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romanjones's review against another edition
2.0
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.
ewalrath's review against another edition
3.0
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))
bakabacchus's review against another edition
4.0
In the same stripe as the others this one does go back to focusing more on the personal lives and trials of the characters. Not quite as many long discussions of the political mechanations of the era.
akthiebes's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mousegoddess's review
3.0
I have a serious love for alternate histories in general and the ring of fire series in particular. That said...this was a rather disappointing entry in the series for me. The story itself had some great moments (particularly if you're like me and enjoy the stories with politics and the grey areas of war), but was a bit of a letdown compared to past novels. The pacing could have used a little work, some of the dialogue was iffy, some of the characterization seemed a little (emphasis) off from previous stories (not irredeemably so, may just be the result of the story telling voice), and it doesn't do well as a standalone novel. I would still recommend it to fans of the series because it has a lot of stuff that is going to influence the universe going forward (as always).
bakabacchus's review
4.0
In the same stripe as the others this one does go back to focusing more on the personal lives and trials of the characters. Not quite as many long discussions of the political mechanations of the era.
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