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Assiti Shards #8
1635: The Cannon Law
The Dark Ages Strike Back!
After a cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantsville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, the United States of Europe is forged in the fire of battle. Now Spain makes its countermove on the Enlightenment brought by the West Virginians, as Cardinal Gaspare de Borja y de Velasco sets into motion a plot to establish Spanish hegemony over the city-states of Italy and to disgrace and assassinate a pope who has been friendly to the new ideas.
But there are those — up-timers and locals alike — who are determined that the fire of sweet reason so recently lit will never again be extinguished. To do so they must summon all the willpower and political craft they can muster. For they face the Heart of Medieval Darkness Itself, an implacable foe determined to use force of imperial arms and treasonous deceit to retain its grip on power — and to be sure that life for all but the wealthy and connected remains nasty, brutish, and very short.
None of which is a surprise. You see, it's 1635. Everyone expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Alternate history master Eric Flint teams again with Andrew Dennis (1634: The Galileo Affair) in a return to war-torn Italy for the latest idea-laced thriller in Flint's massive ''Assiti Shards'' saga!
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
After a cosmic accident sets the modern West Virginia town of Grantsville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, the United States of Europe is forged in the fire of battle. Now Spain makes its countermove on the Enlightenment brought by the West Virginians, as Cardinal Gaspare de Borja y de Velasco sets into motion a plot to establish Spanish hegemony over the city-states of Italy and to disgrace and assassinate a pope who has been friendly to the new ideas.
But there are those — up-timers and locals alike — who are determined that the fire of sweet reason so recently lit will never again be extinguished. To do so they must summon all the willpower and political craft they can muster. For they face the Heart of Medieval Darkness Itself, an implacable foe determined to use force of imperial arms and treasonous deceit to retain its grip on power — and to be sure that life for all but the wealthy and connected remains nasty, brutish, and very short.
None of which is a surprise. You see, it's 1635. Everyone expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Alternate history master Eric Flint teams again with Andrew Dennis (1634: The Galileo Affair) in a return to war-torn Italy for the latest idea-laced thriller in Flint's massive ''Assiti Shards'' saga!
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
451 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2006
58 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books874 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 63 reviews
December 7, 2020
Always a joy to reread. 2018 re-read: really good - again with emphasis on 2nd string characters, yet just as good.
June 1, 2021
This series is a notoriously splintered reading affair between the mainline stories, the two anthology series and the secondary story novels that make up the reading experience for the dedicated fans. Anyone who has made it to this book through the proper, or well, suggested reading order, knows exactly how much of a pain in the ass this series really and truly is.
That said, it's books like this particular one that make it worthwhile. The story is fun, the cast known enough to us at this point to make it fun to spend time with them, and learn a bit about the ones we don't see as much. Or just to catch up with some faces we haven't seen in a while. Even the few new faces we get are quite a joy to meet and get to know for the first time.
The only shame here is that this is technically a secondary story novel so, while we got a decent ending to this particular story, it's also clear that more is going to happen that we'll need to come back for, and that is a few books away by the suggested reading order. I look forward to coming back though. This is just a great series to read when I'm not in the mood for something else, or sometimes even when I am.
That said, it's books like this particular one that make it worthwhile. The story is fun, the cast known enough to us at this point to make it fun to spend time with them, and learn a bit about the ones we don't see as much. Or just to catch up with some faces we haven't seen in a while. Even the few new faces we get are quite a joy to meet and get to know for the first time.
The only shame here is that this is technically a secondary story novel so, while we got a decent ending to this particular story, it's also clear that more is going to happen that we'll need to come back for, and that is a few books away by the suggested reading order. I look forward to coming back though. This is just a great series to read when I'm not in the mood for something else, or sometimes even when I am.
February 17, 2024
I read many of the Ring of Fire books a good decade or more back but haven't touched the series in a good long time. Honestly, I wasn't sure even what books I had and had not read in the series. When the title of all of them starts out 1634, 1635, or 1636, it is hard to keep track of.
In the book 1632, a West Virginia town called Grantville was transported back in time and place all the way to the middle of Germany right in the middle of the 30 years war. Thus begins a series of novels by multiple authors along with collections of novellas and short stories (the Grantville Gazettes) by both professional writers and fans in an ever-expanding "universe" that is the Ring of Fire series (called the Assiti Shards here on Goodreads).
The Cannon Law is technically the eighth novel in this series but you don't necessarily have to read all seven previous offerings before picking up this one. Since they all take place in different locations and contain different characters, that wouldn't truly be necessary. I would recommend reading 1632 and 1633 to get a grasp of the world. In addition, this book is pretty much a direct sequel to 1634 The Galileo Affair. If you have read those, you can enjoy this book fully. If you have not read at least those three, you will probably enjoy this book far less than you would have.
In all honesty, I love this series. The writing is good, the characterization is good enough to get invested in the protagonists. Turtledove is the most prolific alternate history writer, but Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series is by far my favorite of the type and The Cannon Law is a worthy addition.
In the book 1632, a West Virginia town called Grantville was transported back in time and place all the way to the middle of Germany right in the middle of the 30 years war. Thus begins a series of novels by multiple authors along with collections of novellas and short stories (the Grantville Gazettes) by both professional writers and fans in an ever-expanding "universe" that is the Ring of Fire series (called the Assiti Shards here on Goodreads).
The Cannon Law is technically the eighth novel in this series but you don't necessarily have to read all seven previous offerings before picking up this one. Since they all take place in different locations and contain different characters, that wouldn't truly be necessary. I would recommend reading 1632 and 1633 to get a grasp of the world. In addition, this book is pretty much a direct sequel to 1634 The Galileo Affair. If you have read those, you can enjoy this book fully. If you have not read at least those three, you will probably enjoy this book far less than you would have.
In all honesty, I love this series. The writing is good, the characterization is good enough to get invested in the protagonists. Turtledove is the most prolific alternate history writer, but Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series is by far my favorite of the type and The Cannon Law is a worthy addition.
October 19, 2020
Amazing book! A little slow at the start, but the last third of this novel kept me up way past my bedtime. Now I need to calm down.,
June 5, 2018
Ruy and Tom were awesome! Good story!
March 13, 2009
Not too bad a book. I checked it out from the library but it probably isn't one I would go out of my way to buy.
Like the rest of the series it has a mix of cliche and stereotype and stock characters. They're given a pretty good treatment and the fact that it's done by a decent author and amused fans probably helps. The plot could (and does) verge on outrageous cliche. But it's redeemed by a certain tongue in cheek good humor.
It's a fun read, and surprisingly well researched, but it's not a very serious read by any measure.
Like the rest of the series it has a mix of cliche and stereotype and stock characters. They're given a pretty good treatment and the fact that it's done by a decent author and amused fans probably helps. The plot could (and does) verge on outrageous cliche. But it's redeemed by a certain tongue in cheek good humor.
It's a fun read, and surprisingly well researched, but it's not a very serious read by any measure.
September 15, 2015
As always, the story features strong well rounded characters and a story world that is easy to imagine. But this story feels more like the first half of a book that the fully story we usually get from Eric Flint's Ring of Fire universe. I was surprised I was at the end already because it felt like we had just reached a full realization of the problem, and the reaction phase has not yet started.
August 18, 2022
It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's read my The Magic Battery and Spells of War that a novel dealing with warfare in the early modern period, enhanced by advanced technology (aka magic) would attract me. That's why I picked up 1635: The Cannon Law. However, jumping into this book without having read all the ones before it doesn't work so well. I've read a couple of other books in the series, but not the immediate predecessor. I had to do some catching up with the characters and situation.
Worse, the novel ends in a chaotic situation with almost nothing resolved. There seem to be 21 novels that come after this one chronologically. I don't have enough time to read them all.
Still, I enjoyed this novel. The credited authors are Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. Most likely Flint wrote the outline and Dennis turned it into a completed novel. The book shows a good understanding of history and presents some interesting details of 17th-century warfare. For instance, I learned that when a wooden wall stops a musket shot, the splinters from it can be almost as bad at close range as getting hit by the musket ball.
Characters with multiple points of view get their turns in the story: Italians, Spaniards, and Americans from the future. The driving force is a plot by Cardinal Borja to gain control of the papacy. The earlier novels may have had more background on him, but he's obviously a member of the family better known today by the Italianized variant Borgia.
My main complaint is with the pacing, which is rather too even for the first four-fifths. Much of the story leads up to the wedding of two important characters, which could have provided an opportunity for pageantry and celebration in a mostly grim story. The wedding goes by too quickly. At the same time, the story as a whole could have been tightened up some, leading more quickly to the critical scenes.
The last fifth, when the conflict gets serious, is the best part. It presents desperate actions and heroic defenses. Unfortunately, it ends with just about everything in a state of uncertainty. It looks as if 1635: Papal Stakes continues the story, but there are so many other things I want to read!
Worse, the novel ends in a chaotic situation with almost nothing resolved. There seem to be 21 novels that come after this one chronologically. I don't have enough time to read them all.
Still, I enjoyed this novel. The credited authors are Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. Most likely Flint wrote the outline and Dennis turned it into a completed novel. The book shows a good understanding of history and presents some interesting details of 17th-century warfare. For instance, I learned that when a wooden wall stops a musket shot, the splinters from it can be almost as bad at close range as getting hit by the musket ball.
Characters with multiple points of view get their turns in the story: Italians, Spaniards, and Americans from the future. The driving force is a plot by Cardinal Borja to gain control of the papacy. The earlier novels may have had more background on him, but he's obviously a member of the family better known today by the Italianized variant Borgia.
My main complaint is with the pacing, which is rather too even for the first four-fifths. Much of the story leads up to the wedding of two important characters, which could have provided an opportunity for pageantry and celebration in a mostly grim story. The wedding goes by too quickly. At the same time, the story as a whole could have been tightened up some, leading more quickly to the critical scenes.
The last fifth, when the conflict gets serious, is the best part. It presents desperate actions and heroic defenses. Unfortunately, it ends with just about everything in a state of uncertainty. It looks as if 1635: Papal Stakes continues the story, but there are so many other things I want to read!
December 5, 2022
Again, the characters are X for the plot to be Y.
This manifests as just about every character's deductive reasoning and actions being delusional as far as I see it. The train wreck is consistently obvious and utterly frustrating. The result being a book which drop kicked me out of immersion left, right and centre. It's in the greatest part manifest on part of the so-called good guys. The bad guys are just.. well they are caricature wicked bad people while the good guys are borderline retarded dolts.
Even main character Mike Stearns lets himself be deluded by the morons in this one. While Don Francisco Nasi is firmly used and abused by the authors for purposes of retardo plot progression and so I consider that character lost.
---SPOILERS---
It so reminds me of the build-up to the current situation with the Ukraine and Russia for the first 20 chapters of the book, or there about. Then though we get the retardation of Frank Stone.
Imagine if you will, that Volodymyr Zelenskyj had boarded up the bottom of whatever main government building he as president worked out of on a daily basis, only to then (snort) hide himself his government and his family on its second floor telling himself the following "I am no one important" "I have no possible value to the enemy".. yeah that is about what Frank does in this annoying story and other ppl tell him the same. It makes no sense whatsoever. It's one of the most deranged things I have ever read in any of the two thousand or so fictional stories I've read/listened to in my life.
Well, I guess if you got to this point in my review, you may have gleaned that I found this book more than slightly aggravating. I hereby confirm that to be so! Furthermore, I must say that I found the prior book The Galileo Affair equally bad for just about the same reasons, thus the only conclusion I have come up with, well.. as I have read and enjoyed Eric Flints works before, the issue more than likely lies with the co-author for both books, a Mister Andrew Dennis.
This manifests as just about every character's deductive reasoning and actions being delusional as far as I see it. The train wreck is consistently obvious and utterly frustrating. The result being a book which drop kicked me out of immersion left, right and centre. It's in the greatest part manifest on part of the so-called good guys. The bad guys are just.. well they are caricature wicked bad people while the good guys are borderline retarded dolts.
Even main character Mike Stearns lets himself be deluded by the morons in this one. While Don Francisco Nasi is firmly used and abused by the authors for purposes of retardo plot progression and so I consider that character lost.
---SPOILERS---
It so reminds me of the build-up to the current situation with the Ukraine and Russia for the first 20 chapters of the book, or there about. Then though we get the retardation of Frank Stone.
Imagine if you will, that Volodymyr Zelenskyj had boarded up the bottom of whatever main government building he as president worked out of on a daily basis, only to then (snort) hide himself his government and his family on its second floor telling himself the following "I am no one important" "I have no possible value to the enemy".. yeah that is about what Frank does in this annoying story and other ppl tell him the same. It makes no sense whatsoever. It's one of the most deranged things I have ever read in any of the two thousand or so fictional stories I've read/listened to in my life.
Well, I guess if you got to this point in my review, you may have gleaned that I found this book more than slightly aggravating. I hereby confirm that to be so! Furthermore, I must say that I found the prior book The Galileo Affair equally bad for just about the same reasons, thus the only conclusion I have come up with, well.. as I have read and enjoyed Eric Flints works before, the issue more than likely lies with the co-author for both books, a Mister Andrew Dennis.
August 24, 2023
3.5 Not a great book, but a fun read as far as pulp alternate history spy stories go. The pacing is good. There are some memorable characters and not all plot (but many) plot twists are obvious. Still the same problems with representation of almost everybody, but it's not quite as annoying on the level of diplomacy and espionage. Definitely a level up from the disappointing Galileo Affair.
Unrelated, but it has made me look up Quevedo, who has the best wikipedia portrait of an early modern person.
Unrelated, but it has made me look up Quevedo, who has the best wikipedia portrait of an early modern person.
August 17, 2022
I sort of liked this story well enough, but I find that the main storyline that I was hooked on at the beginning of this series sort of fell away into a sense of apathy? I loved the time travel contrast between our time and theirs and that seems to be no longer an issue? there was a story that could be followed this time so i can still say This was a good read. But as the series is done I think I was also.
September 8, 2025
This is a weird series to try and figure out how to read, because there are the main books, the short stories, and then the secondary books. This is one of the secondary books, that follows the characters from The Galileo Affair. It's interesting to see how this one will impact the rest of the books in the series, because the events were very big and far reaching.
This one is a lot about politics and church politics, but there are also lots of battles and fighting.
This one is a lot about politics and church politics, but there are also lots of battles and fighting.
July 8, 2018
Finished 01/12/2013. Another great story about the Embassy for the USE, The Citizens Committee, and a nutso Spanish Cardinal in Rome at the same time. The cardinal - Borja - is attempting to overthrow the papacy and declare himself or his puppet as pope. However essentially the whole scheme is overthrown by another Spaniard, the new husband of the USE ambassador.
February 20, 2019
Well written, but it did not have a good enough ending - there's clearly another book and as I was given this one and didn't read the first one (which wasn't as bad a problem), I felt rather as if I was stuck with the "middle" book.
It was not quite good enough to make me want to get the others, especially as book three isn't out yet. (At least, there had better be a book three...)
It was not quite good enough to make me want to get the others, especially as book three isn't out yet. (At least, there had better be a book three...)
May 20, 2017
This was a fun book. The only thing hat gets tiresome is the near constant comments from the women regarding men and vice Vera's. Some of the dialogue is stilted and there were some confusion in characters. Beyond that, the characters are fairly engaging and the plot interesting.
January 8, 2018
Italy is a mess of states, many under the control of Spain. Rome is its own though, but with a lot of unhappy Spanish cardinals after the Pope started reforming the church.
This is more or less a direct followup to 1634: The Galileo Affair with many of the same characters.
This is more or less a direct followup to 1634: The Galileo Affair with many of the same characters.
January 31, 2018
I love this series. It's full of problems, but the basic fun of the idea just keeps on going. What if? That's the real fun. This one is full of Spanish and Italian doubledealing and plotting, which in a 17th C setting is only fitting.
And the characters are just fun.
And the characters are just fun.
August 13, 2019
This novel will be welcome by those who have read the series. Hmm, what is "Assiti Shards"? Had to look that up.
It takes place in Italy when Spain attacks the Papal States. Read other books first.
It takes place in Italy when Spain attacks the Papal States. Read other books first.
August 25, 2019
A slow-burn of the usual quality, sci-fi adventure readers have to come expect from this series. Plenty of laughs and banter to be had with excellent development with previously seen characters. A great read.
April 25, 2023
Another fun entry in the 1632 series. Fun characters with great political intrigue. One critique would be that the main plot kind of arrives instead of our protagonists making it happen. But the last 100 pages go off for sure.
March 1, 2018
awesome
May 10, 2019
What's An Anti-Pope? A wedding, a baby on the way, a sack and an breakout. What more can you ask of cannon law. Maybe your King wanting your head on a stick?
August 11, 2021
Probably the best book in the series since the 1632. Lots of action and very little filler.
April 10, 2024
The book goes deeper into the Ring of Fire events and the politics entwined with religion in an alternate 17th century. It's well-paced, if a bit dense with information.
May 2, 2025
Spoiler maybe?
I liked the faster, more upbeat tempo in this one than slogging through the last couple of books. More action, less incessant dialog.
I liked the faster, more upbeat tempo in this one than slogging through the last couple of books. More action, less incessant dialog.
August 7, 2024
The South European thread of this series continues to be my favorite so far, kinda hoping it gets a conclusion but I just found out the author passed away a few years back so now I’m 😞
March 2, 2014
From Publishers Weekly
Flint and Dennis's solid follow-up to 1634: The Galileo Affair (2004), also set in Renaissance Italy, offers a deliciously Machiavellian plot. The temporally displaced modern Americans from Grantsville, W.Va., having met with a surprisingly friendly reception from Pope Urban VIII, who views with favor some of the 20th-century reforms instituted by the Holy See, run afoul of the Spanish inquisitor Cardinal Gaspar Borja y Velasco. Borja regards Urban's failure to condemn the whole lot to the stake as proof that the pope is unfit to sit on the throne of St. Peter, and believes that Spain's political and military power has earned it—and him—the right to pre-eminence. The cardinal orchestrates a campaign of dirty tricks and rabble rousing to undermine the pontiff's capable but nepotistic family. If this novel is not as rollicking as its predecessor, that may be because there really isn't anything funny about the Spanish Inquisition, Monty Python notwithstanding. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Starred Review In the strong successor to 1634: The Galileo Affair (2004), there is less theology, less humor, and far more action and bloodshed. All hell breaks loose at the behest of the insanely ambitious Cardinal Borja, who wants to extirpate American heresies and increase Spanish (and his own) control over the church. So he marches an army on Rome. In Rome are Sharon Nichols and her fiance, the inimitable Ruy Sanchez, whose November-May romance continues to be one of the high points of this alternate-history saga; and also Frank Stone and his pregnant wife, Giovanna, trying to run a low-profile committee of correspondence. The action rises to a literally thunderous climax when Ruy and Tom Simpson (sprung from the Tower of London in a novel not yet published) rescue open-minded Pope Urban VIII from a besieged Castel Sant'Angelo. Meanwhile, Frank and Giovanna are at the mercy of the Inquisition, though Spanish outrage at the crisis Borja has created gives them breathing room, at least until the next volume. Meanwhile, this is probably the strongest book in this magnificent saga since the opening volume, 1632 (2000). Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
January 22, 2023
To catch up for those new to these: this series starts with the book “1632”, in which a 21st century West Virginia town is inexplicably transported to the year 1632 in the Holy Roman Empire, smack dab in the middle of the Thirty Years’ War. They adapt and have to make alliances, while the world around them is changed by modern American influence. As the years go on, the series splinters into several different sub-serieses taking different points of parts of the world and showing how they are evolving. This sub-series focuses on southern Europe.
Alright, so I found “1634: The Galileo Affair” surprisingly good? Discourse about Galileo tends to be very bad, and is something that bothers me, so imagine my surprise when it’s covered with nuance in that book! A character says pretty early on, “This is about politics more than it is about science vs. religion,” and I love that! Very nice, especially in contrast to the Historic Hero Upgrade that Cromwell (UGH) gets in the sub-series about England.
The last a hundred and fifty pages or so of this were dark in a way that kind of surprised me–which is silly. The book is leading up to Cardinal Borja (and by extension, Spain) making a play for the papacy by trying to overthrow or discredit Pope Urban, which leads to assassinations, murdering cardinals and priests of the rival faction in the street, and our heroes holing up in Rome or trying to escape as Spanish troops swarm the place.
All because Quevedo had absolutely no restraint and got bloodthirsty. Seriously, screw that guy.
I think there’s only one more book (so far) in the southern Europe thread, so I don’t have a clue how this storyline’s going to go, but I want to know. I really want to know. This is a part of history that’s rarely covered in any sort of subtlety in pop culture, so I’m happy to see it here. Much happier than Eric Flint’s take on Oliver Cromwell, that is.
Alright, so I found “1634: The Galileo Affair” surprisingly good? Discourse about Galileo tends to be very bad, and is something that bothers me, so imagine my surprise when it’s covered with nuance in that book! A character says pretty early on, “This is about politics more than it is about science vs. religion,” and I love that! Very nice, especially in contrast to the Historic Hero Upgrade that Cromwell (UGH) gets in the sub-series about England.
The last a hundred and fifty pages or so of this were dark in a way that kind of surprised me–which is silly. The book is leading up to Cardinal Borja (and by extension, Spain) making a play for the papacy by trying to overthrow or discredit Pope Urban, which leads to assassinations, murdering cardinals and priests of the rival faction in the street, and our heroes holing up in Rome or trying to escape as Spanish troops swarm the place.
All because Quevedo had absolutely no restraint and got bloodthirsty. Seriously, screw that guy.
I think there’s only one more book (so far) in the southern Europe thread, so I don’t have a clue how this storyline’s going to go, but I want to know. I really want to know. This is a part of history that’s rarely covered in any sort of subtlety in pop culture, so I’m happy to see it here. Much happier than Eric Flint’s take on Oliver Cromwell, that is.
December 30, 2016
This book picks up where 1634: The Galileo Affair left off, with Frank and Giovanna starting up a Committee of Correspondence and Sharon Nichols heading up the United States of Europe's embassy in Rome. The primary focus of the book is the political machinations within the Catholic church, with Spanish cardinals led by Cardinal Borja attempting to disrupt the effectiveness of the USE-friendly Pope's reign. There are also the more personal stories of Sharon and Ruy's blossoming love and wedding plans, as well as Frank's initial exploits as a tavern owner and revolutionary.
The book starts out rather slowly, not grabbing the reader's attention and not progressing towards any obvious conflict or resolution. On its own, the first half of the book was quite disappointing, I'd say a weak 3-star rating. Luckily, the second half of the book really picks up the pace and develops into a very dramatic and exciting finale. More up-timers become involved, including Tom and Rita Simpson and Sharon's father. War breaks out in Rome, finally providing some action to a series that has lacked substantial excitement in the last couple of books. Covert operations to pull allies out of the way of impending disaster, fully displaying the utility of up-time weapons, make for a great ending. The book concludes without wrapping up the situation in Rome, demanding that a sequel be published sometime soon.
Overall, better than the previous couple of books and advances the story (at least in Italy) around the Ring of Fire. Recommended for fans of the series.
The book starts out rather slowly, not grabbing the reader's attention and not progressing towards any obvious conflict or resolution. On its own, the first half of the book was quite disappointing, I'd say a weak 3-star rating. Luckily, the second half of the book really picks up the pace and develops into a very dramatic and exciting finale. More up-timers become involved, including Tom and Rita Simpson and Sharon's father. War breaks out in Rome, finally providing some action to a series that has lacked substantial excitement in the last couple of books. Covert operations to pull allies out of the way of impending disaster, fully displaying the utility of up-time weapons, make for a great ending. The book concludes without wrapping up the situation in Rome, demanding that a sequel be published sometime soon.
Overall, better than the previous couple of books and advances the story (at least in Italy) around the Ring of Fire. Recommended for fans of the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews