Enjoyed . Humorous bits, real life historical characters and events an easy to follow plot, it not simplistic. Needs more parrot and the ending troubled me a bit ( )

A terrific jaunt across English and New England history: a nitwit is sent to the colonies to hunt down two judges who’d signed King Charles I’s death warrant and instead he stumbles into far bigger, interesting, and terrifying intrigues. A unique take on the earliest history of New York, in which the larger facts are true but the smaller pieces are a fun (& sad) imagining of what happened behind the scenes. Highly recommended. ( )

Second in a series of fun historical novels, this one dealing peripherally with the beginning of the American in the 17th century. Sure the language used at times is anachronistic, but it is all part of the fun ultimately. Worth the read. ( )

Samuel Pepys has a problem. The incessant diarist of the 17th century has successfully negotiated himself into a position of minor power in the Restoration government of King Charles II after having inconveniently supported Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads in the overthrow of Charles I. Life would be reasonably tolerable if not for his wife’s brother, Balthasar, a ne’er-do-well content to sponge off Pepys as a more appealing alternative to getting and keeping a job. If only Sam could find some way of getting Balty out of his life and his purse!

The answer to Pepys’ prayers, at least in the pages of Christopher Buckley’s latest satirical novel (Simon & Schuster, 2018), seems to come when he stumbles upon a plan to send Balty to the American Colonies on a vague quest to search for two judges who were responsible for condemning Charles I to execution. Once landed in the Massachusetts colony, Balty is taken under the wing of one Hiram Huncks, who is ostensibly going to help Balty find the judges but may have his own agenda.

Buckley is a master at historical satire, weaving comedic hijinks throughout an otherwise historically faithful account. Between yuks in The Judge Hunter, he delivers plenty of solid history about the founders of the American colonies, whether English or Dutch. The severe Puritans who founded the Massachusetts colony are reliably skewered, as are the even stricter sect that split for Connecticut when they thought Massachusetts was getting a little too loosey-goosey (narrator: they were not), and the Quakers who refused to renounce their faith despite severe persecution. I learned more about the second Anglo-Dutch War (truthfully, I’m not sure I even remembered there had been a first one) than I ever learned in school. “Excerpts” from Pepys’ famous diary are scattered throughout the narrative, and it was nice to have confirmation in the afterword that all but one or two were entirely made up. Too bad, because Buckley almost had me convinced to tackle the many-volumed classic work.

At the outset, I was concerned that Buckley was serving up too heavy a dose of slapstick, which would rapidly wear thin. Happily, as the plot progresses the characters acquire some more substantial traits than mere deliverers or receivers of punch lines, giving the overall work a pleasant depth.

The Judge Hunter is a worthy follow-up to Buckley’s first historical satire, The Relic Master, which set its skewed sights on the 16th century trade in saints’ remains. Buckley has stated his intention to continue the series with books set in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Based on past performance, those will be worth keeping an eye out for. ( )

...'then they took New York!'

Another brilliant parody of history depicted by Christopher Buckley. This exposé, the story of Stuvyesant and the English attainment of New York, within the context of the Dutch-English wars casts our eyes back in a refreshingly new way.
Samuel Pepys, his position and his diaries are the hook to begin with. His brother-in-law gives us the subtext. Baltasar “Balty” St. Michel is an annoying nincompoop whom Pepys manages to have dispatched to the new world to track down the judges who'd sentenced Charles 1. Charles II is still determined to see them pay.
To cut a funny story short Balty, fumbling in the best traditions of '1066 and all that', or a Mel Brooksian movie at the very least, manages to shape history, along with the taciturn spy Huncks, whom one can't help but feel sorry for, being saddled with this Rowan Atkinson type figure. The commentary on the practices by the 'godly' is illuminating bringing to the fore the stringent effects of religious laws on communities. The treatment of both the Indians and other religious groups like the Quakers by these puritanical pilgrims shows the disconnect between faith and grace. There really is much than can be unpacked in Buckley's work. The casual introduction of famed figures is wonderful, with hilarious added touches that only a fictionalized account can allow. Hence Stuyvesant's Brazilian parrot, who makes a nicely framed presence on the book cover, offers us a question right from the get go, did we but know it.
Slickly written, a comic, yet true look at history through jaded and not so jaded eyes. Hidden away is at least one nod to the current political contretemps when Stuyvesant muses that they need a bigger wall to keep the English out and perhaps he can persuade Charles II to build it.
Read the who's who at the end to see well known descendants of the various figures portrayed. Quite an eye opener.
I loved every minute of this witty foray into the early times of the 17th century New World.

A NetGalley ARC ( )