Rating: 
Summary: dull, dull, dull
Review: I won't take much of your time. Stephenson has become a falling star. I believe he is regurgitating each and every fact he read at the library, thinking that to personalize them will make them interesting. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This book could have been half its size and the little he actually said would still have come across. Frankly, I'd rather read a treatise on economics than another one of these. And Mr. Stephenson, I used to look forward to your books with the thirst of an addict; now I don't think I will be paying any more attention.
Rating: 
Summary: A work of genius
Review: Let Neal Stephenson take you for a romp around 17th Century Europe, and you'll never view fiction in the same way again. The cast of characters includes famous scientists (Isaac Newton, Robert Hooke), royalty (Charles II of England, Louis XIV), spies, vagabonds, soldiers, whores and moneylenders. Roughly divided into three sections, the book covers the science, finance and politics of the time through a complex array of events. There is a plot yes, but Quicksilver is not so much a novel as a series of vignettes or scenes, which are used to drive the author's ideas. The characters get wrapped up in the Fire of London, Catholic Kings vs Protestant England, the French invasion of the Dutch, and the intrigue of Versailles. And like in real life, it truly is a small world. Actions by one character have ripple effects for the others.
This is truly intelligent fiction, not Dan Brown. You will learn, ponder and laugh. Both the writing and the extensive and accurate knowledge base behind it show shades of genius. Admittedly, it helps to have a working knowledge of physics and European history. But all the facts and ideas interlink and can be easily worked through.
Quicksilver defies description. It isn't science fiction or historical fiction. It is unique. A work of genius is the only way I can classify it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Quicksilver is the first volume of Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle". It is one volume divided into three books, which are all interconnected as part of the larger story, This book might be intimidating to some readers by its sheer size/weight. However if you enjoy historical fiction and a good story I humbly ask that you read this book.
Readers of Cryptomonicon will recognize some of the characters in this novel, as their family names imply that they are the ancestors of popular people from Cryptomicon. As a bonus the seemingly ageless Enoch Root (from Cryptimonicon) cameos in this tome.
Book 1 mainly focuses on Daniel Waterhouse and the Royal Society. There are many references to Leibniz Isaac Newton and other key personages from the era. It is a neat study of natural philosophy and a fictionalized account of some of the activities of the study of natural philosphy and birth of modern science. (Though from the interview at the end of book with Mr. Stepehnson he implies it is not that fictionalized i.e. the activities of experiments are likely to be representative of what was happening at the time.)
Book 2 introduces more characters including Jack Shaftoe, the Vagoabond king and Eliza. This book details more of some of the poilitical intriques that were part of the seventeenth century and nicely portrays the origins of the art of espionage.
Book 3 Unites Eliza with some of the Royal Society members and further expands the plot of the first two books. There is fine dexriptive detail of a fight scene and the tower of London (which was both a prison and the mint at the time).
As I stated this is a huge book and does involve a bit of a commitment in the reading of it. Some critics and fans might claim Stephenson uses three pages to describe something that could have been aptly done in three paragraphs. However personally and maybe being such a huge fan of Dickens(who is often unread due to sheer wordiness of prose) accounts for me finding that lush complete detail a positive attribute of the novel instead of a negative one. In fact my only negative comment, and here I may be alone is in Eliza's character. I had a hard time trying to figure out who exactly she was supposed to be(which might have been intentional on Stephenson's part). She was a very strong women which is refreshing but seems to act of of character occassionally throughout text. Also I felt more could have included Newton's personality (as author sees him at least.) again though I guess that was intentional too as part of Newton's charm is the enigmatic cast to his being.
Overall I say do not let length intimidate you fellow readers instead dig and enjoy an incredibly accurate(I assume teehee) depiction of the baroque era.
Rating:
Summary: The major characters are introduced and the adventure begins
Review: The book being reviewed here is one of three books which are from the Baroque Cycle Trilogy by Neal Stephenson. Since there does not yet appear to be one title under which I can post my review, I have triplicated this review and placed the same review under all three titles. The sequence is Quicksilver, The Confusion, and the System of the World.
I read voraciously of both fiction, non-fiction and that in-between category of historic fiction in which one can learn considerably about the age but still enjoy the plot of an ideal narrative, or, in the case of the Baroque Cycle, an intertwining of several narratives. In the last say, three years, I have read literally hundreds of books and I can unequivocally name the three most influential works (apart from "Postcards of Nursing," the one I wrote myself, of course,) during that period. They are the 20 Aubrey/Maturin historic novels of Patrick O'Brian, "Shantaram," by Gregory David Roberts, and the three books in the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.
I find it hard to critique Stephenson's work. His writing and research genius is so far beyond my poor abilities that if I come across an aspect of his writing which gives me pause, I have to look to my own deficiencies rather than his. But nowhere did I find the book to be condescending. And the subtle (and not so subtle) humor was superb.
And the characters: Ah the characters. When I had finished the books, I felt I *knew* Isaac Newton, Leibniz, Hooke, and Wren. Half-Cocked Jack and Dappa were real to me. Eliza lived and breathed.
Also, I began to discover that I was beginning to understand the international monetary system and the trappings of power surrounding it. I began to appreciate the conventions of letter-writing, the mind set when years might go by between a correspondence and its reply. I felt I understood something of the tangled tapestries of royal affairs in the 18th century. I was transported. Utterly. Words fail me.
Each book in the trilogy was better written than its predecessor, and the first one was superb. When I was reading O'Brian's novels, and was on say, novel #5 in the series, I was in heaven, knowing that I had 15 and a half (so to speak) more novels to go. When I was finally finished with 20, I started grasping at straws. I went to see the movie which, to my delight, showed me something of the ship HMS Surprise, but to my extreme disappointment, miscast Maturin so badly that it robbed the film of its portrayal of one of the most complex characters in literature. I read the unfinished #21. Not enough. It was only when I came across Quicksilver that I began to let go of the O'Brian characters and came to "invest" in Stephenson's.
And yet, by the time I was halfway through the "System of the World," the final of the three books, I began anticipatory grieving. I knew I might not see these folks again in such a personal light. They had become my friends. The fact that I had already read Cryptonomicon, a work by Stephenson based in part on one of the descendants of Dr. Waterhouse, was not a consolation. I miss those folks. I will probably read the books again in a year or two, but until then, since O'Brian is dead, and since probably Roberts will not top his first novel, I will have to wait for another of Stephenson's books. By the way, and this is not a spoiler, the resolution of the Baroque Cycle is thoroughly complete and intensely satisfying. It's just too bad it's over.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful writing and use of history
Review: I hadn't read anything of Stephenson since I read Snow Crash years ago. I was impressed then, and I am impressed now.
Stephenson can be a little long winded at times, but for the most part the book is fluid (with tangents that are interesting, yet not always important to the story) and well written.
What makes this series so interesting is his use of history throughout. He is extremely accurate and very thorough in his representation of late 17th and early 18th century. Even his fictitious characters seem as though they belong to history.
Stephenson's versatility is amazing to say the least. Writing a sci-fi thriller in Snow Crash, or a WWII code breaker in Cryptonomocon (spelling?) or a historical novel in Quicksilver, all of which are full of detail and concise.
Nothing more to say, because this series is very straight forward. Long and full of history with a story intertwined, enough to enjoy and relax with. But, if you enjoy quick reads and not so complex story lines, stay away.
Rating: 
Summary: In Search of a Plot
Review: Incredibly disappointing. After the first hundred pages I was getting nervous; after the second hundred I was frantic; after the third hundred I said, "To hell with it", and tossed it in my donation pile.
This is what you get when you have a talented author ( see previous works mentioned in previous reviews ) who knows a whole lot of interesting things involving some of history's greatest people and wants to make a novel out of all that great material...but can't find a story. Perhaps a story does appear deeper in the novel than I managed to penetrate, but I'm only willing to drill so far before I declare a "dry hole" and move on to more productive ground.
Mr. Stephenson should have written a non-fiction tome dedicated to his scientific mentors, since this novel has all the riveting story telling of a how-to book on plumbing.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed but turgid
Review: I had great expectations for this book, having read all of Neal Stephenson's previous books, but was disappointed by this. Although he has obviously invested immense hours in research, the book comes across as stiff and overly ornate - much like baroque design.In particular, Stephenson's smart-alecky dialogue, that worked to great effect in Snow Crash, is merely grating here, as are the anachronisms that the characters utter from time to time. As for the characters themselves, I found it very difficult to care about any of them, which made it very difficult to involve myself in the story. I really had to wonder what the benefit was of creating a gargantuan work that appeared to say so little; as if mere volume could substitute for depth.
Rating: 
Summary: Adventures and Economics During the English Renaissance
Review: In Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson tells the true story of King John Sobieski, the "Unvanquished Northern Lion," King of Poland and Ukraine, who in 1683 liberated Vienna from Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa, aka "The Turk."
Quicksilver also tells the stories of of "Half-Cocked" Jack Shaftoe; soldier, miserable slave trader, intrepid adventurer, and swashbuckling King of the Vagabonds. While a soldier deserting Sobieski's army, Shaftoe stole a horse from Sobieski himself, and then, a year or two later stole a horse from King Louis IV, the Sun King, in Paris. Shaftoe, who earned his fame as Vagabond King, got away with the horse and his life on both occasions. Hunted by the royal army in France and on the run from witches in Germany, Shaftoe, the intrepid adventurer, sets sail for Africa and the Caribean.
Quicksilver also tells the stories of some of Shaftoe's friends: his brother Bob, various English Noblemen, philosophers, scientists, Puritans and Enlightened men, French Refugees like the Doomed Hugenot Monsieur Arlanc and St. George, The Exterminator, "Le Mort Aux Rats." And Eliza, the woman Shaftoe couldn't love.
Eliza: Duchess, Spy, madly in love with Shaftoe, stock trader in Amsterdam, confidante of Liebnitz, Slave-Girl in the Harem of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa and Nanny, Teacher, and Courtier of the Sun King, which, at least according to Stephenson, is not unlike being a slave-girl in the Harem of the Grand Vizier.
Throwing in politics, Quicksilver discusses the religious persecutions of the 17th Century. In England of the persecutions of "Papists" and the Puritans, in France against the Huguenots, in Germany and America of the Witches, and in passing of the Jews, shuffled like playing cards from one country to the next. These are persecutions of men and women who would be different, who would think, who were born without power, or without the blessings of the so-called "Nobles."
Like the alchemists he writes about, Stephenson mixes in the history of science, the evolution from alchemy to chemistry and classical physics in an attempt to create gold. Quicksilver tells the story of Isaac Newton and Leibnitz and how they both invented the Calculus independently of each other but at about the same time - Newton first then Liebnitz, but with Liebnitz publishing first after waiting a reasonable time for Newton. And Hooke, Locke and others who with Newton and Liebnitz built the foundation of modern mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine out of Plato, Aristotle, Galileo, and the pre-modern alchemists.
Quicksilver is historical fiction, but like Stephenson's earlier work, Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver, and the other books in "The Baroque Trilogy" are also "economic fiction." In Quicksilver Stephenson tells the story of the development of money - from "cockle shells" in Africa to coins to cheques, or what my economics professor called "Demand Deposits," of the first stock market in Amsterdam, and of International Trade of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Quicksilver is a vault full of information; from the Plague in London to the invention of the Calculus. But the pages are a melted amalgam of gold, silver and base metals. It is full of details not often mentioned in high school or undergrad college. While the details are facinating, even exciting in places, in 900 pages, Quicksilver tells to many stories. The book doesn't flow like quicksilver, rather, it sits like lead. Stephenson's a good writer, and probably a meticulous researcher, but he needs an editor who can say "This is good but not necessary." I don't have time to read 900 pages of the first book in a 2700 page trilogy. This is a great book to take if you're going to be marooned on an island, or perhaps if you're flying back and forth between coasts or continents. Writers should challenge the readers, but the challenge should be to think, not to finish the book. This could have been a great book. But in 900 pages, it's simply too long to be that good.
Rating:
Summary: Not half baked
Review: An enjoyable romp through an exciting time in European history. I wish my highschool history teacher could have presented it has sexed up and gritty as stephenson's vision. Maybe I would not have come to class stoned as often as I did. Engaging male characters, sparse but interesting female characters. Great story arcs, but then again it is the late 17th-18th centuries, so much going on. Similar writing style to his previous books but more mature, less gagget stuff and more character developement, but still long descriptives (you can skim at your discretion). Looking forward to the next two comming out in paper back, the suckers are heavy!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for the book, 2 stars for the CD version
Review: This is a great book. I read it, and then I wanted it on CD, so I could listen to it while wandering around.
Don't believe them when they say it's "unabridged" - it's not! When you get it, it says "Selections by the Author". What they did is summarize large chunks of the book and just eliminated other parts.
It ruins it. In particular, when you have already read it and you really liked the scenes they summarized.
Also, be wary of Customer Service at Harper Audio. Before I opened the CD, I contacted them and asked them what it meant by "Selections by the Author" - they SAID it was unabridged.
I won't be buying any more in this series on CD, and I probably won't buy any Books on CD from Harper Audio.
/Also, Harper Audio doesn't quite have it figured out yet. Tracks should be only about 3 or 4 minutes long, not 20 minutes long. If you missed something you have to spend time reversing. It's just crap.
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