50 in '08: 29

[sakon76]

Title: 1634: The Galileo Affair
Authors: Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis
Length: 543 pages


I'll start by saying I liked this one better than The Ram Rebellion. That said, it took me a while to warm to it. One of the flaws of the series, I feel, is having the up-timers (21st century people) marry/hook up with the down-timers (17th century people) but not actually having the marriage feel like anything except the author's convenience. I find it hard to believe in a story where the relationships feel like a lie to the reader. That said, I like the two romances that develop in this story very much; they actually felt real. The settled marriage, not so much.

The title is something of a misnomer... or, more accurately, the cover art is, implying as it does that Galileo figures significantly into the novel. He doesn't, merely acting in a non-speaking cameo role; the idea of him, however, does. Thus the Galileo AFFAIR. (I was quite amused at the two points wherein the authors snuck the title into the text.) I like the poem that the authors use to demarcate the sections of the book, and I like the characters introduced within. The pacing is good and the plot believable. My main caveat is that I end up feeling that the first half of it lacks heart, and the second is really where it catches on.

Verdict: recommended.

Comments

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

You haven't read Ring of Fire yet, have you? Tom Stone's marriage, or rather his changing status enough to be an acceptable husband, is the subject of one of the stories there, To Dye For. Unfortunately, IIRC it's a Mercedes Lackey story, and you don't get to see them falling in love, only how broken up he is at first, when he's trying to figure out how to become rich enough to be 'worthy' of marrying her.

[sakon76.livejournal.com]

The local library system, unfortunately, doesn't seem to have Ring of Fire. :/ I'll have to hunt it down at a used book store, maybe. Thank you for the heads-up!

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. If you're willing to read it online you can get To Dye For at www.baen.com, as part of the 'teaser' for Ring of Fire.