with his newlywed bride start up a CoC/pizza parlor in Rome, Sharon marries "Feelthy Sanchez," and then Cardinal Borgia ruins everyone's day by taking over the city, killing more than a dozen other Cardinals, and declaring himself the new pope.
Here in the Papal Stakes, Harry Lefferts and his wrecking crew are in town to save Frank Stone and his pregnant bride. Sharon Nichols is leading to protect the legitimate Pope from Borgia's assassins until they can get him out of town. But does he even want to skip town? And is it possible that Lefferts and Co. have finally met their match? Bullets fly and the body count piles up at the end of this book, but there's a lot of plot, preparation, philosophy, and pontificating that must happen. For those who prefer middle grade books like Hunger Games, Twilight, or Harry Potter, this part probably isn't for you and you will get bored waiting for "real stuff" to happen. For those who enjoy real fiction, this book is definitely a worthy entry into the Ring of Fire series.
In Cannon Law, one of the uptimers, Frank Stone, with his newlywed bride start up a CoC/pizza parlor in Rome, Sharon marries "Feelthy Sanchez," and then Cardinal Borgia ruins everyone's day by taking over the city, killing more than a dozen other Cardinals, and declaring himself the new pope.
Here in the Papal Stakes, Harry Lefferts and his wrecking crew are in town to save Frank Stone and his pregnant bride. Sharon Nichols is leading to protect the legitimate Pope from Borgia's assassins until they can get him out of town. But does he even want to skip town? And is it possible that Lefferts and Co. have finally met their match? Bullets fly and the body count piles up at the end of this book, but there's a lot of plot, preparation, philosophy, and pontificating that must happen. For those who prefer middle grade books like Hunger Games, Twilight, or Harry Potter, this part probably isn't for you and you will get bored waiting for "real stuff" to happen. For those who enjoy real fiction, this book is definitely a worthy entry into the Ring of Fire series.
April 21, 2021
Springtime in the Eternal City, 1635--3 years after the dislocated 1999 West Virginia town of Grantville arrived in the 17th century. Political activists uptimer Frank Stone and his pregnant downtime wife, Giovanna are in the clutches of would-be Pope Cardinal Borgia, with the true Pope Urban VII on the run together with the targeted embassy of uptime Ambassador Sharon Nichols and her swashbuckling downtime husband, Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz, and a few surviving cardinals. Special rescue ops including Harry Lefferts and his infamous Wrecking Crew converge on Rome to extract Frank and Gia while an uptime airplane is on its way to spirit the Pope to safety before Borja's assassins can find him. Then everything goes wrong. Now, whether they are prisoners in Rome or renegades protecting a pope on the run, the Grantville natives must combine forces with the Irish Wild Geese under Red Hugh O'Neill to foil Cardinal Borja and rescue the Pope and the captives.
January 29, 2018
This picks up a few days after Cannon Law. The Pope is fleeing and the young Stone family is hostages with the Borjas (Borgias).
This is around the 15th book in the series and there has only been a few years. At this story tempo we will never get further than 1640 which would be a pity because this world building is fascinating. The story telling isn't great and the characters are two dimensional but the history lesson makes it worth it. Though I wonder how confusing it would be to read this if you studied history at the same time. Would you vecome unsure what was fiction and what (probably) happened for real?
I'm giving the book 3 stars but it is not strong 3 stars. The end is better than the beginning.
There doesn't seem to be a followup yet to this story arc. Maybe there will never be one.
This is around the 15th book in the series and there has only been a few years. At this story tempo we will never get further than 1640 which would be a pity because this world building is fascinating. The story telling isn't great and the characters are two dimensional but the history lesson makes it worth it. Though I wonder how confusing it would be to read this if you studied history at the same time. Would you vecome unsure what was fiction and what (probably) happened for real?
I'm giving the book 3 stars but it is not strong 3 stars. The end is better than the beginning.
There doesn't seem to be a followup yet to this story arc. Maybe there will never be one.
June 13, 2017
The best part of this book in the ROF series was the info regarding the Catholic Church. I really enjoyed the dialogue/debate between the downtime and uptime Cardinals as to how the Church should handle religious freedom, especially given our current world politics regarding the same issue.
Of course, the continued adventures of Harry Lefferts' Wrecking Crew and the imprisonment of Frank and Giovanna Stone ramped up the action in this book as well, and the twists and turns of the two concurrent sagas allowed for short periods of calm between all the action cycles.
This is one of my favorite stories in the series...
Of course, the continued adventures of Harry Lefferts' Wrecking Crew and the imprisonment of Frank and Giovanna Stone ramped up the action in this book as well, and the twists and turns of the two concurrent sagas allowed for short periods of calm between all the action cycles.
This is one of my favorite stories in the series...
May 1, 2018
This was a tough one to read simply because the hand-writing was on the wall and, as foreshadowed, high costs were paid - not only soldiers but innocents were slain. The story felt more authentic and poignant because of it. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing the consequences play out.
October 6, 2017
There were some really good parts of the book and some really slow parts. Some of the characters really developed and others just meandered. For the most part, this book was a solid contribution to the series.
June 30, 2019
Your Plan Will Always Change When It Meets Reality. We are back in Italy the Pope is on the run, Frank Stone and his wife are being held. This story has action with lots of deep meanings. Highly recommended.
May 12, 2021
Currently rereading the series - not the best book in the series (IMHO) - and is boring in places and in others the disposal of the 'canon fodder' gets unpleasant - but violent times.
I enjoy the characters, and the series in general - the blend of history/fiction and technology/characterisation and the development of society but in this case (and its a book I have read -about 10 years ago- before but didn't remember more than the basic outline) I struggled.
I enjoy the characters, and the series in general - the blend of history/fiction and technology/characterisation and the development of society but in this case (and its a book I have read -about 10 years ago- before but didn't remember more than the basic outline) I struggled.
May 16, 2018
This is a good one, but a bit odd. I really enjoyed the papal debates at the heart of the book, and lots of action of course, but perhaps a few less daring raids for the next book eh?
July 27, 2019
Story is continuing at a good pace and is a fun read.
February 1, 2020
Must read this one.
Literally could not put it down. Significant overall plot advances; action narrow escapes, plot twists and plain good writing! Enjoy.
Literally could not put it down. Significant overall plot advances; action narrow escapes, plot twists and plain good writing! Enjoy.
October 30, 2023
Church history and the implications of Vatican Two were surprisingly intriguing. Another exciting saga in the Ring of Fire.
April 21, 2024
One of the most focused books in the series, especially considering its length. 2 plotlines and we keep with them all the way. Great action scenes for the climax.
August 12, 2024
This has been my favorite book of the series I think, one of the longer ones but the plot benefited from the extra length.
August 2, 2014
1635: Papal Stakes is one of the many novels in the Assiti Shards (1632 Universe) series. This story follows directly after the events of 1635: Cannon Law.
As is typical of books in this series, there are multiple antagonists. It also features lots of action, dastardly deeds, political intrigue, and more than one do-or-die situations. This one differs in that it includes a theological debate sponsored by Pope Urban VII. That debate is integral to this book's story and I think it is also setting up the basis for plots in future books. What's a Pope-on-the-run to do?
Those who have read earlier books will be happy to learn that Harry Lefferts and his Wrecking Crew have another rescue to pull off. But this time things don't go all their way. The life of a hero can be hard.
Well written and suspenseful historical drama -- recommended for fans of the series.
As is typical of books in this series, there are multiple antagonists. It also features lots of action, dastardly deeds, political intrigue, and more than one do-or-die situations. This one differs in that it includes a theological debate sponsored by Pope Urban VII. That debate is integral to this book's story and I think it is also setting up the basis for plots in future books. What's a Pope-on-the-run to do?
Those who have read earlier books will be happy to learn that Harry Lefferts and his Wrecking Crew have another rescue to pull off. But this time things don't go all their way. The life of a hero can be hard.
Well written and suspenseful historical drama -- recommended for fans of the series.
September 18, 2024
"1635: Papal Stakes" is another great offering from Eric Flint et all. This book is the sequel to one of the other Papal books in this series. This series ranges all across Europe and the world.
The Story: The Pope has left Rome after the coup, and his rival becomes the interim Pope. So now there are two Popes. (This has actually happened in the past.) The United States of Europe is trying to protect the Pope from assassination and a rescue attempt is in the works for Frank Stone and his pregnant wife, Giovanna.
Note: This book contains a serious discussion about religion and what would happen to religious thought if religious leaders could read the rulings of their future successors. Would those future rulings apply to the religious leaders of the past? It is an interesting and detailed discussion. If you don't like detailed religious discussions, then I suppose you could flip past those sections.
Regardless, it's a good religious debate held in a respectful and serious manner.
Also lots of action.
I'd read this book again.
The Story: The Pope has left Rome after the coup, and his rival becomes the interim Pope. So now there are two Popes. (This has actually happened in the past.) The United States of Europe is trying to protect the Pope from assassination and a rescue attempt is in the works for Frank Stone and his pregnant wife, Giovanna.
Note: This book contains a serious discussion about religion and what would happen to religious thought if religious leaders could read the rulings of their future successors. Would those future rulings apply to the religious leaders of the past? It is an interesting and detailed discussion. If you don't like detailed religious discussions, then I suppose you could flip past those sections.
Regardless, it's a good religious debate held in a respectful and serious manner.
Also lots of action.
I'd read this book again.
November 26, 2013
Hadn't read one of these in a while. Another saga in the Ring of Fire universe. The Ring of Fire universe is a pretty far fetched place, but the stories so far have been entertaining. An extra terrestrial piece of art takes a slice of present day West Virginia and plunks it down in Saxony in the 1600's. "1635 The Papal Stakes" is another in the series. The bad guys are Spanish and just as diabolical as the French. The good guys, the West Virginians and their friends, are trying to keep the Pope out of the hands of the Spanish. The Pope has issues dealing with the protestants of the United States of Europe. It's an ensemble book with lots of good characters and the tension of modern day sensibilities meeting hard up on 17th century morals. Looks like I'm a biut behind on this series. I'll need to catch up.
May 15, 2013
This series continues to deliver.
The book includes plenty of action to satify anyone's desires, but mixs up the action with thoughtful moments.
The schemes involving Pope Urban VIII are excellent the dabating skills of the two cardinals are suberbly illustrated.
At the other end of the spectrum who see that Harry and the Wrecking Crew can be defeated but with the help of strong allies come back stronger than ever.
The scenes at the end with two climatic battles going on simultaneously in Mallorca and Italy are well written and believeable. The good guys win both and set up further books in the series. long may Eric Flint and his collaborators continue to provide such interesting books.
The book includes plenty of action to satify anyone's desires, but mixs up the action with thoughtful moments.
The schemes involving Pope Urban VIII are excellent the dabating skills of the two cardinals are suberbly illustrated.
At the other end of the spectrum who see that Harry and the Wrecking Crew can be defeated but with the help of strong allies come back stronger than ever.
The scenes at the end with two climatic battles going on simultaneously in Mallorca and Italy are well written and believeable. The good guys win both and set up further books in the series. long may Eric Flint and his collaborators continue to provide such interesting books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews