Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)
by Neal Stephenson

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Book Reviews of Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)

Book Review: Quicksilver is Golden
Summary: 5 Stars

Stephenson's literary pretentions are fairly minimal, and as a result, his work may lack some of the stylistic richness of Eco, or some of the other famous writers of historical fiction. But he makes up for this and more with the awe-inspiring historical breadth and conceptual scope, the complexity of the plot, the action, the humor and, most of all, the insight. He possesses the rare skill to create an adventure tale tying together the ideological and religious schisms of the age, the ambitions of the leading persons, the politics and court intrigues, the geneology of European royalty and their struggles for succession and power, the economics, the trade, the industry, the social relations, the architecture, the infrastructure, the travel, the transportation, the geography, the warfare, the legal systems, the culture, the theater, the literature, the agriculture, the hygene, the sanitation (the smell), the medical practices, the social mores, sexual practices and of course, since this is Neal Stephenson, the SCIENCE, ENGINEERING and TECHNOLOGY of the era.

While most prominent writers are competent stylists and many can claim historical knowledge, few can boast an ability to really understand the mathematical and scientific content and the significance of such important figures as Newton, Leibniz, Descartes, Huygens, Hooke, and many others. Among the few writers that share Stepheson's ability to grasp such eclectic but important matters as the mathematics of navigation, the mechanics of sailing ships, the chemistry of early gun-powder, the basic principles of cryptography, 17th Century optics, etc., Stephenson is unique in his ability to make these ideas accessible and interesting to laymen readers and alone in his talent to weave it all into a kick-a$# roller coaster of a story.

Quicksilver explores the people, ideas and advances that paved the way for our modern age of information and globalization; the beginnings of our financial, banking and currency systems, capital markets like the Amsterdam and London Stock Exchanges; the first national libraries, the first multinational corporations like the Dutch East India Company and Lloyd's of London; the sprouts of such ideas as freedom of religion, speech, commerce and consciousness. The continued colonization of the Americas and the exploration of the world's oceans. Amidst all of these (mostly) positive developments that we think of as "progress," Stephenson is keen to remind us of the hard reality of the wide-spread slave trade, the forced labor, the constant brutality of religious and political oppression, witch-hunts, hangings, burnings, inquisitions, pirates, banditry, the ever present scourge of disease - bubonic plague, smallpox, syphilis and a ghastly array of other medical conditions and the equally horrific primitive medicine; as well as the warfare, pillage and famine.

The cast of characters, real and fictional, is a rainbow of the most prominent scientists and philosophers of the age, the most powerful Kings, Queens, Dukes, Courtiers, as well as simple tradesmen, actresses, students, farmers, sailors, pirates, landless-peasants (vagabonds), slaves, British, Dutch, French, Germans, Swiss, Italians, Russians, Turks, Africans, Jews, Armenians, Gypsies and more. Delightful cameos from real historical persons such as Newton, Ben Franklin, Blackbeard, Louis the 14th, Jan Sobieski, William of Orange, Oliver Cromwell's decapitated head, Samuel Pepys, Spinoza, John Churchill - Duke of Marlborough, ancestor of Winston, and countless more. The story sails and gallops around the globe from colonial Boston to London to Paris to Amsterdam to Vienna to Venice to Morrocco to Algieria from palace to castle to salon to saloon to inn to village to church to market to fair to ship to canal to river to ocean to city to mountain to mine. There are battles, sword fights, conspiracies, chases (on horse, on ship) as well as long discourses on the origins of calculus and cryptography as well as the era's revolutionary advances in physics, astronomy, biology, etc. It's just plain cool.

If I have one complaint, it is that this book is too big and heavy to carry around so I have no chance to read on the train to work or during lunch or coffee breaks (the origins of the global coffee trade and the start of cafe society are duly - and humorously recorded in Quicksilver). Many other reviewers found it long-winded but even the slowest parts and longest descriptions are full of little nuggets of humor and historical insight. Judging from earlier reviews, many of Stephenson's computer geek devotees are mad that Neal wrote a book with no passages on coding or futuristic techie concepts. They don't seem to share Stephenson's fascination with this period of history. Pay no attention to their fan-boy belly-aching. They sound like Trekkies outraged about some minor plot inconsistency. To switch metaphors and fan-bases, Stephenson is no George Lucas and Quicksilver is no prequel disappointment. He is on top of his game, picking up where Cryptonomicon left off. Those who appreciated his talent and brilliance in his earlier books should love Quicksilver and look forward with baited breath to the release of the next two books in the series. I encourage first timers to ignore the loud complaints of self-proclaimed Neal Stephenson purists (or, more aptly, Puritans denouncing this cyber-punk heresy) and go give it a read.

Summary of Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)

Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver is here. A monumental literary feat that follows the author's critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller Cryptonomicon, it is history, adventure, science, truth, invention, sex, absurdity, piracy, madness, death, and alchemy. It sweeps across continents and decades with the power of a roaring tornado, upending kings, armies, religious beliefs, and all expectations.

It is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight. It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox ... and Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent a contentious continent through the newborn power of finance.

A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life -- a historical epic populated by the likes of Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton, William of Orange, Benjamin Franklin, and King Louis XIV -- Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.

And it's just the beginning ...

In the second book, Stephenson introduces Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. "Half-Cocked" Jack (also know as the "King of the Vagabonds") recovers the English Eliza from a Turkish harem. Fleeing the siege of Vienna, the two journey across Europe driven by Eliza's lust for fame, fortune, and nobility. Gradually, their circle intertwines with that of Daniel in the third book of the novel.

The book courses with Stephenson's scholarship but is rarely bogged down in its historical detail. Stephenson is especially impressive in his ability to represent dialogue over the evolving worldview of seventeenth-century scientists and enliven the most abstruse explanation of theory. Though replete with science, the novel is as much about the complex struggles for political ascendancy and the workings of financial markets. Further, the novel's literary ambitions match its physical size. Stephenson narrates through epistolary chapters, fragments of plays and poems, journal entries, maps, drawings, genealogic tables, and copious contemporary epigrams. But, caught in this richness, the prose is occasionally neglected and wants editing. Further, anticipating a cycle, the book does not provide a satisfying conclusion to its 900 pages. These are minor quibbles, though. Stephenson has matched ambition to execution, and his faithful, durable readers will be both entertained and richly rewarded with a practicum in Baroque science, cypher, culture, and politics. --Patrick O'Kelley

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