Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1) by Neal Stephenson
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Book Reviews of Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)
Book Review: Massive but great fun
Summary: 5 Stars
I must admit that, as I write this, I am deep in the third and final volume of the Baroque Trilogy which probably skews my review considerably. That said, Quicksilver was so good that I was sad to see it end and have looked hungrily to each new installment's release.
Having read Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, I was already a Stephenson fan, but with this trilogy he makes another great leap in his evolution as a writer . . . and I think leaves himself room to fill in some more blanks betwixt the centuries in some later books. For here, as in Cryptonomicon, we find characters named Waterhouse and Shaftoe . . . herein the former is a Puritan scientist and the latter a "king of the vagabonds."
While the Waterhouse sections can, at times move slowly, it is nonetheless interesting and, at times, rousing stuff. These sections inhabit a realm shared with Newton, Pepys and Liebniz, through events like the Great Fire in London, the founding of the Royal Society, Cromwell and the Restoration. But Shaftoe, like his descendents, seems to involve himself in military events and travel the world. Funny and swashbuckling!
Then there is the lovely Eliza!! Suffice to say this is a heroine with a head on her shoulders and a body men swoon over. She understands markets and currency and getting ahead in the world, all while fighting the evils of slavery. These three, Waterhouse, Shaftoe and Eliza, form the narrative core of a book (books) filled with intrigue, adventure, politics and science.
The book is heavy and huge . . . it doesn't lend itself to reading too long in bed because your arms get tired holding it up. But you'll build those biceps because the story is so artfully woven, you'll find yourself swept up in the world Stephenson has brought to such vivid life. A fabulous, funny and engrossing achievement!
Book Review: Left me looking for the next 900 pages . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I saved this book for several months because (a) it appeared to be dauntingly long and knowing Stephenson's capacity for complexity I knew that I'd to concentrate on the plot, and (b) because Stephenson's language has a scrumptious desert-like quality that is a pleasure to read for the sake of the words themselves. I was not disappointed (and can't entirely fathom why others were) on either score. I am looking forward to the next 1,800 pages.
I enjoyed having a peek (albeit it fictional one) into the minds of the men who shaped the people we are today. I enoyed the historical context of the novel. I enjoyed Stephenson's way with words (and were this a high-school essay, I would support that with appropriate excerpts).
I am enjoying the wonderment of what the finished piece will look like when all of the threads are woven together. I am curious to know how they will connect with our Waterhouses and Shaftoes of today (e.g. Crytonomicon). (But perhaps I am putting on Stephenson some predictability that I ought not-- oh, I hope so because I do love a surprise.)
Now, it's not Snow Crash which was loaded with action-- so if you're expecting gun-toting pizza delivery people-- forget it. This book takes place in the 17th century when it was not practical to tote a musket or a flintlock around while delivering cheese-laden dough circles. But if you enjoy the intelligence and wit of a (obviously warped) mind that can conceive of gun-toting pizza delivery people on suped up skate boards, and appreciate that self-same mind applied to the brave new world that Newton, Hooke and Liebniz brought forth, then you will enjoy this work.
Book Review: Just my sort of thing...
Summary: 5 Stars
A great book - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sometimes when I read fiction I have to tear through a book as fast as I can, but this one I took TWO MONTHS to read. For some reason taking in a chapter or two here and there(while at the same time reading several non-fiction books) gave for great reading. It's almost like each chapter was a story in itself, so although it all fits together in the larger work, I felt satisfied at the end of most chapter breaks. And I wanted it to keep going, so I just took my time(couldn't stretch it to April).Of course History, Science and History of Science are my three favorite non-fiction subjects, so this book is a natural for my tastes. And it doesn't really get too mixed up in the technical end of things, it's just interesting to see all of the important changes that were occurring at that time and get a flavor for the main characters involved.
I do think that this is the sort of book most people will either love or hate depending on whether the feel the point of a story is the journey or the destination. Certainly both are important, but the journey here is very long(and we have two more books to the destination), so for those who are heavily destination oriented, it might not be for you. For those who really enjoy the journey - even if it takes a long inefficient detour from time to time - you'll like it. The most similar thing I've read(more in style than content) is Gene Wolfe(although Quicksilver is completely out of place in the sci-fi section) - I have no idea what actually happened in "The Book of the New Sun" most of the time, but it was an amazingly fun and well told journey.
Book Review: delightful complex historical tale
Summary: 5 Stars
Princess Caroline commands Enoch Root to go to Boston to persuade computational systems developer Daniel Waterhouse to come to Europe. The royal wants Daniel to mediate a geometrically growing mathematical squabble. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz claim the invention of calculus. The two geniuses are locked in a feud that could destroy the enlightened foundations of empirical data as the basis to support scientific claims. Daniel, a friend of both scientists, sails to Europe as he muses over the scientific revolution that took root in the previous century.Urchin Jack Shaftoe treks across Europe doing odd jobs like pretending to be a Musketeer until he meets Eliza in Austria. She is an English woman who escaped a Turkish harem that was her home as a teen. She wants vengeance on the merchant that sold her into slavery and feels Jack can help her achieve her objective. Ultimately she works her way up from the former muddy street rascal to English and French royalty.
QUICKSILVER is a delightful complex telling of the birth and impact of the scientific revolution. The story line recreates some of the greats like Newton, Leibniz, and Hooke as they interact with key fictional figures. The novel contains three "books" that focus on the Age of Reason so that the audience feels they are traveling with Daniel, Jack, and Eliza. Neal Stephenson makes the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century seem vividly alive at a critical junction in when reason and technology changed the world as few eras did before or since.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: Worthwhile (but steep) investment...
Summary: 5 Stars
Against the vividly imagined historical backdrop of Europe in the 1600's, Stephenson unfolds a compelling story of politics and brings to life the birth of the scientific revolution. But this is no dry treatise on days past; no tedious textbook to drain all the interest from the dramatic events of history. Using multiple interwoven storylines, Stephenson creates a rich tapestry of the lives of historical figures such as Newton and Hooke, while adding his own perspective via characters Daniel Waterhouse, Jack Shaftoe and Eliza. The latter, as one of the few powerful women in the story, was particularly of interest to me, as I followed her evolution from rescued Turkish slave to devious spy and confidante of nobility.The pace stumbles a handful of times in the latter half of the book. But, even so, there are few words wasted -- impressive in a book that weighs in at 916 pages. References to Stephenson's Cryptonomicon (which I enjoyed very much in the summer of 2002) appear throughout the book, giving it an added depth in terms of scope and the sense that it was only the first course in the ambitiously prepared feast of the works as a whole. With two more volumes to come, this is certainly not a story for those who aren't prepared to invest heavily in the pursuit of an exceptional reading experience. But I would certainly recommend it without reservation to those who are not easily intimidated. Waiting with anticipation for "The Confusion" in April 2004 and "The System of the World" in October 2004...