- For the e-zine with this title, see Grantville Gazette VI.
| Grantville Gazette VI | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Author | Eric Flint |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Grantville Gazettes |
| Genre(s) | Alternate History |
| Publisher | Baen |
| Publication date | January 2012 (Hardcover edition) |
| Followed by | Grantville Gazette VII (paper) |
The paper edition of Grantville Gazette VI was published by Baen in hardcover in January, 2012. It included one story from electronic issue 5 and selected stories from electronic issues 12 through 17.
Original Stories[]
"The Masque"[]
- by Eric Flint
Timeframe: Late 1635 in Amsterdam; all but the last two sections take place on the same day. (No date is given, but the events are referenced in a later story that does give a date.)
A self-exiled Ben Jonson, who may be showing signs of early-stage dementia, attempts to write a masque based on an assortment of up-time odds-and-ends he received from Grantville, with no great success. Thomas Wentworth and his co-conspirators learn that George Monck, as well as three other men who had played key roles in the English Civil War, had been executed in England. They also learned that Karl Ludwig, who they had seen as their best option to replace Charles I, had converted to Catholicism, which effectively removed him from succession.
A rehearsal for Jonson's masque is disrupted by assassins who had been been indirectly hired by Richard Boyle, and sent to kill Wentworth, John Hampden, and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. However, the attackers are unfamiliar with masques, and are confused because most of the people in the room, including two of their targets, are wearing masks. The unmasked Deveraux is recognized and killed at once. An unidentified "tall fellow" is shot and presumably killed, possibly in the belief that he is Wentworth, but Wentworth himself is not shot at. Hampden, who may have been recognized by his hair, is shot in the shoulder. His wife is killed by a second shot meant for him, and he is spared from further shots by the intervention of Rupert Stuart. Jonson is killed when he stumbles in front of an assassin just as he is firing at Rupert.
Note: As described, the fight at the rehearsal appears to have been both fast-moving and brief. It is unlikely that any of the characters involved has the full picture of it that is available to the reader. Also, they have no definite evidence of Boyle's involvement, though that is revealed to the reader.
Reprinted Stories[]
- "The Monster", by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett; originally in Grantville Gazette XII
- "Birdwatching", by Garrett W. Vance; originally in Grantville Gazette XII
- "Suite for Four Hands", by David Carrico; originally in Grantville Gazette V
- "Lost in Translation", by Iver P. Cooper; originally in Grantville Gazette XVII
- "Sailing Upwind", by Kevin H. & Karen C. Evans; originally in Grantville Gazette XIII
- "A Tinker's Progress", by Terry Howard; originally in Grantville Gazette XIII
- "Jenny and the King's Men", by Mark Huston; originally in Grantville Gazette XIV
- "Cinco De Mayo", by Edith Wild; originally in Grantville Gazette XIV
- "A Matter of Unehrlichkeit", by Kim Mackey; originally in Grantville Gazette XIV
- "Letters of Trade", by David Dingwall; originally in Grantville Gazette XV
- "Breakthroughs", by Jack Carroll"; originally in Grantville Gazette XV
- "Duty Calls", by Karen Bergstralh; originally in Grantville Gazette XVI
- "The Galloping Goose", by Herbert & William Sakalaucks; originally in Grantville Gazette XVI
- "Feng Shui for the Soul", by Kerryn Offord; originally in Grantville Gazette XVII
- "Ghosts on the Glass", by Tim Roesch; originally in Grantville Gazette XVII
- "Bunny B. Goode", by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett; originally in Grantville Gazette XVII
- "Mrs. December, 1635", by Chet Gottfried; originally in Grantville Gazette XII
- "Nothing's Ever Simple", by Virginia DeMarce; originally in Grantville Gazette XIII
CONNECTIONS: Stories With a Common Ground[]
All of these stories originally appeared in Grantville Gazette XIII. The common ground is that they are all, in some way, related to developing the ability to manufacture spark plugs.
- "Supply and Demand", by Rick Boatright
- "Plugging Along", by Kerryn Offord
- "Sunday Driver", by Laura Runkle
- "Turn, Turn, Turn", by Virginia DeMarce
- "The Spark of Inspriation", by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett