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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 ...
Amazon.com Review: In Quicksilver, the first volume of the "Baroque Cycle," Neal Stephenson launches his most ambitious work to date. The novel, divided into three books, opens in 1713 with the ageless Enoch Root seeking Daniel Waterhouse on the campus of what passes for MIT in eighteenth-century Massachusetts. Daniel, Enoch's message conveys, is key to resolving an explosive scientific battle of preeminence between Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz over the development of calculus. As Daniel returns to London aboard the Minerva, readers are catapulted back half a century to recall his years at Cambridge with young Isaac. Daniel is a perfect historical witness. Privy to Robert Hooke's early drawings of microscope images and with associates among the English nobility, religious radicals, and the Royal Society, he also befriends Samuel Pepys, risks a cup of coffee, and enjoys a lecture on Belgian waffles and cleavage-—all before the year 1700.
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - an adventure epic for geeks and lovers of historical fiction
This epic story is an amazing blend of ideas from the history of science and adventure. The tempo of the writing is more like an adventure story. "Quicksilver" is probably most appealing to geeks and those who enjoy historical fiction. When you really like something it's natural to think everyone else will love it too, but they won't. Quicksilver and the rest of the trilogy make for a longgggg read, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Long and enjoyable like Lord of the Rings on film, sweeping in scope, a real epic. Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. If you've never read one of his books I'd reccommend "Cryptonomicon" or "Snow Crash" to read first.
Rating: - Just . . .Can't . . . Do . . .It!
I have loved all of Neal Stephenson's other works, including his most recent Anathem, but prior to Anatham I attempted three, I repeat THREE TIMES to engage in Quicksilver & I just can't stay focused past the first handful of chapters. Every time I hope that I may 'cause there's soooooo much to look forward to in terms of sheer quantity of material, but nonetheless, unsuccessful.
Rating: - I didn't finish it
I liked Zodiac and Snow Crash, and really liked Diamond Age, but this book just didn't keep my interest. I took it back to the library after reading a few dozen pages.
Rating: - quicksilver
pretty disapointing. after cryptonomicon i expected something that would really hold my interest. i hope the following two books are better because up until now neal stephenson has impressed me with his incredible imagination, wit, and style. quicksilver just doesnt grab me like his earlier works.
Rating: - A fun way to experience history
Reading this book made me fall in love with 17th and 18th century Europe, a period in history which I previously had little interest in. This book is a fun and exciting way to walk along the streets of Renaissance Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Vienna. I found the descriptions of the Netherlands to be amusing and very clever--at one point a character stores thousands of pounds of lead in his house, and the neighbors begin to notice because his house starts sinking into the ground and bringing the neighborhood with it!
With that said, I think Stephenson has something against writing a male character who is not a bumbling, head-in-the-clouds caricature. I don't know if he has an inferiority complex himself around women or what, but I wouldn't mind seeing a male character who was both intelligent and socially competent. I've read his other books and this seems to be a common trend. Also, squeamish readers should be aware of the graphic violence both in this book and the second one in the series, in particular sexual maiming against some of the characters.
I also enjoyed seeing him give a reading in person in Seattle. He wrote the first draft with pen and paper!
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