Rating: 
Summary: I'm not sure what Neal is trying to accomplish with this
Review: I really liked Cryptonomicon, as the other reviewers of this book likely did. One of the "cool" factors of Cryptonomicon was how Stephenson used asides to talk about interesting trivia that us geeks find interesting; unfortunately, he goes way overboard with this in Quicksilver. His countless tidbits and asides regarding people and places of the 16th and 17th century simply don't work. None of us readers lived during that time, and I can say with assuredness that few of his readers are full blown Renaissance-age scholars. The result: Neal's "clever" trivia is a meaningless and boring tedium for the average reader of this book.I see what he's trying to accomplish here, but he could have probably accomplished it with 400 less pages of distracting statistics and biographical sketches. He obviously did a lot of research on his time period, and that shows in this book -- but his delivery could use some work.
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: nuff said. Cryptonomicon was a gem, this a nowhere near it in wit, plot and interest. sad, it sounded like it could have been really good.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep it coming, Neal !
Review: I loved this book to bits. One of the reasons is that it deals with a lot of subjects I am interested in : history, physics and the relationship between religion, politics and science. The chosen time period is dead on for illustrating the latter : during the late 17th century the fight between Catholics and Protestants (of all feathers)for supremacy on British soil went into its final and decisive round, while some of the greatest minds ever set about discovering the underlying physics of the universe. Stephenson does a great job bringing historical figures such as Newton, Hooke and Leibniz to life and mingling them with fictitious characters that are central to the plot. Another reason is Stephenson's style of writing. I understand that some find it longwinded, bloated and tedious. One advice to those readers : stick to 200 page max action packed novellas and stay away from the bigger work. To me, this novel is an actual pageturner : not because so many things are happening - though they certainly do - but because the writing is so well crafted and packed with ideas. Stephenson succeeds in showing us how 17th century people struggled to understand the world they were living in and often he does this by juxtaposing solid scientific efforts with experiments that we know are bound to fail and thus to be laughable. E.g. on the one hand he shows Hooke experimenting with pebbles in a bottle, trying to find out whether pebbles actually grow, Wilkins trying to develop an universal scientific language where every word can have only one meaning and Newton dabbling in alchemy, but on the other hand also Hooke making the first chronometer measuring seconds and Newton turning out his Principia Mathematica. The Baroque Cycle is wide in scope, well written and has some great characters - both historical and fictitious - whom you are bound to become attached to. I did not think this book one page too long and am already well into the next volume that shows equal promise. Don't be deterred by moanings like "needs editing badly" or "cut out 200 pages" and let yourself be swept off your feet by this whale of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to the author of 'Snow Crash'?!
Review: It seems people who have read 'Quicksilver' have either loved it or hated it. I'm sorry to say, I belong to the second group. Neal Stephenson originally became one of my favorite all-time authors for 'Snow Crash', for I felt his prose was quick, sharp, precise and very enjoyable. I remained a fan throughout 'Cryptonomicon', because although he was no longer quick, his drawn-out discussions on Things Geek remained fascinating. I was looking forward to 'Quicksilver', but I'm afraid this book has seriously damaged the affection I had for Mr. Stephenson's work. Quicksilver is no longer witty, nor particularly fascinating. It sounds a lot like somebody who's spent a long time doing historical research setting out to prove the depth of his knowledge... which I guess is exactly what it is. Stephenson spends the better part of this novel throwing out random historical facts of no importance whatsoever in the hopes of sounding as historically knowledgeable as, say, Umberto Eco. It seems in the middle of his research, Stephenson actually forgot about such things as 'plot', because all we're left with is a very, very, very long mess of discussions of things related to historical events and trying to cleverly tie in with historical characters such as Newton or Franklin. To cap it off, this book is only one of three in a series (if you exclude Cryptonomicon as 'Volume 0'.) My god, how can one write so many pages on such a lack of plot? I cannot imagine plodding through another such book, let alone two 1000 pages bricks. If you're thinking of picking this book up because you enjoyed 'Cryptonomicon', try and read a few pages in the library before shelling out the dough. Perhaps you will like it, but I certainly know I did not. I miss the days when Stephenson remembered how to get to the point and pack his novels with action and revelance, instead of being so infatuated with the names Waterhouse, Shaftoe and Root that he felt necessary to write 4000 pages about them.
Rating:
Summary: More Inert than the Real Quicksilver
Review: In spite of knowing that sequels/prequels rarely match the initial book--especially when that book, in this case, Cryptonomicon, gave no hint of being "groomed" for expansion into a series--I began "Quicksilver" with high hopes. Cryptonomicon featured a cracking good story, excellent writing, considerable humor. Quicksilver began fairly well, but bogged down into a dreary plod, especially in its middle section. Stephenson's done massive research (and is eager to display all of it) but if there's a story line, I'm still searching for it, and there's very little of the quirky humor (Stephenson's fictional "Qwelghm" was a gem) I was looking forward to. Frankly, I doubt I'll even read the two books scheduled to follow "Quicksilver" until they're in "used paperback" format and therefore highly discounted.
Rating: 
Summary: A Beautiful Pcture of a Messy Time
Review: I give this book an enthusiastic 5 stars! . . . With a proviso: In order for a reader to enjoy this book, it is necessary to have an intense interest in:
1) History
2) Science
3) Fictional stories based on actual historical events and characters To say that Stephenson has done his homework would be an extreme disservice. The amount of research that must have gone into this work is unimaginable! This time period is reasonably well documented, but very few narratives exist of the events of prominent individuals. Stephenson gives us a way to "enter the story." Something I truly enjoy in the reading of historical fiction is how it spurs me on to research and learn more about the people and times in the narrative. This book certainly did that and I am anxious to read the sequels.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I gave this book one star not because it is a poor book, but because Neal can do a lot better than this rather boring story. Asking the Muse for help at the beginning of the novel was a tip off. In reading his plea I could feel that he was already on uncertain ground, whereas in all his previous absolutely brilliant novels Neal was balls to the wall full on in creativity and excitement. Is it success? Pressure to continue the winning streak? Please come back to us, Neal. Please don't write these dreaded 2 additional promised books along these same lines.
Rating:
Summary: A hacker's historical novel of the 17th century
Review: Although I've thoroughly enjoyed Stephenson's work, I struggled a bit to complete Quicksilver. For many, many pages I was simply lost trying to guess the idea of the book. If you are reading these reviews before the book, you'll have a head start. But eventually you realize that he is quite serious about writing a historical fiction, even if you were wishing for something closer to his past performances. And then you might notice this is volume 1 of 3! Loyal readers might start feeling a bit like followers of John McPhee (when will he ever get off those rocks?) Quicksilver is a massive achievement, but how much you enjoy it may depend more on the reader and your expectations. It certainly carries his hacker's viewpoint to the 17th century, sort of a nerd's bodice ripper. Some parts. But there are so many parts! However, even when the story starts to drag, the author's distinctive wit, knowledge and imagination carries through. Not a story I would pick up without already knowing the author. But you will think of it often after finishing, just like his other books. (...)
Rating:
Summary: In the Beginning was Quicksilver
Review: This is a great book. Stephenson gives us characters galore, some real persons who actually existed in the seventeenth century, and others fictional. He even includes a list of characters in the back of the book to help us keep them all straight. In this book we see the Great Fire of London, the Siege of Vienna, the Glorious Revolution, and, behind it all, Isaac Newton was developing ideas surrounded by the other intellectual giants of his era who would lead to creating a new world system. This is the first of a trilogy. I can't wait for the others. Stephenson does not explain much of the big historical facts but he does give us an idea of what it would have been like to live through these catastrophes. He makes history seem alive. A great book.
Rating:
Summary: Cryptonomicon 2
Review: It's difficult to rate this book. Neal Stephenson really know how to write and make long stories interesiting. Enjoyed selveral of his other books, but this time the story changed from mostly fun with some boring parts to being mostly boring with some great sections. Quicksilver reminds me a lot about Cryptonomicon, even if the setting is 300 years earlier. The characters are similar, not necessarily bad, but it contribute to the overall "too boring" impression. Also, long extremely detailed descriptions make parts of the book tip the overall impression from great to OK. So, what worked really well in Cryptonomicon barely work here, hope the next one is better. Maybe he'll let an editor look at it before publising next time.
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