1635: A Parcel of Rogues

Assiti Shards #7

by Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis

When the diplomatic embassy from the United States of Europe was freed from the Tower of London during the Baltic War, most of its members returned to the continent. But some remained behind in Britain: Oliver Cromwell and a few companions, including the sharpshooter Julie Sims, her Scot husband Alex Mackay, and Cromwell’s Irish-American self-appointed watchdog Darryl McCarthy.

Soon, the hunt is on for the most notorious rebel in English history, with King Charles himself demanding Cromwell’s head. The new chief minister Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, brings over from Ireland a notorious crew of cutthroats led by the man called Finnegan to track down and capture the escapees from the Tower.

The hunt passes through England and into Scotland, where the conflict between Cromwell and his companions and their would-be captors becomes embroiled in Scotland’s politics, which are every bit as savage and ruthless as Finnegan and his men. To make things still more conflicted and confused, the time Darryl McCarthy spends fighting alongside Cromwell forces him against his will to admire and respect—and even like—the man, despite Cromwell’s demonic reputation among all self-respecting Irish nationalist families like Darryl’s own. 

It’s a Gordian knot anywhere you look—until Julie Sims brings out her rifle. Now it’s the turn of Scot partisans and English lords and Irish toughs to learn the lesson already learned on the continent: A safe distance isn’t what you think it is. Not after the American angel of death spreads her wings.

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

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 5, 2016

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

[Marijan Šiško · Rating 4 out of 5]

generally, I loved the book. Some parts concerning XVII century scottish politics were a bit annoying, but probably necessary. And the vilain got it just deserts in the end. I was kinda hoping we'd get rid of that annoying fanatic Ducos, burt no such luck. I guess I'll be yelling with joy once that SOB (hopefully) falls into wood chipper, legs first.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but no where near as good as most of the 1632 series. Parts were boring, others laden with esoteric details. But on the whole good enough. 2018 re-read: This time around, I skipped many of the boring parts, still a good enough read.

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Parcel of Rogues is a mixed bag as far as Ring of Fire books go, but generally well-written and mostly entertaining. On the plus side, we FINALLY get a sequel to the British thread from 1634: the Baltic War, a thread that's been hanging for 9 YEARS! Yikes! On the downside, this is another in the recent series of side books that's building up to the NEXT BIG THING in the Ring of Fire with 1636: the Ottoman Onslaught (The Couches! They're Coming! NOOOO!!!) and as such, it only moves the thread forward, it doesn't resolve much of anything and it doesn't move the story forward as far as you might hope (English Civil War: The Early Edition this is not, sadly); in fact, it hardly even gets to 1635. There's two particular problems this book suffers from that make it somewhat frustrating and both stem from the same issue: it takes place well before the cut-off date in 1636, so it doesn't even come close to impinging on the events of the next main thread book. This means that A) no events of major significance can occur because they would've certainly been mentioned in the main thread books and B) that the authors have to finagle around numerous other RoF short stories set in England in order to avoid spoiling the continuity (oddly, all the Prince Rupert/Wentworth stories from the Grantville Gazette aren't referenced, suggesting that those events are parallel to this book and the next book will see Cromwell and the Amsterdam expats reaching some sort of working arrangement). Thus what we have is a book that's mostly about getting pieces in place: laying the foundation for revolution in England and Scotland and keeping the key players out of the hands of King Charles' minions. Fortunately, Andrew Dennis is one of the better supporting authors and as with the Italian books, he gets a goodly stable of major characters to work with (a big flaw in many of the other recent side books is that they just don't feature many of the significant characters from the main thread books (and thus have difficulty building interest and have to spend a lot of time on character development), but this one has Cromwell, Gayle, Darryl, Lennox, Alex & Julie MacKay, and even a couple chapters with Mike Stearns and uses most of them well). While the events of the book may not be as world-shaking as one might hope, there's more than enough to keep things interesting and plenty of suggestive developments that could see a very different Britain emerging in the next couple books (USE State of Scotland?). I had a couple minor peeves: the annoying Huguenot assassin is back for no particular reason (and since this is before 1635: the Eastern Front, he doesn't die), showing up out of nowhere in the middle of the story and then not even bothering to explain what the hell he's doing and acting the very caricature of a religious bigot, which brings me nicely to the second issue. Unlike most previous RoF volumes, this one really short-changes its characterizations of just about every religious character (even Cromwell, to an extent), making them seem silly, petty, bigoted, hypocritical, or pathetic. This seems rather poor treatment given how Flint and Dennis went out of their way to make the Catholic establishment seem so forward-thinking in his Italian books and how the series as a whole has tried to give an even-handed look at the beliefs of the people of the time even its erstwhile villains. Post-Modernity creep? Hopefully not. All in all, even with its issues, I enjoyed reading Parcel of Rogues and feel that while it only tells half the story I wanted, it does so better than most of the recent side volumes.

[Don Dunham]

If you've never entered The Ring of Fire series, this isn't a place to start. 1632 is that place. If you had read the series and are this deep into it, You've made up your mind already.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Parcel of Rogues is a must read for fans of the Ring of Fire series. In the time line this fills in an event that happened early in the series. Mike Stern is still running the United States of Europe and the escape from the Tower of London just happened. Alex and Julie, two of the main characters as the series began stayed in England after the escape and we are just now finding out what happened to them and to Oliver Cromwell.

I found the first part of the book a little slow. Since I am reviewing an ARC of A Parcel of Rogues some of the things that slowed the book down may be edited out. There is a lot about Finnegan, the man tracking them down, that I could have skipped. The same goes for all of the explanations about history and how it is changed. That could be shorten. Of course that is me and some readers may think it needs the long explanations.

The last part of the book was just the opposite. There was plenty of action, danger and tension. Julie, Alex, Darryl McCarthy and Cromwell all play a part in keeping everyone safe. A nice ending to the question of what happened in England and Scotland after the escape.

A Parcel of Rogues is not the best book in the series but it is an important side story and may lead to future books set in England.

Baen published A Parcel of Rogues by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. The book is due out in 2016.

I received an ARC of A Parcel of Rogues from Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really running out of things to say about this series at this point so not much of a review here.

I will say that this is one of the better entries so far for characters and story. It's nice to have one of the subplots more or less tied up for the moment. Granted it also just starts another one in the process, but well, it's a big world and things are always happening so it gets kinda messy to keep track of. Still, it was nice to have some bits of closure for a time.

The only other comment I have is that this book is especially thick with accents, mostly Irish and Scottish, that get a bit tricky to follow at times. I had to start picturing certain characters as actors and comedians I know from the two countries to try to frame the sentences into meaning sometimes, which honestly got rather amusing with people like Dylan Moran and Craig Ferguson filling in for these characters, hehe.

So yeah, it was a good entry. If you're here and you haven't read a book in the series yet, go back to the beginning and get here properly. If you've done that, well, you know what you're in for and I would hope that this far in you're enjoying it and have a good reason to continue.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the English/Scottish story line! Darryl and Cromwell! It's a great series!

[BJ Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say this book was more "fun" than "good". It certainly wasn't bad. It just seemed... irrelevant. There is a major story thread that courses through this entire series but this book did not seem to contribute much of anything to that thread. It felt more like a setup novella than a true novel as far as influence and impact (not length) were concerned.

In this book, we have the "uptimers" Gayle Mason, Darryl McCarthy, Julie McKay (Sims), and notable "downtimers", Alex McKay (fictional), Oliver Cromwell (not), and some others traipsing about England and Scotland. The book begins shortly after they had escaped from the Tower of London (see 1634 The Baltic War) and carries them up to Edinburgh where some events transpire that I will not spoil for you. I guess you can say that this is the setup, or perhaps even the opening volleys of the English Civil War starting a few years early.

In all, this book was a fun read but I honestly felt that if someone were to skip it they would probably lose nothing when it comes to the Ring of Fire Universe.

PS. I would strongly recommend reading at least 1632, 1633, and 1634 The Baltic War before reading this one.


Reread postscript: I don't really have anything to add. Honestly, I did not realize I had already reviewed this book on my last read and I came here to pretty much write the exact same thing. I enjoyed the book again, but still do not feel it significantly adds much to the Ring of Fire Universe.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I had expected. The down-time characters seemed stereotyped - the Scottish characters spoke in brogue which made it harder to read. (The other books don't use phonetic spelling of German or Amideutsch conversations, why does this book do it for Scots?). The Irish characters were all bad guys. The common people in Scotland seemed easy to manipulate (by both sides) while Julie Mackay is adapting to being a countess - this is the opposite of what Eric Flint did in 1632 where he emphasized that working people can take control.

On the other hand, I was glad to have resolution of what happened after the breakout from the Tower of London which was in an earlier book. And am looking forward to seeing what happens in Ireland since Cromwell has been exposed to the uptime histories.

[Sylvia McIvers · Rating 3 out of 5]

An up-time Irishman is rescuing an Oliver Cromwell who hasn't hurt Ireland yet. They run to Sctoland, of all places, where another of the rescuers gets thrown in jail for misprision. Meanwhile the Scottish clan chiefs are thinking really hard about Free Scotland instead of United Kingdoms. Meanwhile, Ducos who shot the Pope in _The Galileo Affair_, is back to make trouble for the Catholics. Over in London, dreary arguments with the king continue, and the Lord who is advising the king wonders if being the power behind the throne is worth the work.

Riots! Private arguments! Eavesdropping on your enemies! A crippled chief who still uses his brain! Lots of fun.

[Jimmy Cooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ring of Fire Book 20 , and still I want more !

What more can I say , I really enjoy the stories and characters . Although in this story the Cooley family was was depicted as being populated by crazies , I know there is at least one sane Cooley out there in the real world . Jimmy Cooley . (PS , My great-great grandfather did not steal your sheep .)

[Jason Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, fast paced entry

This was a good entry into the 1632 series. It is pretty fast paced and sets up further adventures to come in the English side of the series.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

"1635: A Parcel of Rogues" is not as strong as other novels in the Ring of Fire series. It is a shame because there are many things I really love about this book. I really loved the portrayal of Oliver Cromwell. On paper, the real historical Cromwell had many redeeming qualities. But the one we have in our timeline that ruled over Great Britain as Lord Protector was about 15 years older with pretty different life experiences. What might happen if he has to come into his political future at an earlier point in his life - perhaps one where his more inflexible attitude has not hardened. I really liked his romance with Gayle Mason (though as a side note: does every attractive woman in the Ring of Fire need to be "well-endowed"?). Cromwell is one historical figure I hope that pops up again in the series. I also liked the education and maturing of Darryl McCarthy. One of the themes I've really enjoyed in the Ring of Fire is the idea that many young people from West Virginia who would not have expected to amount to much in our world are thriving in this new, rough-and-tumble time, and how ordinary people might rise to the occasion.

A few secondary things that I found interesting in this book:
- The spread of modern down-time weapons to people in Scotland. I am curious how this is going to play out going foward;
- The use of radio (though I wonder how long the series will make use of radio ex machina before enemies discover it and learn how to use it);
- The return of Ducos and the development of the Party of God - it was interesting to see the development of additional opposition to the USE beyond the elites. The Party of God seems to me to be a bit of a wild-card in the series that I look forward to seeing pop up again;
- I found Chapter 36 to be the very interesting because we see (what I think is for the first time) Mike Sterns and Gustav Adolf reacting to a situation differently and at cross purposes. We don't often get Gustav Adolf's perspective. In this chapter we do see the limits of Stern's vision for the USE, and get a taste of Gustav Adolf's ambition from his own lips.

But there are a lot of negatives for this volume. It felt like it was a lot of set up for a longer plot line for the English Civil War (which I am not sure has been picked up by later volumes). It requires an understanding of the nuances of the English Civil War, which could be quite convoluted. Character accents can be really wonky and hard to read and sometimes feel stagey. It was not as funny as a volume like 1634: The Galileo Affair. And I feel like the narrative was stretched way too much and probably could have been one long novella. It is essentially one long chase from England to Scotland. It had a lot of good ideas but the narrative was pretty thin.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong entry in this rapidly expanding shared universe alternate history of Europe circa the Hundred Years War. This one goes back to a few old favorites who have spent most of the recent books stuck in the Tower of London along with Oliver Cromwell, whom King Charles had arrested not for anything he'd actually done but for what he had done in the history the Americans had brought back in time with them. Which is quite a fascinating conundrum in and of itself that many people in 1635 are dealing with what level of predestination do they have? Will they live up or down to their previous place in history or has their new knowledge of the future made it irrelevant?

It's been an ongoing question throughout the series and it comes into place strongly here. One of the Grantville up-timers is from a family of Irish Nationalists, so dealing with Cromwell is a challenge for him, as he wrestles with what Cromwell would have done to Ireland absent the Ring of Fire changing the world, versus what he's come to know about the man as he exists in this world. The Americans, along with Cromwell, and a few Scottish partisans are looking for relief from pursuit and start meddling in the politics of Britain, scheming against a weak and generally stupid king, and it's rather good stuff. while Charlie Stuart tries to hold his kingdoms together but squeezing things ever tighter, the pressure only ensures greater efforts ensue to split things away.

Toss in the best sniper this world has ever known and it's quite a boiling pot and it runs rather nicely. Good to see all of these characters again it's been a while since Julie Sims got some frontline attention or her husband Alex Mackay, and they've been around since the very first book.

This is overall a really strong series and Andrew Dennis is easily one of the better collaborators with Flint. Their work together has been inventive, interesting, and highly readable with plots that move along nicely while keeping you immersed in realistic details, without getting too pedantic about the whole thing.

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way back in the second novel of the Ring of Fire series, 1633, Mike Stearns's little sister Rita led an embassy to King Charles of England. They didn't exactly get a warm welcome, instead being clapped into the Tower of London. There they found Oliver Cromwell also imprisoned, since his reputation from the other timeline had gotten to the king.

In 1634: The Baltic War, Harry Lefferts and the Wrecking Crew busted Rita and her team out of the Tower of London. However, Oliver Cromwell remained behind, along with two uptimers: Darryl McCarthy, who wanted to make sure he didn't commit the atrocities in Ireland that made him a hate-object to Irish-Americans, and Gayle Mason, who was sweet on Cromwell.

This is the story of their flight from London, and how they end up in Scotland, trying to break Alex Mackay out of the Tolbooth, Scotland's most infamous prison. And it's the story of Finnegan and his crew of bully-boys who are trying to track down Cromwell, because King Charles sure hasn't forgotten what the uptime histories tell him this man will be doing to him in a few years.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are confusing to try and figure when to read which one. This one is labeled '1635' but is set mostly in 1634. It follows directly after the escape from the Tower of London (which I think happens in 1634:The Baltic War) where the group splits up and part goes back to the USE and part goes on to Scotland. This follows the group to Scotland.

Most of the characters are ones we have already met and so it was interesting to see how their stories progress and how they grow. There is some slight cross over with The Galileo Affair, as some of the minor characters from that book show up in this one, but it's not major or spoilery. I'm still enjoying these books, but they are a bit of brain workout to read, so I might take a break for a bit.

A group containing the escaped Oliver Cromwell head out from London and on to Scotland while being pursued by their enemies.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following their arrival in 1632 via alien technology, the inhabitants of 1999 Grantville, West Virginia, have striven to survive in the 17th century. The imprisoned Grantville delegation has escaped after destroying the Tower of London, bringing with them the Royal Beefeaters (together with their families), Oliver Cromwell, Archbishop Laud, and Thomas Strafford, Earl of Wentworth. The group then splits--Cromwell and a few supporters head to the fens, the ambassadorial delegation (together with Archbishop Laud, Thomas Strafford and the Beefeaters [and their families]) and Harry Lefferts' Wrecking Crew return to the Continent, and Julie Mackay and her husband head to Scotland. The British Isles won't know what hit'em.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder why this book is named 1635 when it takes place in 1634, following the prison break in London. We get to follow Cromwell and the Scots being chased across the British isles and all the politics surrounding it, because there is a lot of politics.

The story advances slowly. I think Eric Flint likes people to learn about 17th century history more than he wants to change it in this alternative history series.

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read, rollicking story!

As I was reading through the Ring Of Fire series when they were first published I skipped this book due to financial circumstances. I am happy to say I picked it up for Kindle and greatly enjoyed filling in the gaps for a few favourite character story lines. Highly recommended for all fans of the ROF series. Fast read, started it Thursday morning, finished by Friday evening.

[Topher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am intrigued that this is listed as #7, and the one I read after is listed as #19 - I wonder if #7 in the description here should perhaps be #17? I have tried my best to read these in order, going back to reading the first (possibly back all the way to living in HI that summer, when I discovered urban fantasy with Armstrong, Butcher, and Caine). I was also pleased to get back to the remnants of the London Embassy, and Mr Cromwell. Everywhere the up-timers go, chaos is sure to follow.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I wanted to enjoy this book it dragged because nothing happened until the last 100 pages. While I have enjoyed the 163x series this one was one of the weaker books. While there was an attempt at conflict the tension was just not there for the book. Not sure what could have improved it but the pacing was slow and I almost felt this could have been a short story rather than a complete novel.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 1632 series book that I'll put down as a hit. This one picks up just after the escape from the Tower of London. As the group splits with half heading back to Germany and the other half heading North to Scotland. I really enjoyed the story and highly recommend it. I have so much to read in this series!

[Michael Gerardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating exploration of the world after the Ring of Fire. The political intrigue in Scotland is quite interesting, as is the evolution of the new Oliver Cromwell, who is clearly destined for a key role in this universe. And whenever Julie Mackay is let loose with a rifle, the results are bound to be good!

[Aamundson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unexpectedly (pleasantly?) short after previous tomes such as the baltic war & bavarian crisis. It feels to me almost like a chunk out of a larger novel interspersed with several scenes of people meeting and talking. I could have done with a little less of the talking, and a little more action. Overall it was entertaining enough though to keep me reading, and that is what counts.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happened with Oliver Cromwell after the escape from the Tower of London, and in Edinburgh when Julie Sims Mackay and her hubby Alex went to pick up their baby girl from his dad with the earl of Cork's evil henchman chasing them. History blended with what-if and mayhem. I liked it a lot. Good read.

I wonder if I've filled in the story in between this and the next library book I have...

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle, is realizing the burden he has taken on being Charles I. He has sent one of his “thugs,” William Finnegan, to track down Oliver Cromwell. Oliver is on his way to Scotland along with Gayle Mason (uptimer), Steven Hamilton (former Yeoman Warder), Darryl McCarthy (uptimer) and his fiancé, Victoria Walsh (niece of Steven Hamilton), Alex and Julie MacKay.

[Mark Caton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun entry into the 1632 series. I was sometimes confused about what was happening as the book often uses phonetically accented English in speech. Does meander a bit in the middle. Despite this, the characters are still great, and including Cromwell as a main character was good. I hope that a sequel will be made, but 7 years on now and that looks unlikely. 7/10

[Randy Pursley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little concerned early on in the book. It was moving slowly and I wasn't sure if it would end well. Well, it did. The ending opens up the possibilities for where the story can go and it may tie in to the previous book I read that takes place in the Caribbean.

[John Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, this wasn't as good as the last one, mainly because of a lot too much time spent on an "Evil Irishman" and too little on the big picture. Still, lots of good history mixing and characters and fun ideas.
More to come.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, this book gave me a look at some history I did not know about and made me go and look at the up time history and learn about some of the events that happened

I have really enjoyed this series and looking forward to the next one in the series