1634: The Galileo Affair

Assiti Shards #3

by Eric Flint

The Thirty Years War continues to ravage 17th century Europe, but a new force is gathering power and influence: the Confederated Principalities of Europe, an alliance between Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and the West Virginians from the 20th century led by Mike Stearns who were hurled centuries into the past by a mysterious cosmic accident. The democratic ideals of the CPE have aroused the implacable hostility of Cardinal Richelieu, effective ruler of France, who has moved behind the scenes, making common cause with old enemies to stop this new threat to the privileged and powerful. But the CPE is also working in secret. A group of West Virginians have secretly traveled to Venice where their advanced medical knowledge may prevent the recurrence of the terrible plague which recently killed a third of the city-state's population. At the same time, the group hopes to establish commercial ties with Turkey's Ottoman Empire, then at the height of its power. And, most important, they hope to establish private diplomatic ties with the Vatican, exploiting Pope Urban VIII's misgivings about the actions of Richelieu and the Hapsburgs. But a Venetian artisan involved with the West Virginians may cause all their plans to come to naught. Having read 20th century history books of the period, he has become determined to rescue Galileo from his trial for heresy. The Americans are divided on whether to help him or stop him—and whether he succeeds or fails, the results may be catastrophic for the CPE.

Genres: Alternate History, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Historical

675 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2004

About the author

Eric 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.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great read from a great series. 2018 re-read: In this novel, we get to meet, and absorb new characters, and bit players to date become far more developed. Quite worthwhile.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series continues to be great fun -- it's combination of science fiction and historical novel. The intrepid West Virginians from the year 2000 are continuing to be mighty change agents in 1630s Europe. This time their Swedish/German confederation, "United States of Europe", is reaching out to Venice, as a possible trading partner and ally. They send medical and diplomatic emissaries to Venice and somehow the young folks get mixed up with a Venetian group who want to set off to Rome, to have read the history books and want to rescue Galileo from his trial in Rome.

Doesn't turn out as expected and the heroes are not the expected characters in history either.

Main complaint with this book, as with others in the series (although it seems worse in this one) is too much inconsequential detail, too many words. Book needed a good editor. Maybe if I had been reading it, I could have skimmed but listening as an audiobook means one is stuck with every word.

[Ramsey Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this 5 stars because of enjoyment alone. Was it the best book ever written? No, but I did have a blast readinging it.

Great moments of young love and interesting theology. Good characters that don't get a lot of page time in the main part of the series. Also cool looks at medical tech and tactics.

It's a lot of fun.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to give very high praise to this particular entry. After reading so many novels in the series, it's nice to take the story out of the usual environs and away, mostly, from the usual suspects. Having this fun little adventure with the Stone boys on one side, and Father Mazzare on the other, way off in Italy, was a breath of fresh air that I usually on see when reading the books of collected short stories. Otherwise, it's almost always the same bunch, which is fine. I love the large main cast we have going on. A good long break like this is just what the doctor ordered though. So yeah, not much of a review like I do with other books, but in the middle of a series it's hard to make a long one without rehashing, and maybe even spoiling the story. Besides, I figure anyone reading this review probably already has a vested interest in continuing, unless they aren't enjoying the series much, to which I'd wonder how they got this far to begin with, hehe. I'll just say that I still think it's a great series, and that this is a great entry in said series. Well worth the time taken to read it.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not a commute book - this was a "hanging around the house" book. Because I have to save the commute books for the actual commute, of course, but sometimes I feel like reading when I'm home. 1634:The Galileo Affair lasted me a looooong time. It's been on my currently-reading list for as long as I've been on GoodReads, and I started it well before that. It had a Spider-Man 3 ticket stub for a bookmark, so at least that long ago.

The Galileo Affair is a prime example of one of the risks run in reading genre series: diminishing returns. It's the third book in a series, one begun by (appropriately enough) 1632 and 1633. I liked both of those books a lot, but things started going downhill fast at this point. The earlier books had no subtitles after the year, but this one did, because at this point the series creators decided to expand their storytelling universe. Which really hurt, in my opinion.

Here's the basics of this crazy sci-fi concept: one day a cosmic accident transports an entire West Virginia town and its residents from the year 1999 back in time to the year 1632, and also through space to the middle of Europe. 1632 is basically about a bunch of rednecks with guns and trucks fighting to stay alive when trapped between the swords-n-horses armies fighting the Thirty Years War in Europe. It was a fun action romp and ended with the displaced WV town of Grantville declaring itself an independent nation and forging an alliance with Sweden. 1633 picks up the next year with some epic battles between the alliance of Sweden and the USE (United States of Europe) and other European armies, including exchanges of bullets and cannonballs between salvaged airplanes and sailing armadas. Again, good bloody fun.

I guess after that the authors decided that the best way to keep the franchise alive was to branch out. So they started putting out multiple novels for 1634, one taking place in England, one in Austria, and The Galileo Affair in Italy. And open warfare couldn't continue forever, so now the novels are all about intrigue and political schemes and religion and science. These are all valid avenues to explore with regards to the influence of 20th century American refugess on 17th century Europe, but just didn't grab me the same way the war stories of the first two books did. I could read a couple of pages before zoning out, and then set the book aside for weeks at a time.

So, I won't be picking up any other 1634 books (or 1635, for that matter). They had me, but they lost me.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the disappointment of 'The Bavarian Crisis,' 'The Galileo Affair' gets the 1632 Universe back on track.

'1634: The Galileo Affair' begins with the good people of Grantville, a West Virginia town teleported to 1632 Germany, sending an ambassadorial delegation to Venice. If you're wondering about the tone of a novel with such a premise, be advised that the Ambassador is Frank Stoner. Stoner's an old hippie and an experience marijuana cultivator. Stoner? Get it?

If you find that joke to amusing, then you're in for a treat. It isn't long before Stoner's three sons get roped into a harebrained scheme to save Galileo from the Inquisition. The schemers, a collection of hotheads and goofballs, are played for laughs - as are many of the rest of the characters in this novel.

But that's ok. We also get swordfights, papal intrigue, a couple of sweet romances, and even a big wedding at the end. In other worlds, 'The Galileo Affair' is a comedy. It's charming, it makes good use of its research, and it moves the greater saga along. In fact, 'The Galileo Affair' has restored my confidence in the '1632' series. I'll be around for the next volume.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even tho I skimmed sections of the story, I enjoyed it! Great story line with the Pope and Galileo!

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

"1634: The Galileo Affair" is book 3 of the Ring of Fire series (or Assiti Shards) by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. I liked it a lot but it's not as good as the previous two books. It is also somewhat lighter although the series is light enough as it is.

The story: The United States of Europe which includes the West Virginia town of Grantville (that was transported back in time to the 1600s) is sending a delegation to Venice to build up a pharmaceutical industry but Cardinal Richelieu of France continues to scheme and there is the little problem of the trial of Galileo.

Any problems with the story? Well... as one can imagine, when history books written in the future come to the past and are read, the people involved will know their fates and try to change them, or bring them about more quickly, etc. Others will be moved more to stop them from happening, etc. So history, at this point, is all goofed up. Don't depend on learning much about history here. The authors do a good job of humanizing the historical characters except for Galileo. He seems one-dimensional but that doesn't take away from the rest of the story.

Note: The author points out that the modern day perception of the trial of Galileo is exaggerated and we tend to gloss over the monumental errors of Galileo. He was also a butthead to his colleagues, so no wonder they testified against him. I think the author had that mostly right. We also tend to misperceive the Catholic Church of the time. Granted, it wasn't a lot of laughs being a Catholic. On the other hand, being a Protestant was not much better in terms of living a peaceful existence either.

FYI, I am Jewish. We were hosed either way.

Any modesty issues? There was cursing. There was premarital sex, but if you have read the previous novels you already know this. Violence was not as great as in the other novels, but it did happen.

And... foolish teenagers with raging hormones added a comic sense to the proceedings. It makes one cringe that we put weapons into the hands of young men of this age, but then again, these boys hadn't gone through boot camp either. They lacked a certain discipline and they were, after all, the children of weed-addled hippies.

So... a good time was had by all. I liked it and I would read it again.

PS... Assiti Shards is the idea that an alien race (now extinct) had messed with the universe so that parts of Earth (such as the city of Grantville) goes through a time shift and is dumped into the middle of the 30 Years War of the 1630s. I prefer calling the series the "Ring of Fire" since the characters in the book refer to the event that way and it makes sense to me after reading the first book.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 5 out of 5]

1634: THE GALILEO AFFAIR, by Eric Flint writing with new partner Andrew Dennis, is a blithe theological romp. When the contents of the personal theological library of Father Mazzare, parish priest of the 20th-century West Virginia town bounced back in time to 17th-century Germany, are communicated to Rome by Monsignor [later Cardinal] Mazarin, Pope Urban VIII and Jesuit Father-General Muzio Vitelleschi summon Father Mazzare to Rome. To capitalize on the summons, United States of Europe President Mike Stearns appoints Father Mazzare as ambassador to Italy, asking him to travel with ex-hippie Tom Stone to Venice to set up a pharmacological trade. Accompanying the priest and the now-druggist are Nurse Sharon Nichols, Tom Stone’s family, and Methodist minister Simon Jones. Since Magda Stone is determined to negotiate the best possible deal for the Lothlorien Farbenwerke, while the three teenage Stone boys, looking for adventure, pack armaments & explosives in their luggage, things become pretty lively. Upon arriving in Venice, Frank, Gerry & Ron [or Faramir, Gwaihir & Elrond] become involved in a plot by the local Committee of Correspondence to rescue Galileo from the Inquisition (a plot organized, unfortunately, by a spy for Cardinal Richelieu). Meanwhile Sharon Nichols is romanced by Ruy Sanchez de Casador y Ortiz, assistant to the Spanish ambassador (and the prototype for THE PRINCESS BRIDE’s Inigo Montoya). All roads lead to Rome, and the ensuing encounter (at an assassination attempt on Pope Urban) is a hilarious catastrophe worthy of Mack Sennett. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 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.

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Starting off as one of the more tedious offerings of the series the novel does pick up considerably in the second half, even building up some serious suspense. Title and cover are somewhat misleading, but that is not so bad. What's more irksome is that the series really doesn't expand its representation. Yes, it was written in the earlyy 2000s, but would it kill the authors to have a handicapped or queer person in this? We do finally get some more black representation with Sharon Nichols, but it is also a bit fraught with her being pursued for her exoticism - or so it seems at first. The Italian Buster Keaton troupe of mechanics / revolutionaries don't help in this regard.

Really the only memorable "up-timers" are the saintly priest and the not-much less saintly Hippie pharmacist. The "down-timers" are generally better represented with some double- (or even triple-) faced conspirators, clever and not so clever clergy, diplomats and one memorable Quixotic old swashbuckler.

Really had to work to get through the first half (long train rides help), but the second half almost made up for it with the plot-turns and some hilarious schemes. Hope the series will improve, though.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been making my way through the first volumes of the "Ring of Fire" series this year. Overall, its been a pretty enjoyable experience. I usually find the short story collections a bit better overall than the full novels but I have to say that I really enjoyed "1634: The Galileo Affair" by Eric Flint and Andrew Denis. The story starts what is the Italian line of the series and its features two of my favorite characters: Father Larry Mazarre and Tom Stone the hippie / pharmaceutical magnate. I have loved many of the theological discussions in the Ring of Fire and Father Larry's dilemma as a post Vatican-II Catholic priest in Counter-Reformation Europe some of the more interesting explorations in the series. What makes this novel work is that it is tightly written, keeps its focus, and its genuinely funny and moving in parts. It is cut above the other volumes in the series I've read so far and I am excited to see where the next volumes in this leg of the series go.

[Fuzzy John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting sequel to "1632" and "1633", but has its flaws. It's interesting to see how knowledge of a future that isn't going to happen can change an alternative timeline. The book is marred, however, by a jarring focus, and re-focus, and re-focus, and ... jeez marie, how many times can I stand it, on the aching gonads of one of the young lads in the book, and his juvenile yearnings toward getting laid, the protectiveness of the young lady's family, and on and bloody on. Half the book could have been left on the cutting room floor and not been missed. The other half is quite good.

[Dan Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as strong as the previous three. The weak characters are given the spotlight in this one, and the whole book plays out as an "away game" with occaisional cut-away scenes back in Grantville. Grantville and the politics / characters there are the best part of the series, so this whole novel just felt like a pointless digression. I figure the next few books in the series will likewise focus on small away missions, I hope more succesfully than this one. The love interest sub-plot was well worth skipping over.

[Winston Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of the 1632 series that I've always been the least interested in was the religious conflict aspect, so large parts of this book weren't that interesting. Also, in a similar way to the Ram Rebellion, the book spends a significant portion of its time featuring characters that should really be in the margins of the story.

The last third of the book picks up dramatically and becomes significantly more interesting, but it was hard work to get there.

[Marshall Rabhartaigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gah! The afterword certainly reveals the writing by committee of the book; certain threads (Mazzare and company, especially Lennox) were very fine, others (the Stone boys and their adventures) were absurd, tedious, overlong. Why certain of the authors feel compelled to elaborate on the hormonal vagaries of a young man in love at such length, as though they wanted alien visitors to understand it, is beyond me. Certainly the poorest of a generally enjoyable series.

[Varin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was spoiled by the previous books I had read. They were so much better. The guy writing as a collaborator is not a strong writer. It took over a hundred pages for them to find the characters and plot. Once it got moving, it was fine. Not a book I'm recommending to anyone who isn't a fan of the series.

[Aaron Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not horrible, but not terribly great. Basically everything with Stoner's kids feel pretty ridiculous and tedious both. I don't care to read over and over about how hormones and needing to act macho in front of your girlfriend turns teenagers brains to mush. Really. If they'd basically cut that plot thread out, or done it differently, the book would have been a lot better.

[Kristoffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining, but the Stone boys are idiots. The ones who aren't Frank are especially dumb because they seem to have nothing actually motivating their stupid actions. The whole plot line involving them is just annoying in my opinion. The rest of the book was pretty good though. This book deserves maybe three and one half stars.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series started very strong but with the larger number of characters and added storylines this book is getting tedious to follow, There are lots of great parts but at times I feel that the pages were just thrown together in any order and maybe even a few stories just lost. I still prefer this book to no book but I am not enjoying it as much as I did the first book. This was a Good Read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok informationally, but boy was it a slog. A lot of worrying about theological implications of a modern day Catholic Church's impact on the 17th century Catholic Church, which is only distantly academically interesting. Frankly, a lot of talking, not much going on.

[Bobscopatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, this has been my least favorite of the series, but I do like it still. There's some interesting stuff, to be sure, and it's well written. It's just a little sillier than the previous titles were. Still, it kept me interested and it was a darn fast read. I'm totally hooked on the series.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it primarily to set up the next two books in the series. This one was way too talky for me. The plot was kind of dumb, although the characters are pretty engaging. Just not enough going on for my taste.

[Ronald Vasicek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. Did not finishit.

[Fritz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first in the series: 1632 and liked it, but I just couldn't get into this book. There wasn't much of a plot and any historical information was buried in too many words.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't care- just reading it for continuities sake.

--

Really slow and boring.

[Samuel Lubell]

Below average entry in the series without most of the major characters. A group of American kids thrown back in time are tricked into a plot to save Galileo, or so they think.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't like to be aware of the author. The story was good, but the writing sucks.

[Nate Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, getting less awesome as series progresses. Didn't finish it.