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Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)

William Morrow

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Average customer rating: 3.5 stars

Simultaneously Amazing and Burdesome

Finally finished it. In many ways this book was amazing and in others it was burdensome.

I have to say that it took me longer than usual to finish this book, and I am a self-professed slow reader. There is a lot of good storytelling here as well as a lot of interesting information about the period when science and religion diverged, and when modern money began being developed (previously all money was coins - that is - the value of that piece of metal).

The problem I had with this book is that whenever the book began to get interesting the narrative would abruptly switch to a different place and time, which would be fine if that was also interesting, but generally it was not. There is a lot of English history in this book that I had previously been unfamiliar with, but was not actually intrigued by. For that reason it took me too long, each night, to even begin reading.

And now I am thinking about another 2000 pages - yikes!! I think I will take a break.

I am not certain if I would recommend this to anybody that didn't desire a densely detailed historic novel that takes forever to read. I might compare it to *Against The Day* by Thomas Pynchon, also very long and dense, except that ATD is much funnier and more interesting. I'm hoping the next volume of the Baroque Cycle is more engaging if not I think I might quit. I want to enjoy my reading!

Stephenson's departure from the path to greatness begins here

Neal Stephenson is packing serious talent and smarts, as 99% of Cryptonomicon readers will surely agree. But he begins to remind me of some guitarists I've known who are far more concerned with pleasing their own inner technician than pleasing those who might listen to their music. Stephenson joins such artists here, and more blatantly in Anathem, his latest offering. It is fine to write to please oneself, but the great authors don't forget they are writing for their readers first and foremost.

This becomes a tragic waste of talent, considering we are now in the Matthew Reilly era. We need writers like Stephenson to keep the novel alive. It appears he is standing before the mirror instead, flexing his literary muscle and admiring what he sees. This is an SOS, Neal, on behalf of readers everywhere. Help us! You are one of the few who can.

Thought Provoking and Entertaining

I just finished reading Quicksilver for the second time, and it was no less interesting, absorbing, and amusing today than when I first read it five years ago.

This book - and the entire trilogy of the Baroque Cycle - won a place on my bookshelf because I enjoyed it so much the first time. It became part of my reading list again because at its core, this is a book about money, about markets, and about the role of both in politics and the foundation and destruction of governments. What could be more timely?

Underneath the funny situations in which Stephenson's eminently likable lead characters find themselves embroiled, the savvy reader will find a solid subtext regarding the manipulation of financial markets, the value of money, and the role of government in the soundness of a country's currency and credit. To me, this theme is even more pertinent and through provoking today (2009) than when the book was first published six years ago.

Like any work of art, Quicksilver can be enjoyed on many levels. For example, if you miss the lessons you could learn from the financial machinations of Eliza, you will nonetheless enjoy the brash outlook on life of Jack Shaftoe, all while painlessly absorbing more European history than you ever thought possible. If you choose to ignore the political theater through which Daniel Waterhouse stumbles apparently unawares, you will still marvel at the first-hand look he gives us at some of the world's preeminent scientists and natural philosophers.

The depth of detail astounds; the complexity of the story and its many subplots amazes; and the aplomb with which words flow from the author's pen is an enviable thing. Buy this book. Better yet, buy all three and save on shipping.

Astoundingly great book!

I won't go into the plot-- it's a swashbuckling, world-trekking, panoramic tale with way too much going on to summarize.

Neil Stephenson is one of those authors whose writing leaves me awestruck. I don't know how he manages such huge stories with such facility, but he does. I love these books so much I've read them twice and wish they were longer. Jack is one of the most amusing protagonists ever and the action is non-stop. He is nicely balanced by Daniel and a cast of minor characters.

It is hard to review a series of books this good. There are so many things I could say about them, but the best thing I can say is "read them" and do it soon!

One For The Desert Island

Quicksilver is the start of the three volume Baroque cycle, a long complex and entertaining historical fiction set in the 17th century that is unlike any book I have ever read. The writing is descriptive, outrageous and witty with characters so vivid that when I needed to put the book down for a week at one point I got right back into it. There are real and fictional characters populating this conglomeration of a book that recreates the scientific, religious, political, economic and social whirlwind of the times. It is not an easy read by any means, but it is an excellent read. There are many fantastic historic characters brought to life like Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys, Gottfried Leibniz and Robert Hooke as well as the fictional Jack Shaftoe and Eliza, possibly the most dynamic duo in literary history. That Stephenson was able to present the scope of events and ideas of Quicksilver in such an entertaining manner is amazing to me.