1636 Commander Cantrell in the West Indies-Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon

1636 Commander Cantrell in the West Indies

Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon

Baen, Jun 3 2014, $25.00

ISBN: 9781476736785

 

Knowing his nation needs petroleum for their up-time machines USE Navy Lieutenant Commander Eddie Cantrell proposes to his superior officer Admiral Tom Simpson that they sail to Trinidad, a place where the oil can be relatively easy to extract.  Simpson approves the ocean voyage.  Eddie, accompanied by his wife Denmark King Christian IV’s non-princess daughter Anne Catherine whose diplomacy skills are needed, sail to the Caribbean on the Intrepid cruiser.  The Resolve cruiser and the Courser destroyer complete the naval entourage that will require evasive maneuvers to avoid the Spanish and French who own the Caribbean.

 

The Earl of Tyrconnell and Colonel of the Wild Geese grieving with guilt Hugh Albert O'Donnell stays with retired ailing miner Mike McCarthy, Sr. and the latter’s family in Grantville while learning more about his wife’s recent death.  Hugh rescues his host’s son technical instructor Mike, Jr. from an assault.  Afterward Hugh and Mike, Jr. travel to French General Henri de la Tour d'Auverge Turenne’s testing facility in Amiens, France with a proposal to extract petroleum in Trinidad.

 

The fourteenth Ring of Fire alternate historical (see 1636: The Kremlin Games) is an enjoyable thriller that provides readers with plenty of operational military maneuvers at sea and in Trinidad, and understanding of strategic concerns though the latter sometimes turns boring due TMI detail.  Still fans of the saga will relish this entry as empires collide in the New World.

 

Harriet Klausner