Mention Epithetical Books Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1)
Title | : | Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1) |
Author | : | Neal Stephenson |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | P.S. Edition (US/CAN) |
Pages | : | Pages: 927 pages |
Published | : | September 21st 2004 by HarperCollins Perennial (first published September 23rd 2003) |
Categories | : | Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. Science Fiction. Fantasy |
Neal Stephenson
Paperback | Pages: 927 pages Rating: 3.93 | 34829 Users | 2026 Reviews
Commentary In Favor Of Books Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1)
Quicksilver 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 it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe 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, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.
And it's just the beginning...
(back cover)
This P.S. edition includes 16 pages of supplementary materials.
Cover design by Richard L. Aquan
Cover illustration from the Mary Evans Picture Library; painting of Great Fire of London on stepback
Declare Books As Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1)
Original Title: | Quicksilver |
ISBN: | 0060593083 (ISBN13: 9780060593087) |
Edition Language: | English URL https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060593087/quicksilver |
Series: | The Baroque Cycle #1 |
Characters: | Isaac Newton, Eliza, Jack Shaftoe, Enoch Root, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Daniel Waterhouse, Bob Shaftoe |
Literary Awards: | Locus Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2004), Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel (2004) |
Rating Epithetical Books Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1)
Ratings: 3.93 From 34829 Users | 2026 ReviewsCriticism Epithetical Books Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle #1)
Neal Stephenson books are not for everybody. Actually, they are but not everybody will like them. This will certainly be the case for Quicksilver. It's a "love it" or "WTF did I just read?" kind of reaction. A NS book is often dense and erratic in the linear story. Mr. Stephenson has a myriad of interests and a sizeable intellect backing him up. His stories tend to delve in a variety of side topics (all of which are very informative but outside the normal story arc) and that can be off puttingThe first third of the book was generally plodding and lacking in any interesting protagonists (and no, I don't care that the oh-so-clever-writer added in as many famous characters as he could think of, they were still generally annoying). The second third showed much more promise, and was actually really fun, until the very end when everything got awful. Not like The-Empire-Strikes-Back-second-act-as-many-bad-things-happen-as-possible awful, though I think that's what the author was aiming for.
You can say any sort of nonsense in Latin, and our feeble university men will be stunned, or at least profoundly confused. Thats how the popes have gotten away with peddling bad religion for so long, they simply say it in Latin.It is assuring to see Stephenson working and waxing so Pynchonian. The author is putting in the work, sketching the details, plumbing for the argot, inserting the puns. I've read it twice. the Waterhouse sections are divine, the others not so lofty.
Neal Stephenson needs an editor.Also, it may be cute and even kind of interesting to write an historical fantasy novel using idioms and vernacular from the 20th century on purpose, but it just doesn't work for me.And yeah, ok we get it Neal, you're really clever and know a bunch of stuff...that doesn't mean you need to reference every bit of it you can stuff into the books you write.It's kind of dissapointing because the ideas and possibilities of where this book could have been going were
I loved Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Really liked "Cryptonomicon". But, this novel was terribly boring. It is divided into three books. Book 1 follows the scientist Dan Waterhouse. Book 2 followed Jack Shaftoe, King of the Vagabonds. Book 3 sees Eliza, a former slave girl, caught up in a spy ring between the French, English & Dutch governments. Sounds good, but it isn't. The writing is too long, and too detailed to remain focused on what should be important to the story...the story. I found
it took me about a year to get through this one. somewhat worth it, and i will get around to the second and third books of this gargantuan trilogy eventually. i learned a lot about the philosopher-scientists and byzantine politics and what it actually was like to live in the tumultuous times depicted...and didn't learn a whole lot about the inner life of a couple of the central characters. but there are dozens and dozens of truly fascinating and wonderfully written passages depicting all sorts
I received an unexpected visit yesterday evening from a Mr. Nosnehpets, who told me he was a time-traveller and writer from the early 25th century. He had just published a historical novel, and wondered if I would do him the service of reviewing it."Why me?" I asked, bemused."Well," replied my visitor with an insinuating smile, "You appear in it more than once. You don't know it yet, but you're one of your period's major authors."I snatched the book, Mercury, from his hands, and it was even as
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