1635: The Cannon Law is set in the ever-extending world of 1632 The Ring of Fire. and it’s the direct sequel to 1634: The Galileo Affair. The book continues that story of year 2000 Grantville, a small US town which is transferred by a cosmic accident to 16th century Europe, in the middle of the 30-year war. The newly founded United States of America started its first embassy in Rome and immediately found itself in the midst of Vatican politics, between the resident Pope supported by local Italian cardinals and the Spanish Cardinal Borga, trying to renew the previous glory of his house.
Unlike 1634: The Bavarian Crisis which painstakingly describes every little aspect of live in 16th Century Germany without much happening, 1635 is action and politics packed. The main characters: New USE ambassador to Rome, her crazy ex-soldier spy fiancee, the local American owner of the revolutionary commoners society, even the Pope – they are all described in a way that truly brings to life 16th century Rome. The focus on the lives of “normal” Italians and Americans, makes this very different than most Alternative History books. Flint and Dennis make an effort to also make the Pope and the other famous historical figure to be more accessible and definitely more human.
What we end up with is a great story about how people might have lived in Rome back then and what might have happened if Americans and American Values were to be incorporated into Europe of the 30-year war. The only thing that actually bothered me about the book was that at times the main characters seemed to be created to make a point – the good natured and loyal young American, the romantic and always surprising European warrior and the pudgy and somewhat feminine cardinal. However, this doesn’t really damage the fun of reading the book. I wish all history book were written like this.
Links:
Baen Publishing website for the book: http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/1416509380/1416509380.htm
Grantville Gazette - A magazine with stories in the 1632 world: http://www.grantvillegazette.com/
Cannon Law on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1635:_The_Cannon_Law
Geeky Scifi Rates this books 5/5
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